NBN Co is letting general practitioner clinics free NBN plan upgrades for six months to help support telehealth consultations.
The announcement comes after the federal government in late March expanded the delivery of telehealth services to cover all patient consultations.
Clinics that have purchased a residential 12/1Mbps or 25/5Mbps service can upgrade to a 50/20Mbps service through their retail service provider for no extra cost.
Communications minister Paul Fletcher said, “The near ubiquitous availability of high speed broadband via the NBN means Australia is very well placed to deliver telehealth services: if both patients and GPs have the connection they need for high speed broadband, then a two way video consultation becomes a practical option for many.”
“Telehealth services require a fast, reliable broadband connection, particularly when you have several doctors operating from the same clinic, each undertaking consultations online at the same time.”
Fletcher added that a 50/20Mbps service can “comfortably support” the upload and download requirements of multiple video conferencing streams simultaneously.
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