March 12, 2025Northern Health’s Victorian Virtual Specialist Consults (VVSC) has launched its new website today.
The VVSC service partners with General Practitioners across the state to provide all Victorians timely access to expert advice. This collaborative model transforms the healthcare landscape allowing care to be provided when and where it is needed rather than when it is available.
Set up in January 2023 as a pilot for General Medicine, the service now offers over 28 different specialities for co-consultation:
- Cardiology
- Renal
- Rheumatology
- Geriatrics
- Palliative Care
- Neurology
- Gastroenterology
- Haematology
- Endocrinology and Diabetes
- Psychiatry
- Paediatrics
- Paediatric Allergy
- Asthma
- Wound care
- Incontinence
- Thrombosis
- Paediatric Respiratory
- Speech Pathology
- Adolescence
- Dermatology
- Infectious Diseases
Further pathways to access the service to patients facing extreme barriers to healthcare have been created, with direct bookings from the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) and rural/regional emergency departments.
In these regional centres, the wait for a GP can be up to 10 weeks and the ability to see a specialist locally extremely challenging. VVSC responds to these geographical barriers by providing direct consultation to patients as a one-off appointment to provide early interventions and ensure appropriate ongoing care is organised, as well as dedicated clinics.
With the growth of the service, the navigation of the website was becoming increasingly unwieldy, leading to poor user experience and frequent errors. The administration team rose to the challenge and have redesigned the entry point into the service.
“Our website has evolved through various iterations, but this complete overhaul represents our commitment to excellence,” said Jake Marra, VVSC Administration Coordinator.
“We’re excited to streamline the booking process to enhance the experience for all VVSC users.”
Jessica Azaris, VVSC Administration Coordinator added, “The entire VVSC concept was co-designed with input from general practitioners. We’ve actively listened to the feedback and incorporated as many suggestions as possible to create a platform that truly meets their needs.”
The VVSC was a finalist in last year’s Victorian Public Healthcare Awards under the category ‘Care Closer to Home’.
To access the new website, go to vvsc.org.au. To contact the team, email vvsc@nh.org.au.
