
Overview
Background
Professor Anthony Smith is the Director of The University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health (COH), and Adjunct Professor at the Hans Christian Anderson Children's Hospital and University of Southern Denmark, in Odense, Denmark.
Professor Smith is also the Editor in Chief for the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare (Sage Publishers, London; 5y Impact Factor 4.9).
Professor Smith has more than 20 years of research experience, resulting in the planning, implementation and evaluation of a broad range of telehealth (virtual care) services around Australia. Specific research interests include the feasibility, effectiveness and sustainability of telehealth services in the public health system; genuine consumer engagement; and novel strategies to support our health workforce and telehealth adoption. His research has led to the development of pioneering virtual care services in Australia, including prominent statewide hospital-based telehealth programs in Queensland, wireless (robot) videoconference systems for remote consultations; and a community-based (and telehealth supported) health screening programme for Indigenous children in Queensland. Current projects focus on the integration of telehealth and virtual care services in residential aged care settings; evaluation of community-led First Nations health services; the delivery of video-based rehabilitation services to children in rural and remote primary schools; telementoring services for health professionals in primary care; and discipline specific clinical telehealth services.
Professor Smith chairs the annual International Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth conference. He was the former President of the Australasian Telehealth Society (ATHS) [2013-2015]; and ATHS committee member [2008-2024]. In the field of telehealth and virtual care, Prof Smith has over 230 publications, including 210 peer-reviewed journal papers, three edited books and 13 book chapters on related topics. Whilst the field remains highly specialised in comparison to other disciplines, his work is cited over 2000 times each year.
Professor Smith also provides an extensive range of consultancy services for government agencies and corporate industry partners in the field of telehealth, digital health and virtual healthcare.
Recent Awards:
1. Public Engagement and Community-led Research (including Citizen Science) Award, The University of Queensland Research Culture Awards, 2024.
2. Top Researcher in the field of "Medical Informatics"- for work involving telehealth, digital health and virtual care. The Australian Research Awards, 2023
3. Commendation, Academic Leader of the Year, UQ Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards, The University of Queensland, 2023
4. Excellence in Indigenous Engagement Award - for "enhancing access to specialist health services through the use of telehealth for First Nations people. Engagement Australia Excellence Awards, 2021
5. Spirit of Reconciliation Award - for building research and community partnerships in Queensland. UQ Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards, The University of Queensaland, 2021
Availability
- Professor Anthony Smith is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Research interests
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Telehealth, Digital Health and Virtual Healthcare
My focus is on the creation of new models of care which deliver high quality, affordable and accessible health care to people of all ages, in different settings, and for a broad range of health conditions. Successful service models should align with clinical requirements and consumer preferences, and be supported by evidence to demonstrate positive clinical outcomes, user experience and sustainability.
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Supporting our health workforce with clinical telehealth training
The safe delivery and adoption of telehealth in our health system depends on key requirements, including developing a skilled health workforce. My focus is on the implementation of telehealth and virtual health care training in undergraduate programs (multidisciplinary); as well as developing training programs which can support clinicians within our health workforce.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Engaging with First Nations health services, and planning new models of care which enable health services to become more easily accessible in community settings. Exploring the role of telehealth in these settings; and working in close partnership with community stakeholders to ensure services are designed according to needs and preferences.
Research impacts
Telehealth services for Indigenous Communities: For nearly two decades, Professor Anthony Smith has been working in partnership with the Cherbourg community, to establish a telemedicine service for the routine screening of Indigenous children at high risk of chronic health conditions. With a high prevalence of ear disease and inconsistent screening procedures, his idea was to convert a vehicle into a mobile health clinic with all the necessary equipment on board for collecting and transmitting clinical assessments. Clinical information is collected by Aboriginal health workers, then uploaded to an online database, which is accessible to the specialists in Brisbane who routinely review cases and provide advice regarding clinical management. His program has resulted in a routine screening program - a tangible community benefit—which now serves thousands of children within schools in the South Burnett region of Queensland. Since the commencement of the health screening telemedicine program in 2009, routine assessments of approx. 1250 children have been carried out in 35 schools annually. The proportion of children being screened for chronic ear conditions has increased from around 38% to over 85% of all eligible cases in the community; while the mean waiting time from referral to actual specialist appointment has been reduced from 73 days in 2009 to 29 days in 2011. The mobile telemedicine ear-screening service delivers an appropriate model of care that reinforces the partnership between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community health services and specialist health services in a tertiary facility and demonstrates a range of benefits associated with the generation of a strong community led health-screening program, supported by specialists at a distance.
Post-acute burns care and telemedicine: Professor Anthony Smith had a key role in creating the telepaediatric service at the Royal Children’s Hospital has resulted in significant changes in the way outpatient services are delivered for certain groups of patients. Having had a clinical role in the paediatric burns unit in Brisbane, he was very familiar with patients and families who returned to the department on a regular basis for outpatient care. The time, cost and inconvenience of time away from home was something he was extremely conscious of. After extensive engagement with the multi-disciplinary burns team, Dr Smith introduced telehealth consultations for the post-acute care of children with burn injuries. This required a new model of care, where regional occupational therapists and nurses were trained to deliver outpatient care, with the support of specialists (by videoconference). Instead of traveling back to Brisbane, families were able to attend an outpatient appointment at their nearest hospital, by videoconference. His work resulted in more than 3500 telehealth burns consultations in the first ten years; overall, telehealth appointments accounted for around 14% of all outpatient appointments in the burns unit. This represented a completely new direction in the way outpatient services are delivered in Queensland. Since those early days, this model has continued to be used, and has now been reproduced in other states including NSW, Western Australia and Victoria.
Medicare funding for specialist video-consultations: In 2010, Professor Anthony Smith was the lead investigator (CIA) of a tender to deliver a national report on telehealth implementation and technical requirements. This report guided the strategic decisions related to funding videoconferencing consultations through the Medical Benefits Schedule and informed the resultant legislation that was implemented by the Federal Government on 1 July, 2011. This work has been cited by cited by leading agencies including the: RACP, RACGP, ACRRM, RCNA and NEHTA.
Works
Search Professor Anthony Smith’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Telehealth-facilitated palliative care enables more people to die at home: An analysis of clinical outcomes and service activity data
Haydon, Helen M., Lotfaliany, Mojtaba, Broadbent, Andrew, Snoswell, Centaine L., Smith, Anthony C., Brydon, Julie-Ann, Caffery, Liam J. and Thomas, Emma E. (2025). Telehealth-facilitated palliative care enables more people to die at home: An analysis of clinical outcomes and service activity data. BMC Palliative Care, 24 (1) 22, 1-8. doi: 10.1186/s12904-024-01622-0
2025
Journal Article
Improving consumer trust in digital health: A mixed methods study involving people living with chronic kidney disease
Catapan, Soraia de Camargo, Taylor, Monica L, Scuffham, Paul, Smith, Anthony C and Kelly, Jaimon T (2025). Improving consumer trust in digital health: A mixed methods study involving people living with chronic kidney disease. DIGITAL HEALTH, 11, 20552076241312440-11. doi: 10.1177/20552076241312440
2024
Journal Article
Trust and confidence in telehealth-delivered services: a nation-wide cross-sectional study
Catapan, Soraia de Camargo, Snoswell, Centaine L., Haydon, Helen M., Banbury, Annie, Thomas, Emma E, Caffery, Liam J., Smith, Anthony C. and Kelly, Jaimon (2024). Trust and confidence in telehealth-delivered services: a nation-wide cross-sectional study. Health Marketing Quarterly, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/07359683.2024.2422202
2024
Journal Article
Living with epilepsy in adolescence and young adulthood transitioning from pediatric to adult hospital services: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies
Abildgaard Hansen, Ole, Clemensen, Jane, Beier, Christoph P., Barasinski Pedersen, Jan, Smith, Anthony C. and Kaas Larsen, Malene (2024). Living with epilepsy in adolescence and young adulthood transitioning from pediatric to adult hospital services: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Epilepsy and Behavior, 158 109955. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.109955
2024
Journal Article
A cost-consequence analysis of the Queensland specialist palliative rural telehealth (SPaRTa) service
Snoswell, Centaine L., Smith, Anthony C., Grove, Graham, Broadbent, Andrew, Caffery, Liam J., Thomas, Emma, Kelly, Jaimon and Haydon, Helen M. (2024). A cost-consequence analysis of the Queensland specialist palliative rural telehealth (SPaRTa) service. Progress in Palliative Care, 32 (5), 1-8. doi: 10.1080/09699260.2024.2374601
2024
Journal Article
Participatory design in telehealth research: Practical case examples
Clemensen, Jane, Holm, Kristina G, Jakobsen, Pernille R, Jensen, Charlotte M, Nielsen, Charlotte, Danbjørg, Dorthe B, Smith, Anthony C and Rothmann, Mette J (2024). Participatory design in telehealth research: Practical case examples. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1357633X241262820. doi: 10.1177/1357633x241262820
2024
Conference Publication
Patient and carer experiences using a telepharmacy service
Barwick, Anna, Freeman, Christopher, Caffery, Liam and Smith, Anthony (2024). Patient and carer experiences using a telepharmacy service. PSA24, Sydney, Australia, 2-5 August 2024.
2024
Journal Article
Health professionals’ presence and attributes in connecting with parents of children with cancer: A qualitative study through the lens of compassion
NIELSEN, Camilla Littau, CLEMENSEN, Jane, JENSEN, Claus Sixtus, CALLESEN, Michael Thude, SMITH, Anthony and HOLM, Kristina Garne (2024). Health professionals’ presence and attributes in connecting with parents of children with cancer: A qualitative study through the lens of compassion. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 72 102683, 102683. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2024.102683
2024
Journal Article
Corrigendum to ‘‘The clinical effectiveness of telehealth: A systematic review of meta-analyses from 2010 to 2019.’’
Snoswell, Centaine L., Chelberg, Georgina, De Guzman, Keshia R., Haydon, Helen M., Thomas, Emma E., Caffery, Liam J. and Smith, Anthony C. (2024). Corrigendum to ‘‘The clinical effectiveness of telehealth: A systematic review of meta-analyses from 2010 to 2019.’’. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 30 (10), 1667-1667. doi: 10.1177/1357633X241262510
2024
Journal Article
2023 JTT statistics and acknowledgements
Smith, Anthony C and Doolittle, Gary C (2024). 2023 JTT statistics and acknowledgements. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 30 (5), 753-755. doi: 10.1177/1357633X241271495
2024
Journal Article
Who is supporting the parents during their child's cancer treatment? A qualitative study through the lens of compassion
Nielsen, Camilla Littau, Clemensen, Jane, Callesen, Michael Thude, Jensen, Claus Sixtus, Smith, Anthony C. and Holm, Kristina Garne (2024). Who is supporting the parents during their child's cancer treatment? A qualitative study through the lens of compassion. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 70 102534. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2024.102534
2024
Journal Article
Being an adolescent with epilepsy during the transition from pediatric to adult hospital care: a qualitative descriptive study
Abildgaard Hansen, Ole, Clemensen, Jane, Beier, Christoph P., Pors Klinting, Gry, Smith, Anthony C. and Kaas Larsen, Malene (2024). Being an adolescent with epilepsy during the transition from pediatric to adult hospital care: a qualitative descriptive study. Epilepsy and Behavior, 155 109780. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.109780
2024
Journal Article
Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities Managers’ and Nurses’ Experiences In Implementing Telehealth and Social Connection During COVID-19
Banbury, Annie, Taylor, Monica, Reid, Natasha, Smith, Anthony, Paterson, David and Gray, Leonard (2024). Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities Managers’ and Nurses’ Experiences In Implementing Telehealth and Social Connection During COVID-19. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 19 (1) i2567. doi: 10.24083/apjhm.v19i1.2567
2024
Journal Article
It was like going to a battlefield: lived experience of frontline nurses supporting two hospitals in Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic
Zhou, Xiaoyun, Edirippuige, Sisira, Snoswell, Centaine L., Bambling, Matthew, Liu, Dongying, Smith, Anthony C. and Bai, Xuejun (2024). It was like going to a battlefield: lived experience of frontline nurses supporting two hospitals in Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sage Open Nursing, 10 23779608241253977, 23779608241253977. doi: 10.1177/23779608241253977
2024
Journal Article
General practitioner preferences for telehealth consultations in Australia: a pilot survey and discrete choice experiment
De Guzman, Keshia R., Smith, Anthony C. and Snoswell, Centaine L. (2024). General practitioner preferences for telehealth consultations in Australia: a pilot survey and discrete choice experiment. Primary Health Care Research and Development, 25 e28, e28. doi: 10.1017/s1463423624000136
2024
Journal Article
Telephone versus video consultations: A systematic review of comparative effectiveness studies and guidance for choosing the most appropriate modality
Caffery, Liam J., De Camargo Catapan, Soraia, Taylor, Monica L., Kelly, Jaimon T., Haydon, Helen M., Smith, Anthony C. and Snoswell, Centaine L. (2024). Telephone versus video consultations: A systematic review of comparative effectiveness studies and guidance for choosing the most appropriate modality. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1357633X241232464. doi: 10.1177/1357633x241232464
2024
Journal Article
Economic evaluations of telepharmacy services in non-cancer settings: a systematic review
De Guzman, Keshia R., Gavanescu, Danielle, Smith, Anthony C. and Snoswell, Centaine L. (2024). Economic evaluations of telepharmacy services in non-cancer settings: a systematic review. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 20 (3), 246-254. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.01.002
2024
Journal Article
Patient and families’ perspectives on telepalliative care: a systematic integrative review
Hayes Bauer, Eithne, Schultz, Anders Nikolai Ørsted, Brandt, Frans, Smith, Anthony C., Bollig, Georg and Dieperink, Karin Brochstedt (2024). Patient and families’ perspectives on telepalliative care: a systematic integrative review. Palliative Medicine, 38 (1), 42-56. doi: 10.1177/02692163231217146
2023
Journal Article
Development and validation of the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire
Haydon, Helen M., Major, Taylor, Kelly, Jaimon T., Catapan, Soraia de C., Caffery, Liam J., Smith, Anthony C., Gallegos-Rejas, Victor, Thomas, Emma E., Banbury, Annie and Snoswell, Centaine L. (2023). Development and validation of the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 29 (10_suppl), 8S-15S. doi: 10.1177/1357633X231202279
2023
Journal Article
Does the requirement for an interpreter impact experience with telehealth modalities, acceptability and trust in telehealth? Results from a national survey including people requiring interpreter services
Gallegos-Rejas, Victor M., Kelly, Jaimon T., Snoswell, Centaine L., Haydon, Helen M., Banbury, Annie, Thomas, Emma E., Major, Taylor, Caffery, Liam J., Smith, Anthony C. and de Camargo Catapan, Soraia (2023). Does the requirement for an interpreter impact experience with telehealth modalities, acceptability and trust in telehealth? Results from a national survey including people requiring interpreter services. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 29 (10_suppl), 24S-29S. doi: 10.1177/1357633X231197945
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Anthony Smith is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Implementing Research Programs in Queensland Health Outer-Metropolitan and Regional Health Services
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebekah Eden
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Doctor Philosophy
The implementation and evaluation of a Telepharmacy model of care
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Liam Caffery, Associate Professor Chris Freeman
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Doctor Philosophy
Filling the gap on cardiovascular health: increasing equity through telehealth
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jaimon Kelly, Dr Emma Thomas
Completed supervision
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
An evaluation of a telehealth-based specialist consultation service for Indigenous people living with diabetes in Queensland
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Liam Caffery
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2018
Master Philosophy
Speech and language screening for children with medical complexity: A comparison of telepractice and in-person methods
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nigel Armfield
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Improving access to specialist paediatric services for children with palliative or complex needs: the potential of telehealth in the home
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nigel Armfield
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2011
Doctor Philosophy
Remote assessment and management of the critically ill infant by telemedicine: A novel approach to supporting the care of a vulnerable patient group
Principal Advisor
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2010
Doctor Philosophy
Email-based telemedicine: An investigation into service-delivery applications
Principal Advisor
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluation of the economic factors and clinician drivers impacting telehealth uptake and sustainability in Australian general practice settings
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Centaine Snoswell
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the Risk and Protective Factors for Burnout and Wellbeing of Staff Working in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: PICU Staff Wellbeing
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Helen Haydon
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
The Development and Evaluation of a Needs-based Planning Framework for Telemedicine Services
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nigel Armfield
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Trust Me, I'm a Doctor: Understanding Clinician's Experiences of Service Separation and Trust Formation in Telehealth
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nicole Hartley
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2013
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluation of a brief inpatient and community intervention to address suicide risk in Sri Lanka using mobile phones
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sisira Edirippulige
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Anthony Smith directly for media enquiries about:
- e-Health
- Health - online
- Mobile health screening
- Online Health
- Telehealth
- Telemedicine
- Telepaediatrics
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