Tasmania's $476 million digital health overhaul enters its telehealth-focused Bluegum phase

What is the background?

Tasmania’s rural and remote communities have historically faced longer waits and travel times to reach specialist care than patients in Hobart itself. Digital health Tasmania investment aims to close that gap by building shared infrastructure rather than leaving each hospital or clinic to digitise independently.

What happened?

Tasmania’s digital health transformation strategy, a ten-year, A$476 million programme that began in 2022, is entering its second stage in 2026, named “Bluegum” after the state’s floral emblem. The Tasmanian Department of Health expected negotiations to conclude and the project to begin by May 2026.

Over the strategy’s first two years, Tasmania made digital infrastructure upgrades and expanded wireless internet connectivity, particularly in rural and remote health settings, laying the groundwork for the systems Bluegum now builds on.

How did it happen?

The Bluegum phase centres on a statewide electronic medical record (EMR) system, giving clinicians access to the same patient record regardless of which Tasmanian facility they work from. Alongside the EMR, the phase delivers a modern ambulance electronic patient care record, integrated clinical systems, and health information portals that let information move between care settings rather than staying siloed in individual clinics.

The programme also targets improved patient flow, scheduling, and demand management — administrative systems that determine how quickly a rural patient can get an appointment or be referred to a specialist, not just the clinical record-keeping itself.

Why does it matter?

A shared statewide record system means a patient seen at a rural clinic, then referred to a Hobart specialist, doesn’t need their history re-entered or re-explained at each step. That matters most for exactly the remote and rural patients who face the longest journeys to reach specialist care in the first place.

Expanding telehealth infrastructure alongside the records system means more of those specialist consultations can happen without the patient travelling at all, provided the connectivity investments from the strategy’s first two years reach their clinic.

What were the key results?

• A$476 million committed over a ten-year digital health strategy beginning 2022
• Bluegum, the second stage of the strategy, expected to begin by May 2026
• Statewide electronic medical record (EMR) system central to the phase
• Modern ambulance electronic patient care record included
• Integrated clinical systems and health information portals to reduce data silos
• Wireless connectivity expansion in rural and remote settings completed in the strategy’s first two years
• Improved patient flow, scheduling, and demand management systems targeted

What happens next?

In May 2025, the Tasmanian Department of Health said Epic contract negotiations were under way. The EMR project was expected to begin by May 2026.

The strategy has already expanded wireless internet connectivity, especially in rural and remote health settings.