The digital future for rural health has arrived on the Coromandel with Thames Hospital carrying out its first ‘virtual ward round' recently.

Several rehabilitation patients at the hospital were successfully seen via telehealth link by specialist Dr Ahmad Samad from Waikato Hospital in Hamilton last Thursday.

Thames Hospital patient Donald Campbell talks with Waikato Hospital's Dr Ahmad Samad (on screen) via telehealth link as nurse Jo Ghezzi and Dr Eileen McManus assist with the ‘virtual ward round'. Photo: Waikato DHB

Virtual ward rounds is a start towards improving the hospital patients' accessibility to specialist consultants based at Waikato Hospital and will augment the growing success of telehealth in outpatient clinics at Thames.

Telehealth, or video conferencing, is at the forefront of services offered at the hospital which uses all four types of the technology to link patients with specialists throughout the Waikato.

In addition to some outpatient clinics being run via telehealth, Thames has trialled a mobile cart unit that's hoped to be used increasingly for virtual ward rounds and development of a virtual stroke unit.