healthdirect helpline offers SMS links to Information Partner resources
Published: 29 August 2023
Callers to the healthdirect helpline are now provided with a follow-up SMS with information and advice which can also include links to Information Partner webpages. During FY23 300,000 SMS were sent to callers.
Depending on the caller’s needs, Information Partner links can point to health information pages, or details of specialist helplines, forums, multi-language resources, local support groups, online programs and apps to support self-care.
The healthdirect helpline provides information and advice to help people manage their health and connects them to the right care at the right time. The helpline, known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in all Australian states and territories except Queensland.
Callers to the healthdirect helpline are triaged by registered nurses who ask a series of clinical questions. They are then advised how to manage their health issue based on the urgency of their situation, with advice ranging from information on how to care for themselves at home to going to a hospital emergency department. Where necessary, the nurse may be able to connect the caller to a health service directly.
Providing Partner and healthdirect web content
When the nurse has completed triaging the caller’s symptoms, and providing advice on what medical care to seek, they prepare a post-call SMS for the caller.
The SMS contains a summary of advice provided by the nurse, along with relevant additional information, which may also include links to local health services and supporting web links.
For example, if the caller has a respiratory problem, the triage nurse would search appropriate terms to get links to healthdirect’s respiratory system page and to an Information Partner with specialist information in this area.
Callers benefit by receiving trusted, reliable healthdirect content, which often provides a broad overview of a health condition or issue, as well as more in-depth, information from specialist Partner organisations, all of which have been approved by Healthdirect Australia’s clinical team.
Callers to the healthdirect helpline receive an SMS after their call, with links to relevant webpages and follow-up care information.
These SMSs extend to a wider audience the value of the Information Partner network’s resources, while allowing the nurses to provide additional evidence-based information and support to callers.
Follow-up information supports callers’ next steps
Callers can keep the information they receive in the SMS for use in subsequent consults with other health professionals, such as their GP.
This enhances the continuity of care in their journey through health services — including from the healthdirect helpline to their GP, but also to other health providers.
The information can also be saved into their healthdirect user account.
Proactively providing this information reinforces the advice provided to callers — helping them take the next steps towards better health.
Last reviewed: September 2023