Uptake of telehealth services by people recovering from road trauma in Victoria, Australia

Introduction In recent years, injury insurers in Australia have introduced compensation cover for services delivered via telehealth. The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake of telehealth services by people recovering from road trauma in Victoria, Australia, and the characteristics of participants accessing these services. Methods All Victorian State Trauma Registry and Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry cases, aged ≥16 years, who sustained transport-related injury from March to August 2020, and were linked with the Transport Accident Commission claims dataset, were included in this registry-based cohort study. The primary outcome was the uptake of services accessed in-person and via telehealth. Results Within 12 months of injury, 413 participants accessed 93,035 services, with 1432 of these via telehealth (1.5%). Seventy-five percent of family counselling, 26% of psychology and 7% of medical consultations were accessed via telehealth. For telehealth users, a greater proportion had worked/studied prior to injury, met major trauma criteria, and were discharged to inpatient rehabilitation, compared to non-users. For participants with no telehealth use, a greater proportion were discharged home, and were classified as ‘rapid recovery’ clients. Conclusions While telehealth uptake was low during the study period, it was accessed by people with more severe injuries. There was also greater telehealth uptake during some of Victoria's strictest COVID-19 lockdowns. Telehealth may continue to be an appealing option for medical and psychological services into the future, and may assist with return to work following transport injury.