'Open Hospitals' live in Queensland 

The Queensland government has launched an online portal for tracking wait times and patients in line for treatments at emergency departments in near real-time.

The Open Hospitals portal, updated every 15-30 minutes, provides visibility to the performance of 25 major EDs and seven satellite hospitals in the state. 

"Queenslanders now have the critical information they need to make informed decisions about their healthcare options," commented Minister for Ambulance and Health Services Tim Nicholls. 

The portal also supports rural GPs in referring patients to hospital EDs, added Dr Danielle Allan, president of the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland.

Victoria to launch virtual women's health clinic

The Government of Victoria announced that it is setting up a free virtual women's health clinic to plug gaps in accessing care for women in regional and remote communities.

Slated for launch in the middle of the year, the virtual clinic will provide various telehealth or online services, including endometriosis and pelvic pain care, menstrual health, cervical screening, menopause care, breast health care and abortion.

Based on a media release, the clinic will be led by specialist nurses and run in partnership with community health organisation EACH. 

Its introduction is part of projects under the state government's A$153 million ($96 million) women's health package.

Western Australia awards $3M for digital health projects

Nearly A$5 million (around $3 million) in government funding was recently awarded to various digital health research projects in Western Australia. 

Eight of the 14 projects were led by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA), cornering around A$3 million ($1.8 million) in funding. This includes research that is developing Orva, a generative AI-based personalised health platform. 

Other projects from UWA include an AI for predicting sepsis in the ED and a data analytics-driven diabetes management programme. 

The grants are under the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, which has distributed A$215 million to more than 600 recipients since 2020.