Background:

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australian have the highest rates of ear disease and hearing loss as described in research literature. This occurs due to the high incidence of conductive hearing loss secondary to otitis media. The rates of chronic tympanic membrane perforations constitute a major public health problem. Typically ear disease and hearing loss for Aboriginal children starts in very early childhood and has an impact on learning, social and emotional behaviour and employability later in life. Research has shown that by the age of 3 months, Indigenous infants have been colonised by all three pathogens that cause middle ear disease.

The Northern Territory has the largest percentage of Indigenous population in any state or territory, with 89% of this population living in rural or remote settings

Methods:

To address the significant burden of ear disease and hearing loss and maximise the clinical and surgical resources in remote settings, the NT Department of Health Hearing Health Program along with Ear Nose Throat (ENT) Specialists developed and implemented a Teleotology model. Teleotology is a store and forward Telemedicine and Audiology service which assists in meeting the demand of limited ENT resources across remote communities in the Northern Territory. The Teleotology team comprising of an ENT Clinical Nurse Coordinator and an Audiologist collect a detailed clinical dataset which is then encrypted and sent to an ENT specialist for review.

Results/Discussions:

This paper will discuss the model and provide data on how this model has reduced the burden on urban based hospital Outpatient Departments, improved health outcomes, provided continuity of care within the Primary Health Care (PHC) setting, improved attendance along the surgical pathway and is financially viable.

Conclusions/implications:

This Teleotology Outreach Model is unique, developed with local expertise and has been widely discussed at national conferences.