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‘Telehealth services use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to deliver health services and transmit health information over both long and short distances. It is about transmitting voice, data, images and information rather than moving care recipients, health professionals or educators. It encompasses diagnosis, treatment, preventive (educational) and curative aspects of healthcare services and typically involves care recipient(s), care providers or educators in the provision of these services directed to the care recipient.’ 

Primary and community care are fundamental to population health. They support the community’s physical and mental well-being through their role in health promotion, health literacy and preventative care, as well as in the early intervention and ongoing management of acute and chronic conditions, including end-of-life care

An important aspect of clinical governance, particularly in primary and community care, is monitoring and early intervention. Particularly important in older people in the early detection of functional decline or clinical deterioration.

"Governing bodies of approved providers should be comprised of members whose integrity, skills and independence enable them to act, first and foremost, in the best interests of the people receiving care. Evidence before us has demonstrated, in particular, a lack of adequate clinical governance expertise on the boards of some providers. We consider that each governing body should have a care governance committee, to ensure that quality of care is considered at the highest level of the organisation. The chair of the care governance committee should be a member of the governing body and have appropriate experience in providing care. The focus of care should cascade from the governing body through the executive leadership to all staff."

The Aged Care Quality Standards (Standards) set regulatory requirements for the provision of care and services in aged care. All approved providers of residential care, home care, and flexible care in the form of short-term restorative care must comply with the Standards, which are embedded in Schedule 2 of the Quality of Care Principles 2014 (made under the Aged Care Act 1997).

Effective management of incidents is critical to effective clinical governance and will enable you to manage risks to consumers and improve the quality of care and services you provide.  By systematically recording and investigating incidents, you are better placed to identify trends and issues and to pursue continuous improvement

There is a lot more to clinical governance than meets the eye. It’s not just about having frameworks, but ‘living’ them, and continuously improving how we design and implement them.

Person-centred care in clinical governance requires partnership with consumers – this ‘recognises the value of the consumer's voice, and the need for consumer experience and expertise to help shape decisions about health care at the level of the system, service, and individual.’

Understanding risk and how it applies in any given context is essential when providing informed consent. Therefore, ensuring such understanding is part of our role when delivering any kind of healthcare.

Restrictive practices are often used to manage the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in aged care. However while restrictive practices may have a clinical foundation in this sense, they are not necessarily driven by clinical need.