New digital maternity tool launched by Gold Coast Health, first in Australia
30 Sep 2025
The MAQ delivers tailored care pathways based on each woman’s responses, helping clinicians provide more responsive, individualised care.
“It was very simple, easy to use and I could do it from the comfort of my home,” said mother-of-two Jacqueline.
“When I went into my consultations, my midwife was already up to speed on how I was feeling. I didn’t have to keep repeating myself, which helped me feel less anxious and more supported.”
The tool gives clinicians real-time insights, alerts, and notifications, triggering customised information or additional support if needed. This enables precision-based, patient-centred care while reducing administrative tasks during appointments.
“Midwives found it clinically useful for prompting discussions and care planning,” said Assistant Director of Midwifery Research Dr Valerie Slavin.
“MAQ is a key asset for supporting pregnant and postpartum women, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. We’re setting the standard for maternity care across Australia.”
During a year-long pilot, 100 per cent of users reported a positive experience, with the tool helping tailor care to individual needs.
The $1 million initiative was supported by $200,000 in seed funding from the Office of the Chief Midwife Officer, Gold Coast Health, the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), and Griffith University. MAQ was co-developed over eight years with input from clinicians and consumer advisory groups.
It is the first tool in Australia fully aligned with the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) standards, helping improve patient quality of life. It complements existing systems such as PREMs (Patient-Reported Experience Measures) and PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures) used to gather feedback about care experiences.
Source: Gold Coast Health
