25 February 2026

For regional and rural areas of Victoria, accessing specialist care can mean long drives and extensive time away from home but Victoria’s Virtual Hospital pilot program, being delivered by Austin Health and Royal Melbourne Hospital, is now providing patients with hospital level care from the comfort of their homes.

Colac resident Janet became a patient of the Virtual Hospital after initially being admitted to Colac Area Health with worsening heart failure and then being referred to the virtual service by Clinical Nurse Consultant Anna George. She was fitted at Colac Area Health with a Biobeat monitor, a small device worn on the chest that allows remote monitoring of data including blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels, meaning she could continue her care and recovery from home. “It started locally and then went to the virtual hospital,” she says.

Janet lives over two and a half hours from Melbourne. For years, travelling for appointments had been exhausting and difficult. But through the Virtual Hospital, the specialists came to her, virtually. As part of the Virtual Hospital, Janet had daily video conferences with a multi-disciplinary care team from Austin Health including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other specialists needed.

“We had access to specialists we wouldn’t have had here at home,” she recalls. “They liaised with my other specialists too, so I didn’t have to traipse from one to another.”

The coordinated approach meant every part of her health was considered. The team arranged pathology, nuclear scans and even a Holter monitor locally — services she previously expected to travel to Melbourne to receive.

“It saved so much time and effort. It was holistic, it was convenient, and it was just so impressive.”

For Janet, the biggest benefit was simple: she could stay home.

“Most of us with heart failure don’t want to be travelling all over the country,” she says. “Being able to sit at home, put your feet up, and still have all the specialists together in one video conference — it was amazing.”

She describes daily virtual ward rounds, excellent communication and clinicians who were consistently warm, coordinated and proactive. “They were just trying to get the best possible outcome for me,” she says.

“I really would like to let everyone know just how wonderful it’s been,” she says. “It made such a difference.”

The Virtual Hospital pilot supports expert care for patients from the comfort of their own homes or local hospitals in rural and regional Victoria using innovative digital technology. It also aims to help patients return home sooner after a hospital admission by providing check-ups and monitoring remotely, where safe to do so.