Victoria’s first Virtual Hospital – led through a partnership between Austin Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) - commenced last Monday 1 December 2025, with the first patient treated by clinicians at Austin Health.
Naja Oudy, an 89-year-old great-grandfather, was referred to the Virtual Hospital pilot from a specialist clinic after developing heart failure.
Living at home with his wife, Naja can now receive hospital-level care in familiar surroundings, supported by his family and virtual consultations.
His family says the program offers comfort, flexibility, and continuity of care without the need for hospital stays.
Naja is the first of an expected 250 patients who will receive specialist hospital care in their own home for a range of needs, including cardiac care.
The Virtual Hospital pilot means patients can leave hospital sooner or avoid admission to a hospital ward altogether.
An initial focus for the Virtual Hospital Pilot is on supporting patients with heart failure to recover at home.
Patients with heart failure presenting to the emergency department or specialist clinics at either hospital who require an admission to an inpatient ward can now instead be cared for at home.
These patients will be admitted instead to a virtual ward where Victoria’s Virtual Hospital is providing hospital level care to these patients in their homes using video, telephone and other digital technologies such as wearable devices that can be used to monitor for example a patient’s heart rate.
The virtual ward is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team made up of medical, nursing and pharmacy clinicians.
Patients are monitored and cared for at home with access to necessary medications. They are then connected with follow up care through a specialist appointment or community services to reduce the chance of being readmitted.
The program also frees up hospital beds for those who need them most, reduces waiting times, and improves statewide access to specialist services.
In the coming months, the RMH and Austin Health will continue to expand Victoria’s Virtual Hospital to include:
• Providing rural and regional health services and their patients with access to specialist level care closer to home across a range of specialities such as cardiology, neurology and haematology
• Supporting ambulance and health service capacity and demand coordination, to make meaningful use of data, to help ambulances get back on the road faster
• Providing regional mums-to-be with access to a virtual foetal medicine service, which will enable scans to be completed in their local area by transferring imaging to specialists at The Royal Women’s Hospital in real time for virtual consultations – avoiding the need to travel to Melbourne.
Austin Health and the RMH were selected to co-deliver the pilot because of their strong track record of delivering safe, effective virtual care with solid patient outcomes and minimal risk.
Victoria’s Virtual Hospital provides a platform to continue to innovate and deliver better care to patients.
The pilot is supported by a $3 million investment from the Victorian Government, announced in the 25/26 Victorian Budget.
Quotes attributable to Jodie Geissler, Austin Health Chief Executive Officer:
“Virtual care is not new for Austin Health—we’ve been delivering it successfully for years with excellent outcomes and minimal risk.
“This pilot builds on that experience and takes it statewide in partnership with Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“It means patients can recover faster and more comfortably at home while still receiving expert care, and it improves access for regional Victorians without the need to travel to Melbourne.”
Quotes attributable to Ed Savill, Acting Chief Operating Officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH):
“We are super excited to be co-leading the Virtual Hospital Pilot program with Austin Health, delivering high quality virtual care for patients across Victoria.
“This is a Victorian first and it shows that the Royal Melbourne Hospital, alongside Austin Health, is at the forefront of innovative care – thinking outside the box to deliver care that really makes a difference in today’s world.
“The most exciting thing about this pilot is about being able to support patients across the whole of Victoria, not just in metro Melbourne, ensuring that all eligible patients can receive care as close to home as possible.”
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