Warren Thorpe was dozing in the passenger seat when his partner fell asleep at the wheel.
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It was February 2017 and the couple were on their way back home from Hobart to Rosebery.
The ensuing accident resulted in Mr Thorpe breaking his leg in 20 places.
“I woke up pretty bloody quick,” he said.
Mr Thorpe travelled to Hobart roughly five times after that, for appointments with orthopaedic registrar Ben Dowdle.
Since then, however, Mr Thorpe’s appointments with Dr Dowdle have all been done via video-conference.
Mr Thorpe goes to Rosebery Community Health Centre where a video-conference is set up with the Wellington Clinics in Hobart, where Dr Dowdle is based.
His third telehealth appointment was on Thursday.
Mr Thorpe can have x-rays locally, which Dr Dowdle can then access in Hobart.
Dr Dowdle is able to look at his limb via video-conferencing and the patient can talk directly with his specialist.
Mr Thorpe said he would recommend the arrangement to anyone in a similar situation to the one in which he found himself.
“It saves 12 hours travelling, there and back,” he said.
This is all part of the state government’s new $3.7 million telehealth program to deliver better access to healthcare for Tasmanians.
Dr Dowdle grew up on a sheep farm in western New South Wales and said he knew what it was like to live far away from the nearest hospital.
He said telehealth allowed medical specialists to help people from rural and regional areas like the one he grew up in.
“It’s ... good to know that there’s a service in place … that provides [people] with specialist consultation quickly and easily,” Dr Dowdle said.
“The initial consultations are really important to see patients to really get an idea about what’s going on. That’s what we pay for specialist knowledge for. But it’s the follow-up after you … understand the problem … where the benefit really lies for orthopaedics.
“People like Mr Thorpe really benefit from it.”
Health Minister Michael Ferguson said patients who were required to access health services outside of their geographical area could ask their doctors if their condition was clinically appropriate for telehealth.
“Across the health system there is a range of e-health infrastructure in place, including video-conferencing facilities at 40 sites across the state,” Mr Ferguson said.
“They are located in the four major acute hospitals as well as in a number of rural sites.”
Mr Thorpe is expected to be walking again by September.