Tasmania Selects Epic as It Enters Next Phase of Digital Health Modernization

Australia’s digital health momentum is accelerating, with Tasmania and Victoria making high-impact moves to modernize clinical infrastructure and virtual care capacity. These investments mark a shift from pilot-scale digitization to enterprise-grade platforms capable of transforming care access, coordination, and system performance across state-run health services.

In Tasmania, Epic Systems has been selected as the vendor for a statewide electronic medical record system, the centerpiece of the island state’s A$476 million (USD $306 million) 10-year digital transformation strategy. The project, now entering its second phase which is codenamed Bluegum, in reference to Tasmania’s floral emblem, will begin formal implementation by May 2026, according to the Tasmanian Department of Health.

This next phase builds on foundational upgrades laid since 2022, including wide-scale wireless connectivity expansion in remote areas and the launch of a real-time clinical alerting system. The Epic-based EMR rollout will unify health data access across the state’s hospitals and health services, offering a singular longitudinal view of patient records regardless of location.

But the investment isn’t just about consolidating data. The Bluegum stage includes integrated clinical systems, an ambulance ePCR platform, health information portals for both providers and patients, and tools for optimizing flow, scheduling, and demand management across care settings. Together, these components are designed to reduce system friction and support real-time coordination of care.

Meanwhile, Tasmania is also investing in high-precision surgical capacity. The government has allocated A$4.7 million (USD $3 million) to deliver a robotic surgery system to Launceston General Hospital. The system will initially support urology and gynecology procedures and is expected to reduce hospital stay durations, improve surgical throughput, and free up inpatient beds more quickly. The funding follows a broader push across Australia to adopt surgical robotics in regional health hubs to reduce reliance on transfers to metro facilities.

In Victoria, scale is the name of the game. The state’s 2025 budget includes a landmark A$437 million (USD $280 million) allocation to make the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) permanent—and significantly larger. Launched in 2022 and operated by Northern Health, the VVED has proven effective at preventing low-acuity hospital visits. According to government figures, more than 80 percent of patients assessed through the platform have avoided unnecessary ED trips altogether.

The new funding will expand the service to handle 1,750 patients daily by 2028, nearly triple its current volume, and increase direct intake from paramedics, aged care facilities, primary care networks, and nurse triage lines. This scale-up positions VVED not merely as a stopgap for overwhelmed EDs, but as a core channel for unscheduled care delivery in Victoria’s broader clinical ecosystem.

Taken together, these announcements suggest that Australia’s state health authorities are moving decisively beyond isolated pilots and legacy upgrades. Instead, they are embracing whole-of-system digitization which is anchored in clinical integration, real-time access, and digital-first design. For health systems worldwide seeking examples of how to operationalize virtual care and modern health records at scale, Tasmania and Victoria are fast becoming reference cases.