Dr Nirvana Luckraj joins Healthdirect Australia as Chief Medical Officer
Published: 9 July 2021
Healthdirect Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Nirvana Luckraj to the role of Chief Medical Officer, after undertaking an international search for a leader in virtual care.
On behalf of the governments of Australia, Healthdirect Australia provides digital and virtual health services to support Australians to live healthier lives and the health system, meeting the increasing demand for reliable, trusted health information, advice and referral.
No matter where they live and when they need help, over 100 million people a year connect to Healthdirect Australia’s helplines, websites, health services directory and mobile app.
Dr Luckraj brings extensive local and international experience in remote and virtual care to Healthdirect’s leadership team. She is an expert in clinical artificial intelligence and digital health with an impressive depth of international experience in primary, tertiary and emergency care.
Nirvana Luckraj
For the past four years she has been based in Singapore, most recently serving as APAC Medical Director for Babylon Health, a global digital-first health service provider that combines an artificial intelligence powered platform with virtual clinical operations.
As APAC Medical Director, Dr Luckraj oversaw the development, localisation and clinical governance of clinical artificial intelligence products, including symptom checker chatbot and health assessment products, managing a large team of medical professionals across APAC who were responsible for localisation of these products.
Prior to this she served as Medical Director with International SOS in Sydney and Singapore in medical executive and clinical governance leadership roles in medical assistance, clinical operations and healthcare service provision, leading medical teams in Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and across South East Asia.
In addition to her corporate medical experience, Dr Luckraj has over 26 years of extensive international medical experience in South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore.
“I am excited to join Healthdirect Australia and to be able to directly contribute toward the increasingly important and evolving virtual health space in Australia. I look forward to working with the team as we look to continually improve and innovate our services,” says Dr Luckraj.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr Luckraj to Healthdirect Australia. Healthdirect is responding to consumer demand for access to trusted health advice and virtual services and we are taking our clinical service design and governance to the next level. Nirvana’s passion for clinical safety and quality and the provision of care through many channels will be essential to our continued provision of high quality services to the Australian community and our ability to meet changing consumer expectations,” says Bettina McMahon, CEO of Healthdirect Australia.
Dr Luckraj is a Fellow of the RACGP and a Member of the RCGP. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Natal (South Africa), a Diploma from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and a Diploma from the Faculty of Family Planning.
Dr Luckraj commenced as CMO of Healthdirect Australia on 15 June 2021.
Last reviewed: July 2021