Q&A

Jayne Barclay (RGS 2003)

Jayne was one of 25 women honoured for outstanding achievements and contributions in digital health at the 2022 Brilliant Women in Digital Health Awards. Jayne is the Director of Digital Health and Informatics at Mater.

What does it mean receiving this award?

JB: This award was a great opportunity to be showcased for some of the recent work I have accomplished, alongside 24 other very talented women in the industry. The award spans women from roles across areas such as medical research, technology start-ups, and health and aged care organisations. The technology industry is often a very male dominated field, with these awards it’s creating an opportunity to connect, share, inspire and celebrate the often-under-recognised great work of women in the industry. This is the second year the awards have been running, and I feel very humbled to be included as one of the 2022 recipients.

Where did your early interest in the healthcare system stem from?

JB: From a young age I was interested in working in healthcare and started my professional career as a Radiographer. My initial interest was driven by being able to work in a system where every day you contribute to helping people and as a team are striving to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

You entered the workforce as a radiographer, how did you branch into this field and why?

JB: I started my professional career as a Radiographer, and worked across a number of different hospitals and private clinics in Queensland and Victoria. My generation of Radiographers have been raised on digital technologies and techniques, which was not common of other health professions at the time. While I was working in Melbourne, I was exposed to a number of new technologies that really sparked my interest in pursuing the technology side of the role further. An opportunity came up to work for a national health company (now Healius) working alongside technologists and clinicians to develop and implement Radiology software, I moved back to Brisbane to take up the role. Several roles and a Masters in Information Technology later, I have found myself enjoying a very different career path to what I had every imagined leaving school. It is challenging and rewarding in similar ways to Radiography, but you are contributing to the healthcare team in a different way.

When people talk about “digital” many students think you have to be a genius with computers?

JB: The notion of the word digital has changed so much in the past 20 years. There is now a very broad array of skills and roles that contribute to the digital ecosystem, where the very technical roles are equally important as those roles that are understanding user experience and design. As part of my post graduate studies, I was able to focus on the skills I wanted to gain, including network design, data management and business process management. I didn’t learn to code or build fix device components. The teams that I work with span a broad range of roles and skills that come together to build an effective digital team. These include building and supporting our digital communication networks, computer devices and developing bespoke software applications. A role that has emerged and is very important is my line of work is the Clinical Informatician, who need to not only have a strong clinical background, but are skilled in communication, problem-solving and analysis. The best thing about working in digital is there really is a role for everyone.

What drives you to make a difference in digital health?

JB: Growing up in a regional city, access to specialist care and services was an issue that challenged my immediate family, and I am driven by the opportunities digital health creates to help advance health equity. One of the most exciting things about working in digital health is the rapidly evolving technologies and opportunities to improve. Improving people’s access to healthcare, improving patient’s health outcomes, improving the sustainability of the healthcare system through new digitally enabled models of care. I have found some great peers and mentors in the digital health community and am very active in several industry bodies, all of which share the same passion to help people live healthier lives.

How important is the growth in this field for regional areas around Australia?

JB: Digital is and will continue to be a very important enabler to break down some of the barriers that people living in regional areas face accessing healthcare services. As part of my role at Mater, I led the initiative for Mater to use technology to care for Covid-19 patients at home. The new ‘virtual’ care monitoring system enabled almost 5,000 referred patients to be cared for at home (particularly high-risk pregnancies), taking significant pressure off the hospital system. Building off the success of this first virtual care initiative at Mater, I have more recently led the implementation of Australia’s first emergency neonatal telehealth support for Mater’s private hospitals in Mackay and Rockhampton. I have recently been awarded admission to start my PhD with the University of Queensland School of Medicine, with my research focusing on the utilisation of virtual models of care to support more timely access to specialist outpatient appointments. My research is under a collaborative scholarship by UQ and Queensland Health to produce new research on digital health topics of central importance to Queensland Health and nationally. I hope that my research will help contribute to improving healthcare services for regional Australia.

What’s your advice to people either already working, or entering, the workforce and how they can discover new passions within that career?

JB: My advice is to not look for that one door, but to try all the doors, the windows, and the vents! Don’t let your fear of failure or the unknown stop you from realising your potential and trying something different or new. Find those things that excite you and chase what drives that passion. Surround yourself with inspirational leaders and mentors. Lastly, don’t wait for ‘the right time’, take or make those opportunities as they arise, they might not come by again.