Healthdirect Australia, otherwise known as just Healthdirect and formerly the National Health Call Centre Network, is the national health advice service in Australia.
Funded by the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
and all
state and territory governments, Healthdirect provides a number of 24/7 health helplines to all Australians.
The Healthdirect website provides general health advice, a symptom checker which compares symptoms against clinical presentations, and a health directory which lists many primary, secondary and tertiary care services.
History
In February 2006, the
Council of Australian Governments
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Go ...
(COAG) signed a Heads of Agreement to establish the National Health Call Centre Network (NHCCN). The NHCCN commenced delivering services in July 2007, with its core service operating under a single national name, healthdirect Australia, and national phone number - 1800 022 222.
In December 2012, the NHCCN changed its trading name to Healthdirect Australia, reflecting the organisation’s evolution from procuring and managing telephone triage services to offering multiple services with integrated telephone and online channels. This was followed in November 2015 by the change of the registered name to Healthdirect Australia Limited. After a review of after-hours primary health care in July 2015, Healthdirect Australia began to operate locally tailored after-hours services and new
GP advice and support lines. Since March 2020, Healthidrect has been operating the National
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
Helpline (NCH) providing telephone advice to the public. It has handled more than four million calls.
Services
Healthdirect Australia's services include a
helpline
A helpline, or switchboard, is a telephone service which offers help to those who call. Many helpline services now offer more than telephone support - offering access to information, advice or customer service via telephone, email, web or SMS.
...
available 24 hours a day, an after-hours
general practitioner (GP) helpline, the healthdirect website (which provides free health information), an app for mobile devices, and a Symptom Checker (a guided, online self-triage tool allowing visitors to initiate their health enquiry online). The Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service includes a telephone helpline and a website, providing support to families of children aged up to 5 years. Healthdirect services also include the National Health Services Directory (NHSD), Video Call service and
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
services and tools.
In September 2019, healthdirect and
The George Institute for Global Health
The George Institute for Global Health, is an independent medical research institute headquartered in Australia with offices in China, India and the United Kingdom. The George Institute conducts research on non-communicable disease, including hea ...
launched a free online Risk Checker, an online evaluation tool to help Australian consumers check their risk of developing
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
,
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
or
kidney disease
Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...
.
See also
*
Health care in Australia
Health care in Australia operates under a shared public-private model underpinned by the Medicare (Australia), Medicare system, the national Single-payer healthcare, single-payer funding model. States and territories of Australia, State and t ...
*
Telehealth
Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, mon ...
References
External links
*
*{{Official website, https://about.healthdirect.gov.au, name=Official website (Corporate site)
Healthdirect Symptom Checker
2006 establishments in Australia
Australian companies established in 2006
Health care companies established in 2006
Council of Australian Governments
Health services companies of Australia
Health websites
Medical and health organisations based in Australia
E-government in Australia