My Health Record update for Medical Specialists -
March 2020 edition

(Please share this resource with your colleagues)

WHAT'S NEW

Central & Eastern Sydney PHN (CESPHN) is working closely with the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) to assist with the registration and implementation of My Health Record (MHR) between health professionals in our region, with a particular focus on medical specialists.

My Health Record statistics

Within our region there are currently over 530 general practices, 290 pharmacies and 60 medical specialist practices connected to MHR.

Nationwide, as at December 2019, there were 22.68 million Australians with a My Health Record with 94 per cent of public hospital beds, 90 per cent of GPs and 90 per cent of pharmacies registered. We are seeing increased usage (viewing and uploading) by clinicians, with general practices leading the way.

More than 100 million documents were uploaded in December 2019 alone, with the number of records containing clinical or medicine information increased by more than 500,000 from November to December 2019.

See here for the latest statistics.

Benefits for medical specialists

The digital health space is rapidly growing and evolving in Australia and now is a great time to realise and embrace the benefits to patients, healthcare providers and the healthcare system.

Below is a video featuring specialists reflecting on the benefits and uses of My Health Record in specialist practice and some of the myths and misconceptions they’ve heard from their colleagues and patients.

By connecting to MHR, medical specialists could benefit from:

• Better access to key health information to support clinical decision making for patients
• Reduction in unnecessary duplication of tests, scans, diagnostics
• Less administrative burden gathering information from GPs, hospitals, patients and other specialists
• Minimised risk of incomplete or misplaced clinical information, poor communication and privacy and security issues that comes with paperwork and the fax
• Better patient coordination of care and health outcomes

How can I connect to My Health Record?

There are two ways to access MHR:

1. Using a conformant clinical information system (CIS) – allows for uploading, viewing and downloading of documents.

Following an open approach to market, the ADHA has partnered with the following CIS organisations to seamlessly and securely integrate with MHR by February 2021.

2. Using the National Provider Portal (NPP) – only allows for viewing and downloading a patient’s MHR securely via a web browser (log in via PRODA), but not uploading. This can be used in cases where a specialist does not have conformant CIS.

Current conformant software includes Genie, Medical Director, Best Practice. If your software is not yet conformant, it is recommended that you register your practice with MHR now, so that once it becomes conformant you are prepared to have your software vendor install it on your CIS.

Upcoming webinars 

My Health Record online webinar hosted by RACP and the ADHA

Join Prof Steven Boyages who will be interviewing Carey Doolan from the Australian Digital Health Agency to provide practical advice to help you register and upload to My Health Record.

Date: 4 March 2020 at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Click here to register.

Upcoming events

Interested in joining the conversation on clinical integration in aged care? Join us at a CESPHN and ADHA networking event where we will discuss a range of emerging and complementary digital health technologies such as MHR, secure messaging and telehealth which can be utilised to improve care coordination within the digital health sector.

Event: Improving care coordination in aged care

Target audience: RACF staff, medical practitioners, specialists, allied health providers

Date: Thursday 26 March 6.30 pm registration, 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm networking and presentations

Location: Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Level 5 Education Centre, 119-143 Missenden Road Camperdown (free parking available)

There are no costs or membership requirements for healthcare professionals working within the CESPHN region.

Click here to download the flyer.

Click here to register for the event.

Future digital health initiatives

Did you know there are exciting digital health initiatives currently underway including:

Secure messaging

The ADHA has been working closely with software vendors and industry to increase the capability of secure messaging between different secure messaging products to support clinical workflows.

There will be a single federated directory where healthcare providers will be able to search for other healthcare providers from within their chosen Secure messaging system, enabling a secure, easy and reliable exchange of clinical information.

Electronic paperless prescribing of medicines

By 2022 there will be digitally enabled paper free options for all medication management in Australia. People will be able to digitally request their medications online, and all prescribers and pharmacists will have access to electronic prescribing and dispensing, increasing convenience for people filling prescriptions and improving overall safety.

Changes to Commonwealth legislation commenced on 31 October 2019 recognising an electronic prescription as an alternative legal form by which medicines can be supplied under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

Click here for more information.