On Monday 26 October, we presented the Assisted Self-Management (ASM) pilot program at the launch of Victoria’s Digital Health Vision and Roadmap event. This innovative new pilot program is an example of how the roadmap can translate into practical changes in care.
The pilot is a new approach to proactive, connected care that supports people closer to home. For people living with chronic conditions, managing their health happens every day, often at home and between appointments. The pilot is testing a clinically supported, digitally-enabled model for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type 2 diabetes and heart failure.
The model brings together education, digital tools and clinical support to help people build the knowledge, skills and confidence to take a more active role in managing their health, while staying connected with their care team. Digital technology supports care but does not replace personal contact, clinical care or existing health services.
The pilot brings 2 areas of the roadmap to life: ‘Care Anywhere’, by supporting proactive and digitally enabled care closer to home; and ‘Engaged Consumers’, by giving people information and digital tools to participate more actively in their care.
We have partnered with 5 Victorian health services to deliver the pilot including:
- Bayside Health (Alfred)
- Grampians Health
- Melbourne Health (The Royal Melbourne Hospital)
- Monash Health
- Northern Health.
The services will test and refine the model within their local settings, drawing on the experiences of consumers and clinicians as implementation progresses. The pilot is also supported through our strategic partnership with McKinnon, supporting model development, evaluation and knowledge sharing.
The pilot applies learning health system principles, using data, experience and emerging evidence to support continuous learning and improvement. The learning generated from the pilot will help inform future decisions about embedding this approach within routine care for chronic conditions.
The pilot is planned to run until December 2027, with evaluation continuing through to mid-2028.
We would like to thank each of the 5 health services, the consumers engaged in developing the pilot, Diabetes Victoria, the Lung Foundation, McKinnon and the Department of Health for their support and involvement in this program.
