A new collaboration delivering seamless healthcare from hospital to home has been launched by Australia's biggest private hospital group to meet the changing needs of an ageing population.
Ramsay Connect is a joint venture between Ramsay Health Plus and Remedy Healthcare that aims to give people greater choice and convenience in where they access treatment.
It will provide community and home-based care, including rehabilitation in the home post-joint replacement, as well as a range of other services such as out-of-hospital palliative care, chronic disease and mental health management programs.
"Our service will be accessible and flexible, working in conjunction with the patient's clinical teams both in and out of hospital, ensuring we deliver care that is evidence-based, in the most cost-effective environment," Ramsay Health Care CEO Danny Sims said.
Health Plus is one of the group's subsidiaries, an allied service that provides preventive solutions for patients presenting a wide range of complex conditions.
Remedy is a subsidiary of member-owned mutual company Australian Unity, which offers a range of wellbeing services from private health insurance to banking and investments.
"Australia's healthcare sector is changing dramatically, with an ageing population driving a shift from the provision of acute and episodic treatment to the ongoing management of the nation's burgeoning level of chronic disease," Australian Unity's Group Managing Director Rohan Mead said.
"The sector needs to similarly evolve to effectively and efficiently meet these changes, which includes delivering solutions that are outside the traditional parameters of service delivery in a hospital or healthcare institution," he added.
Mr Mead said the new service aimed to flexibly integrate healthcare into people's lives.
"Particularly where they are living independently and need and want access to suitable and effective clinical care in a setting of their choice. In our view, patient-centred, integrated care is the way forward and not managed care," he said.
Mr Sims said the two groups would use their combined 70 years of experience providing quality healthcare to set a new benchmark in the industry.
"With Remedy, Ramsay looks forward to further expanding our healthcare services beyond the hospital walls, simplifying the care coordination for our patients from hospital to home and integrating care across all service providers including the GP," he said.
