This announcement was also featured in Pulse+IT News.
Touchstone Life Care and Consultmed – two clinician-led Australian digital health companies, have announced a strategic partnership to connect digital referrals and advance care planning into a single, interoperable solution – accelerating the shift toward a truly integrated and person-centred digital health system.
The collaboration supports Australia’s move to a national digital health infrastructure that is connected, patient-directed, and compliant with upcoming reforms. The joint platform will streamline communication between aged care, hospitals, general practice, and families, ensuring clinical decisions are informed by both up-to-date health records and each person’s documented care preferences.
Despite years of policy focus, only 6% of Australians have a formal Advance Care Directive, with no discernible improvement over the past decade. Australians continue to face barriers: paper forms, fragmented systems, and inaccessible wishes at critical moments. This partnership directly addresses those challenges with one interoperable platform for both digital referrals and advance care plans, real-time sharing of care information across the health system — turning good intentions into coordinated, person-centred action.
“We are connecting the dots between referrals, care planning, and digital compliance,” said Dr. Merran Cooper, CEO of Touchstone Life Care. “Together, we’re supporting the aged care sector with a secure digital health infrastructure that’s compliant, interoperable, and built on a human rights approach to care.”
The partnership comes as aged care providers prepare for sweeping sector reforms. From 1 November 2025, the New Aged Care Act and Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards will require registered providers to implement robust, person-centred advance care planning processes. The combined solution directly aligns with:
- My Health Record integration
- Health Connect interoperability pathways
- Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) architecture
- Aged care reform mandates
- Human rights-based care delivery
“We’re not just solving workflow issues – we’re contributing to the national effort to build a smarter, safer, more connected health system,” said A/Prof Vikram Palit, CEO of Consultmed and a consultant paediatrician. “This partnership empowers clinicians and honours patient choice. By working closely with government and aligning with industry standards, we hope to contribute to the creation of a national digital ecosystem. This will ensure that referrals, clinical handovers and advance care plans are securely available across the care journey, supporting safer, more coordinated care for all Australians.”
About Touchstone Life Care
Securely store and share your Advance Care Directive or Goals of Care document.
We are Australia’s leading, and only FHIR-enabled, secure Health Information Exchange solution for Advance Care Planning documents, Power of Attorney and other custodian and consent forms. Established in 2019, our vision is to be world’s leading technology platform for digital care planning and documentation with a purpose to minimise anxiety, stress and suffering for those facing end-of-life and for those supporting them – their families, care providers and medical teams. We strive to positively impact the experience of everyone involved at the end-of-life – the care providers, families, the individual and medical teams – by helping ensure a person’s choices are clear and available to those who matter, at the right time.
About Consultmed
Consultmed is a pioneering Australian health technology company that provides a comprehensive suite of digital solutions for e referrals, virtual triage, consent, and clinical Advice & Guidance™. Driven by clinicians, Consultmed’s enterprise grade software streamlines administrative tasks, enhances communication among healthcare providers and optimises the patient pathway for a more efficient and connected healthcare experience. Key features include: Digital referral management, Clinical Advice & Guidance™, Virtual triage, Secure inbound and outbound messaging, Digital forms, reports and consents. These capabilities are complemented by Consultpilot AI – Consultmed’s intelligent assistant designed to simplify document handling and automate paper workflows.
Interested in partnering?
Hospitals, PHNs, aged care providers and community health organisations are invited to collaborate with Consultmed and Touchstone Life Care to bring these connected digital solutions to their patients and communities.
