![Professor Anthony Smith](/sites/default/files/profiles/1081.jpeg)
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; Impact Factor 6.344).
Professor Smith has more than 20 years of research experience involving the planning, implementation and evaluation of telemedicine applications for the benefit of clinicians and patients in regional and remote areas of Australia. Professor Smith has developed and sustained an exemplary international track record in the establishment and evaluation of telehealth, principally in paediatrics and more recently in the adult and aged care disciplines. Specific research interests include the evaluation of feasibility, cost-effectiveness and diagnostic accuracy of telemedicine applications. Major research achievements have included the evaluation of wireless (robot) videoconference systems in paediatric wards; and a community-based telemedicine health screening programme for Indigenous children in Queensland. Current projects include the evaluation of telehealth applications in primary care settings and Indigenous communities; the delivery of tele-rehabilitation services into primary schools; online mental health support services in remote locations; and discipline specific clinical telehealth services in Queensland.
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 remains an active ATHS committee member [2008-Present]. In the field of telehealth and virtual care, Prof Smith has over 220 publications, including 200 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. Top Researcher in the field of "Medical Informatics"- for work involving telehealth, digital health and virtual care. The Australian Research Awards, 2023
2. 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
3. Spirit of Reconciliation Award - for building research and community partnerships in Queensland. UQ Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards, 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
2023
Conference Publication
Does the digital divide impact acceptability and trust in telehealth? Results from a national survey including people requiring interpreter services
Gallegos-Rejas, Victor, Kelly, Jaimon, Snoswell, Centaine, Haydon, Helen, Banbury, Annie, Thomas, Emma, Major, Taylor, Caffery, Liam, Smith, Anthony and De Camargo Catapan, Soraia (2023). Does the digital divide impact acceptability and trust in telehealth? Results from a national survey including people requiring interpreter services. 23rd Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth, Adelaide, SA Australia, 27 - 29 November 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Development and validation of the Research-based Acceptability Questionnaire (RAQ)
Haydon H.M., Major, T., Kelly, J., Catapan, S.C., Caffery, L., Smith, A.C., Gallegos-Rejas, V., Thomas, E.E., Banbury, A. and Snoswell, C.L. (2023). Development and validation of the Research-based Acceptability Questionnaire (RAQ). 23rd Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth (SFT-23), Adelaide, SA Australia, 27 - 29 November 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Trust and confidence in using telehealth by phone and video in people with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study
de Camargo Catapan, Soraia, Haydon, Helen, Hickman, Ingrid, Webb, Lindsey, Isbel, Nicole, Johnson, David, Campbell, Katrina, Mayr, Hannah, Canfell, Oliver, Scuffham, Paul, Caffery, Liam, Smith, Anthony and Kelly, Jaimon (2023). Trust and confidence in using telehealth by phone and video in people with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study. 23rd Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth, Adelaide, SA Australia, 27 - 29 November 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Development and validation of the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire
Major, T., Haydon, H., De Camargo Catapan, S., Kelly, J. T., Caffery, L., Smith, A., Gallegos Rejas, V., Thomas, E., Banbury, A. and Snoswell, C. (2023). Development and validation of the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire. Successes and Failures in Telehealth 2023, Adelaide, SA Australia, 27-29 November 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Development and validation of a survey instrument to measure patients’ trust and confidence in using telehealth
De Camargo Catapan, Soraia, Haydon, Helen, Hickman, Ingrid, Webb, Lindsey, Isbel, Nicole, Johnson, David, Campbell, Katrina, Mayr, Hannah, Canfell, Oliver, Scuffham, Paul, Caffery, Liam, Smith, Anthony and Kelly, Jaimon (2023). Development and validation of a survey instrument to measure patients’ trust and confidence in using telehealth. 23rd Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth, Adelaide, SA Australia, 27 - 29 November 2023. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
2023
Conference Publication
Cost-effectiveness of the remote patient monitoring program for First Nations peoples living with diabetes
Snoswell, Centaine L., Vitangcol, Kathryn, Haydon, Helen M., Gray, Len, Smith, Anthony C., Leedie, Floyd and Caffery, Liam (2023). Cost-effectiveness of the remote patient monitoring program for First Nations peoples living with diabetes. 23rd Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth (SFT-23), Adelaide, SA Australia, 27 - 29 November 2023.
2023
Journal Article
The feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of an app-based intervention (the Coping Camp) in reducing stress among Chinese school adolescents: a cluster randomised controlled trial
Zhou, Xiaoyun, Edirippulige, Sisira, Jones, Andrew, Bai, Xuejun, Smith, Anthony C. and Bambling, Matthew (2023). The feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of an app-based intervention (the Coping Camp) in reducing stress among Chinese school adolescents: a cluster randomised controlled trial. PLoS One, 18 (11) e0294119, 1-20. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294119
2023
Conference Publication
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 service
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 service. 2023 Successes and Failures in Telehealth (SFT-23) Conference, Adelaide, SA Australia, 27-29 November 2023.
2023
Journal Article
Trust and confidence in using telehealth in people with chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study
Catapan, Soraia de Camargo, Haydon, Helen M., Hickman, Ingrid J., Webb, Lindsey, Isbel, Nicole, Johnson, David, Campbell, Katrina L., Mayr, Hannah L., Canfell, Oliver, Scuffham, Paul, Burton, Nicola, Caffery, Liam J., Smith, Anthony C. and Kelly, Jaimon T. (2023). Trust and confidence in using telehealth in people with chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 29 (10_suppl), 16S-23S. doi: 10.1177/1357633x231202275
2023
Journal Article
A cross-sectional study exploring equity of access to telehealth in culturally and linguistically diverse communities in a major health service
Gallegos-Rejas, Victor M., Kelly, Jaimon T., Lucas, Karen, Snoswell, Centaine L., Haydon, Helen M., Pager, Sue, Smith, Anthony C. and Thomas, Emma E. (2023). A cross-sectional study exploring equity of access to telehealth in culturally and linguistically diverse communities in a major health service. Australian Health Review, 47 (6), 721-728. doi: 10.1071/ah23125
2023
Journal Article
Exploring factors affecting Chinese adolescents’ perceived usefulness and engagement with a stress management app: a qualitative study
Zhou, Xiaoyun, Bambling, Matthew, Bai, Xuejun, Smith, Anthony C. and Edirippulige, Sisira (2023). Exploring factors affecting Chinese adolescents’ perceived usefulness and engagement with a stress management app: a qualitative study. Frontiers in Psychology, 14 1249093, 1249093. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1249093
2023
Conference Publication
A systematic review of economic evaluations of telepharmacy services in non-cancer settings
De Guzman, Keshia, Gavanescu, Danielle, Smith, Anthony and Snoswell, Centaine (2023). A systematic review of economic evaluations of telepharmacy services in non-cancer settings. Medicines Management 2023, the 47th SHPA National Conference, Cairns, QLD Australia, 2-4 November 2023.
2023
Journal Article
Factors that may threaten or protect the wellbeing of staff working in paediatric intensive care environments
Crowe, Liz, Young, Jeanine, Smith, Anthony C. and Haydon, Helen M. (2023). Factors that may threaten or protect the wellbeing of staff working in paediatric intensive care environments. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 78 103476, 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.iccn.2023.103476
2023
Conference Publication
Your PAAL; evaluation of a pharmacist-led after-hours advice line
Barwick, Anna, Freeman, Chris, Caffery, Liam and Smith, Anthony (2023). Your PAAL; evaluation of a pharmacist-led after-hours advice line. FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brisbane, QLD. Australia, 24-28 September 2023.
2023
Journal Article
Consumers' experiences, preferences, and perceptions of effectiveness in using telehealth for cancer care in Australia
Banbury, Annie, Taylor, Monica, Caffery, Liam, Der Vartanian, Carolyn, Haydon, Helen, Mendis, Roshni, Ng, Kawai and Smith, Anthony (2023). Consumers' experiences, preferences, and perceptions of effectiveness in using telehealth for cancer care in Australia. Asia - Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 19 (6), 752-761. doi: 10.1111/ajco.14002
2023
Journal Article
Telehealth adoption in cancer clinical trials: an Australian perspective
Thomas, Emma E., Kelly, Jaimon T., Taylor, Monica L., Mendis, Roshni, Banbury, Annie, Haydon, Helen, Catto, Janessa, Der Vartanian, Carolyn, Smith, Anthony C. and Caffery, Liam J. (2023). Telehealth adoption in cancer clinical trials: an Australian perspective. Asia - Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 19 (4), 549-558. doi: 10.1111/ajco.13899
2023
Journal Article
Bringing researchers to the consumer table: the process and outcomes of a consumer roundtable on telehealth
Jenkinson, Bec, Maxwell, Jo, Bell, Alison, Young, Adrienne, Smith, Anthony C., Christoffersen, Anja, Trevor, Dale, Young, Leonie and Russell, Trevor (2023). Bringing researchers to the consumer table: the process and outcomes of a consumer roundtable on telehealth. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1357633X231188536. doi: 10.1177/1357633x231188536
2023
Conference Publication
Pharmacist After hours Advice Line (PAAL) in Tasmania; service evaluation
Barwick, Anna, Freeman, Christopher, Caffery, Liam and Smith, Anthony (2023). Pharmacist After hours Advice Line (PAAL) in Tasmania; service evaluation. Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA23), Sydney, NSW, Australia, 28-30 July 2023.
2023
Journal Article
2022 JTT statistics and acknowledgements
Smith, Anthony C. and Doolittle, Gary (2023). 2022 JTT statistics and acknowledgements. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 29 (7), 501-503. doi: 10.1177/1357633x231171315
2023
Journal Article
Artificial intelligence: augmenting telehealth with large language models
Snoswell, Centaine L., Snoswell, Aaron J., Kelly, Jaimon T., Caffery, Liam J. and Smith, Anthony C. (2023). Artificial intelligence: augmenting telehealth with large language models. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1357633X2311690. doi: 10.1177/1357633x231169055
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Anthony Smith is:
- Available for supervision
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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: Associate Professor Liam Caffery, Associate Professor Chris Freeman
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Doctor Philosophy
Filling the gap on cardiovascular health: increasing equity trough 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: Associate 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: Professor Nicole Gillespie, 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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