Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is an innovative model of inter-professional education and case-based learning, which aims to democratise clinical knowledge and deliver best-practice care to people in communities that lack ready access to specialists. Whether the difficulty accessing specialists is due to remoteness, poverty, cultural barriers or other factors, ECHO® helps to address inequities faced by children, young people, and their families.
Using interactive, online technology and a structured case discussion format, metropolitan Brisbane experts mentor providers from anywhere, who deliver frontline services to children and young people in need of rapid access to specialist care. Through mentoring and participation in an inter-professional community of practice, local health professionals are empowered to provide best-practice care and over time, to establish expert-level capabilities.
Project ECHO Introductory Video from Children's Health Queensland on Vimeo.
In late 2019, the Superhub operations will formally commence, which includes the delivery of training, mentorship and partner liaison to support other health services and sector organisations to become ECHO® hubs and deliver education programs on their own topics of expertise. Having an easily accessible and accredited training provider in Australia, providing Project ECHO® orientation and immersion training will accelerate uptake of the ECHO model™ in Australia and in neighbouring countries, removing the barrier of teams needing to travel to New Mexico for training.
