This year, the awards ceremony was held in May in Paris, and Telecare’s Lina Xu was one of the three finalists from the Oceania region. Many hours of preparation and presentations later, Lina took home the 2nd place award, a remarkable achievement that showcased her outstanding talent.
The Cartier Women’s Initiative was founded in 2006 and seeks to empower women impact entrepreneurs from countries all over the globe that have a sustainable social and/or environmental influence. It is a prestigious worldwide entrepreneurship event, awarding around AU$152,000 (US$100,000) for first place, AU$91,000 (US$60,000) for second place and AU$45,000 (US$30,000) for third place.
The Cartier Women’s Awards plays an important role in celebrating the remarkable achievements of various female entrepreneurs. It provides support, resources and a global platform for exceptional individuals to display the positive changes they have implemented in their communities. Cartier Women’s Awards focuses on addressing key issues such as gender equality, education, sustainability and healthcare.
Lina Xu is one of the co-founders for Telecare, alongside CEO Michael Wang, nephrologist Dr Christopher Sia and general practitioner Dr Raymond Wen. As Australia’s largest virtual clinic, Telecare supports over a hundred specialists across 33 different specialties. It aims to bring quality healthcare to all Australians, particularly those in regional and rural areas, including remote places such as Christmas Islands and Norfolk Islands. Fundamentally, the difference between Telecare and other companies lies within its priority to give precedence to secondary and specialists care, utilising medical professionals and GP clinics to reach patients and offer faster outpatient appointments.
When asked why she wanted to start the company, Lina mentioned that she was a new immigrant and a new mum with two young children and was looking for an avenue to make a significant contribution as a member of the new society she now calls home. She also noted that before the pandemic, technology adoption was so behind and a lot of processes were not built to support virtual care delivery. She went on to explain that “We [the founders] had to start from scratch and put together a system to enable virtual delivery of care.”.
Although the company was founded in 2019, it grew exponentially when lockdowns due to COVID-19 began. Lina noted that the Federal government, Medicare and other funding bodies made sure to support and endorse telehealth virtual care through incentives and regulations which helped to educate patients, clinicians and hospitals.
Lina’s ability to recognise one of Australia’s most pressing challenges and rapidly drafting up a solution enabled her to have a clear vision of what she wanted for the company and the changes she wanted to make to Australia’s medical scene.
As the Chief Operating Officer of Telecare, Lina has been the main driving force of all strategic operational processes, directly contributing to the company’s growth and success. Her passion and ambition for Telecare has been evident in various aspects of the company’s achievements, from partnering with 15 public hospitals to clinching the company’s first major contract with Mackay Base Hospital in Queensland. This ground-breaking advancement has enabled under-served Australians to obtain the healthcare they so desperately needed.
Lina has justifiably earned the 2nd place at the Cartier Women’s Awards for her outstanding contributions to the healthcare industry through Telecare. By taking advantage of technology to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare and medical support, Lina has opened the door of possibilities to more opportunities. Because of her work, more patients have been able to access vital healthcare treatments and resources. With a decisive and influential leader like Lina at its forefront, Telecare will be able to overcome obstacles and achieve new heights, transforming Australia’s medical scene and paving the way for future telehealth services.
