Digital Health Course – Project ECHO: Health eMinds and Telehealth Skills

Access to specialist healthcare and ongoing professional support can be challenging for clinicians working in rural and remote communities. This project strengthened the capability of healthcare providers across northern Australia by delivering telehealth training, specialist mentoring and mental health education through the Project ECHO model. Delivered by the University of Queensland Centre for Online Health in partnership with the North Queensland Primary Health Network, the project connected regional health professionals with subject matter experts through regular virtual learning sessions, case discussions and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Two dedicated ECHO programs were established: Health eMinds ECHO, focused on mental health and wellbeing, and Telehealth Skills ECHO, focused on building practical telehealth capability. These programs were complemented by telehealth workshops, site visits and conference engagement activities. Over three years, the project delivered 47 ECHO sessions and nine telehealth training workshops, reaching more than 1,500 participants from across northern Australia and beyond. Participants reported increased confidence in delivering telehealth services, improved mental health knowledge and stronger professional networks. The project also helped reduce professional isolation among regional health workers and supported greater access to specialist support for rural and remote communities. The project demonstrated that tele-mentoring and virtual education can be an effective and cost-efficient way to strengthen the regional health workforce, improve access to care and support better health outcomes across northern Australia. Key outcomes Increased workforce capability and confidence in delivering telehealth services. Improved access to mental health education, mentoring and specialist support. Reduced professional isolation among regional and remote health professionals. Strengthened collaboration and knowledge sharing across healthcare services. Improved access to care for patients in rural and remote communities Resources  To access participant resources for past sessions visit: Health eMinds participant resources –https://uqecho.org/healtheminds-echo/ Telehealth Skills participant resources – https://uqecho.org/telehealthskills-echo/ For more information contact the UQ Centre for Online Health team via email healthemindsecho@uq.edu.au or telehealthskillsecho@uq.edu.au      

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