A better way to practice medicine: My Emergency Doctor and Heidi partnership reshaping healthcare

Background

My Emergency Doctor (MED), was founded in 2016 out of the realisation that “there has to be a better way to practice medicine.” MED’s mission is to bridge urgent care gaps by connecting patients, hospitals, and clinicians seamlessly via telehealth - 24/7 - anywhere in Australia and beyond. 

MED chose Heidi to partner with on executing their mission, making care more accessible together whilst also caring for the wellbeing of clinicians themselves.

“I cannot imagine my consultations without Heidi anymore.” - FACEM at MED

The Challenges

Picture a worried mother in a fluorescent-lit corridor, cradling her feverish baby after four agonising hours in a crowded emergency department. The little one is restless, and her own anxiety is mounting with each passing minute. Scenes like this have become all too common across Australia’s healthcare landscape. 

Staffing shortages and burnout

“It’s not sustainable to be on the ground 24/7.” - Jasmina Dimitrijevic, Marketing Manager at MED

Hospitals often struggle to maintain enough senior medical staff, especially at night or during peak seasons. Many rural facilities are nurse-led, lacking an onsite senior doctor to address urgent patient needs. Clinicians themselves face burnout, compounded by long hours and administrative burdens that can extend well beyond their scheduled shifts.

Rural and remote hurdles

 Patients in remote Australian regions may have to travel up to 15-20 hours just to see a specialist. Overcrowded metropolitan hospitals add another layer of complexity, as transferring patients from rural areas often contributes to lengthier ED wait times and higher costs.

Growing demand for mental health services

Psychological and psychiatric consults are on the rise, and waitlists can extend for weeks or months. For practitioners, the required documentation can consume hours beyond face-to-face time.

The Solution

Watching this play out in real time, MED’s founder - a practicing FACEM - realised, “There has to be a better way.”

Building a “virtual hospital”

MED’s core telehealth platform offers on-demand access to senior emergency physicians (FACEMs), as well as the ability to schedule appointments with GPs, psychiatrists, cardiologists, and geriatricians over a phone or video call. Hospitals, primary health networks, and even residential aged care facilities can connect with a specialist immediately, no long-term staffing or overhead required.

Where Heidi comes in

Streamlining consults is only half the battle; the other half is accurate, efficient documentation. That’s where Heidi enters the picture.

Real-time documentation

Heidi transcribes during the actual telehealth consultation, enabling clinicians to focus fully on patient interaction.

“If you don’t have to spend two hours writing a report after a 40-minute consult, that’s a huge plus.” - MED’s Senior Psychiatrist

High adoption & happy clinicians

An impressive 77% of MED clinicians started using Heidi within three weeks of rollout.

“Heidi is easy to work with, the training required is minimal. And seeing a professional medical summary created after a consult with a patient, which filters out all the unnecessary details and includes clear plans and patient instructions… is a game changer.”  - Tatiana Lowe, Medical Director and FACEM at MED

Custom templates & accessibility anywhere

Heidi scales with MED, empowering each specialist with a powerful suite of templates tailored to their needs - as detailed or specific as they like them.

“Just had a play with it, it's cool! Works really well, I like the detailed version of notes.” - FACEM at MED

Plus, clinicians can access Heidi wherever they are, making practicing medicine more accessible and sustainable.

“The app has worked well with my headphones…picking up vital signs now without any issues.” - FACEM at MED

With MED's clinicians working from all over the world, from Uganda to Sweden to those living out their dreams of sailing the world, Heidi meets them wherever they are.

Recruitment & retention benefits

MED actively highlights Heidi to new recruits, emphasising how it saves time and reduces clerical strain.

We speak about Heidi when we’re out recruiting,” Amy Hill, MED’s Commercial Director, says. 

“If you can talk to a psychologist or a psychiatrist and say, you don’t have to be doing reporting for 2hrs after a 40min consultation, we have tools here to help to support you and minimise that to 20 minutes - that’s a huge recruitment plus for us.”

What’s Next

MED’s vision is bold yet simple: remove geographical barriers, reduce clinician burnout, and bring the best possible care to every patient, no matter how remote. Heidi is vital to that vision, creating seamless clinical documentation that supports speed and accuracy.

“If the consultation time has already reduced by just three minutes each call, that adds up fast across hundreds of daily consultations.” - Chantel Gallagher, MED Operations Manager 

• Continued expansion: Beyond emergency care, MED now offers geriatric and cardiology telehealth, plus robust primary and mental health services through acquired arms like GP2U and Psych2U, with many more to come.
• Reimagining work-life balance: With telehealth and AI-driven documentation working hand in hand, MED hopes more clinicians will feel empowered to remain in the workforce - whether they’re parents caring for young children or doctors who want to travel.

Ultimately, MED and Heidi share a simple goal: make healthcare more sustainable, flexible, and deeply human for both patients and providers. As one clinician remarked, “We don’t introduce much new technology here, but Heidi’s been a success, a tool that truly serves the practice of medicine.”

The takeaway is clear: medicine can and should be practiced differently to make it more sustainable. So, if you’re ready to reclaim precious hours from paperwork—and deliver outstanding telehealth care — try Heidi for yourself.