Dr James Brown1, Dr Jessica Lai1
1SWSLHD Menopause Service, Campbelltown, Australia
Biography:
Dr James Brown is a gynaecologist and research with a special interest in menopause and fertility. He is currently the medical co-lead developing the SWSLHD Menopause Hub, and consults at the Women's Health Research Institute of Australia (WHRIA). James has published many peer-reviewed articles and has served on many committees to develop policy and care models in women's health. He's currently completing his PhD in Health Economics at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation at UTS. He teaches at Western Sydney University, where he is a Senior Lecturer. James is also a member of the RANZCOG Federal Council.
Abstract:
Introduction:
The South-West Specialist Menopause Service (SMS) is the first and only 100% virtual menopause hub, covering four local health districts.
This research encompasses the initial scoping review that informed the development of this innovative service, and retrospectively analyses the first 365 days of clinical care.
Aims:
-Scoping review of virtual women’s health care best practices.
-Analyse 12 months of clinical service for trends in demographic, morbidity, and treatment.
Methods:
Scoping review: We searched electronic and grey literature databases for papers that described virtual women’s health service frameworks.
Analysis: We performed a retrospective, descriptive cohort study of all women referred or seen in the SMS between March 2024 and March 2025.
Results:
The scoping review revealed limited precedent for virtual services in women’s health, and identified key areas of vulnerability that were addressed in the design of the service.
The 365-day analysis investigated over 1,000 patient encounters and significant differences in care requirements and patterns of treatment between sub-groups.
Discussion:
The SMS serves as an important proof of concept for future virtual women’s health services. This study presents empirical evidence from the first 365 days of the SMS to illustrate the challenges and outcomes of its initial implementation.