Lance O'Sullivan sets up NZ's first virtual medical centre in town with no doctor

Dr Lance O'Sullivan is running the pilot project in Patea.
MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
Dr Lance O'Sullivan is running the pilot project in Patea.

The town of Patea, doctor-less since its last physician left weeks ago, is opening the first pop-up virtual medical centre in New Zealand.

Instead of seeing a doctor face to face, patients from the small South Taranaki town will instead sit in front of two iPads and a TV where they can talk directly to a doctor based in Kaitaia, in the Far North.

The programme, MAiHEALTH, is the brain-child of Dr Lance O'Sullivan, the the 2014 New Zealander of the Year who was in the spotlight earlier this year after storming the stage to protest an anti-vaccine movie.

Visiting a doctor could be a thing of the past, with the launch of New Zealand's first virtual medical centre.
123rf.com
Visiting a doctor could be a thing of the past, with the launch of New Zealand's first virtual medical centre.

The Ngati Ruanui iwi approached O'Sullivan after it became clear it could be months before the town would be able to find a new permanent doctor after the previous one left earlier this month, and was keen to become involved in finding a solution.

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Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, from Ngati Ruanui, said the medical information gathered from Patea would be passed on to doctors based around the country and the world, who will be able to make diagnoses, give advice and prescribe medicines the same way a regular GP would.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, of the Te Runanga o Ngati Ruanui Trust, said the new project was great for the town.
GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, of the Te Runanga o Ngati Ruanui Trust, said the new project was great for the town.

O'Sullivan said they were starting small and aiming to help around 20 per cent of medical issues such as sore throats, skin problems and infections, before expanding to other illnesses.

"We're looking at a time where people can buy things online, they can communicate online, where entertainment is on devices," he said.

"We do so much all online and health is the natural next step to access online."

Ngarewa-Packer said they were still encouraging people suffering serious illness to visit a doctor face-to-face or to head to hospital, but having the service available in the town would cut down the number of patients waiting in the health system with less serious issues.

"In some ways it's a really simple way of using technology to be able to make it accessible for people that are at a really early stage," she said.

Being able to diagnose people early would also mean they could seek treatment before it became serious, cutting down the cost and time it would take to heal.

"If you can get people through there quickly then you have a healthy community and if you have a healthy community then you can be part of the work force and everyone is better off," she said.

Three members of the community were currently training to work at the centre, which would be based out of the Patea Maori Club and would launch on Monday morning.

"Lance or the GP could be in London or Kaitaia, it's as simple as that," Ngarewa-Packer said.

"I still think that this is going to become the new norm."

Similar models were used in Australia and elsewhere overseas, but this was a first in New Zealand.

"I know we're the first iwi to do this but I predict there will be more iwi that will come in because just a really good fit," she said.