Supporting consumer health literacy: Healthdirect Video Call releases patient consultation summaries
Published: 27 February 2026
A new digital software application to enhance telehealth healthcare delivery, the Patient Consult Summary (PCS), is enabling health service providers to provide patients with clear, written consultation summaries in real-time.
Healthdirect’s Video Call platform
Healthdirect’s Video Call platform is a secure and scalable service used across hospitals, community health centres, general practices, allied health settings and virtual emergency departments.
Nearly 2 million video-based consultations are hosted each year on the healthdirect Video Call platform, connecting clinicians and consumers virtually from their home, work or anywhere using everyday devices – a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
Already the gold-class standard in clinical telehealth, the Video Call platform continues to build enhancement that will empower patients to get the most from their consultation. Last year, Healthdirect added live captions for the hearing impaired and, this year, a post-consultation summary has been launched to help all patients better understand the information discussed with their health care professional.
Healthdirect Video Call connects consumers to clinicians virtually from their home, work or anywhere using everyday devices.
How the patient consultation summary works
Patient summaries are created in real-time using typed or talk-to-text functionality during the video call consultation. During the consultation, health practitioners can build the summary, adding their own explanations to specific terms they may have mentioned, further helping their patients better understand their condition and next steps in care.
Patients may see highlighted terms in the summary which can activate a pop-up with medical terminology explanations. These explanations are sourced from Healthdirect’s glossary of medical and medicines terms and help patients understand the medical definitions in the summary more easily.
Sharing valuable information with the patient while ensuring their privacy was a key consideration when building the patient consult summary application. The summary is saved as a password protected PDF and emailed securely to the patient. A copy of the summary is also sent to the health care provider for record-keeping, helping to maintain the continuity of care between the patient and provider. When the consultation is ended, the summary disappears from the Video Call platform.
“The patient summary marks a major advance in virtual healthcare for providers and consumers,” says Sam Georgy, Service Director, Video Call at Healthdirect Australia.
Our role in the health system is to use fit for purpose technology to connect consumers to quality healthcare where and when they need it. We are proud to be involved in partnerships through the Digital Health CRC that bring good ideas like the Patient Consultation Summary to life. This project shows how co-designed research can be translated into real-world impact for both clinicians and consumers”.
“As Video Call consultations continue to increase across the country, we are very excited to see this application supporting stronger virtual care adoption and an enhanced experience across all our users, in a range of clinical settings,” says Mr Georgy.
A co-designed approach
Developed through a multi-partner collaboration led by the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC), in partnership with Monash University, Healthdirect Australia, the Department of Health Victoria, Monash Health, and the University of Melbourne, the app represents a significant step forward in improving the virtual healthcare experience for healthcare providers and patients.
Led by researchers from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology, a series of experience-based co-design, prototyping, and evaluation studies were implemented in simulated and real-world settings. The Digital Health Validitron (Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, University of Melbourne) conducted a clinical simulation study to identify and rectify usability and acceptability issues early, followed by a clinical evaluation at Monash Health. During the project, seven health services across Victoria were involved in the trialling and testing of the application in the early release phase.
International evidence shows that after-visit summaries improve patient understanding and self-management. In co-design with Healthdirect, the PCS represents a locally designed and governed solution tailored to Australian healthcare settings.
Annette Schmiede, CEO of the DHCRC, said the sustained increase in demand for telehealth services since COVID-19 has highlighted both its value and the importance of evidence-led implementation.
“Telehealth plays a critical role in improving access to care, particularly for people who face barriers to in-person services or who live in regional and remote communities. As use continues to grow, research is essential to ensure these models of care are implemented safely and deliver meaningful impact at scale,” Ms Schmiede said.
Project leader Professor Rashina Hoda from Monash University said the project highlights the importance of evidence-based digital health innovation.
“Our research demonstrated that providing patients with immediate, written summaries significantly improves understanding and continuity of care,” Professor Hoda said.
“By focusing on what patients told us they needed – clearer information, better understanding, and support beyond the consultation, this collaboration has delivered a tool that strengthens virtual care while maintaining clinical safety and quality.”
National expansion
Following a successful pilot program in Victoria's public health services, the app is being rolled out nationally across the healthdirect Video Call platform.
Based on sustained uptake, demonstrated safety, and strong demand, the project oversight group has recommended supporting Healthdirect’s decision to scale the application nationally. From December 2025, the PCS is available to all clinicians to use on the Healthdirect Video Call platform.
For more information on PCS, please visit help.vcc.healthdirect.org.au/apps-tools/patient-consult-summary-application