For Victorian (Australia) users of  Bp Premier, Bp VIP.net, VIP Gold and Bp Allied

The implementation of SafeScript is scheduled to start later in 2018. It is important for all Victorian clinicians to be aware of some regulatory changes that will help them prepare for the implementation of SafeScript.
Effective from 2nd July 2018, Prescribers are required to include the patient's date of birth on all prescriptions for medicines monitored through the system. These medications include:
• All Schedule 8 medicines
• Selected Schedule 4 medicines (Benzodiazepines, Z-drugs: Zolpidem and Zopiclone, Quetiapine and Codeine)

For customers using Bp Premier 

The patients DOB currently prints for all Schedule 8 and Schedule 11 drugs. A revised Indigo build will be available on our website in the coming weeks that will include the patients DOB on all prescriptions to meet the new requirements.

For customers using Bp VIP.net

A regular and authority prescription template will be made available by our live update system. These templates will include the DOB field by default. For customers who have created custom prescription templates, click here to access instructions on updating the layout.

For customers using VIP Gold  

A regular and authority prescription template will be made available by our live update system. These templates will include the DOB field by default. For customers who have created custom prescription templates, we will be contacting you shortly with the instructions.

Further changes will be communicated later in the year as this project progresses, including the communication of any key changes planned to be incorporated into our suite of medical products to support this important initiative.  Keep a look out for Elevate email notifications.

Further information regarding the Safe Script project can be found on the Victoria State Government website accessible here.

This is the fourth of our monthly Best Practice Health Check Surveys - your opportunity to give us your views on Best Practice Software - what we're doing well, what needs improvement and what you'd like to see for the future.

This month we’d like to know how you access our Bp Learning services and your views on what you like and how we can improve our service to you.

Please take a few minutes to fill in our survey and go in the Draw to win a $50 Gift Card here.

For Australian users of Bp Premier

An integrated SMS solution makes workflows easier, efficient and cost-effective which is good for your practice and good for your patients.

Here are just some of the benefits in Bp Premier Indigo:
• Save costs by reducing “patient no shows”
• Integrates into the Bp Premier Management Appointment module
• Seamless two-way SMS communications allows patients to confirm an appointment via SMS with a simple Yes reply
• Free delivery reports
• Dedicated numbers available

And there are even more benefits coming soon with our next release of Bp Premier, Indigo Service Pack 1 including:
o The ability to directly SMS patients from the Inbox
o  Follow-up of patient results will be made easier with the inclusion of our Bp SMS feature available in the Follow up Inbox
o Reminders can now be sent to consented patients using Bp SMS
o Utilities Search -  utilise our fantastic inbuilt search tool to identify particular groups of patients and contact them securely using our Bp SMS service

And new Bp SMS customers will receive 1,000 SMS Credits upon registration. To find out more click here to visit our website or contact our Sales team on 1300 40 1111 (Option 1, then Option 2) or email.

For Australian and New Zealand users of Bp VIP.net 

Ruby is our next release of Bp VIP.net and is currently in Beta testing. You will be notified by an Elevate Notification when Ruby is ready for you to install in your Practice.

We will be running a series of free Bp Masterclasses for you and your staff to attend to view the enhancements in Bp VIP.net Ruby version.

There are significant enhancements in functionality including
• A ‘next appointment recall’
• Changes to using and running the Financial Summary
• Bp SMS Service
• Emailing Audit

When you have installed Ruby you will be able to switch your Memotxt service to Bp SMS.

Benefits of Bp SMS
• A robust and reliable service
• A reduction in the cost of sending text messages through Bp VIP.net

You will need to ring our Sales Team to activate your Bp SMS account. They will be able to lead you through how to change to the Bp SMS service. Your existing text messages and scheduling will continue to work as they currently do. The change is quick and easy and the benefits of switching to the new service will immediately show with a reduction of costs in sending Bp SMS text messages through Bp VIP.net.

You can contact our Bp Vip.net team on 1300 40 1111 in Australia and 0800 40 1111 in New Zealand and select option 2 for Specialist products; or email support.spau@bpsoftware.net (AUS) or support.spnz@bpsoftware.net (NZ).

For Australian users of Bp Allied

There are some great enhancements coming with Bp Allied, our allied health software currently available in Australia.

Look out for a Data Update for Bp Allied Version 5, with Service Pack 2 being released, featuring Argus secure messaging functionality and more.

And Bp Allied Version 6 is coming soon, with some exciting new functions:
- Tyro Healthpoint; new functionality available for private health fund claiming
- Bp SMS functionality; giving customers an exciting new SMS option - Best Practice’s own. Bp SMS enables stable SMS sending & receiving and a special offer for new Bp SMS customers
- Xero integration; simplify your accounting practices by using our new integration with Xero
- Plus new improvements and fixes to our Medicare functionality

For Australian users of Bp Premier

  Best Practice Software has developed a simple and easy to follow software function for General Practitioners to use when completing Australian Defence Force (ADF) Post-discharge Health Assessments, as part of our new Indigo release of Bp Premier. 

The interactive ADF Post-discharge GP Health Assessment Function will facilitate the assessment process and can be adapted to best fit a practice’s business needs.  The Assessment Function is now available as part of the Indigo release.

The ADF Post-discharge GP Health Assessment is a Medicare funded health screening assessment that aims to promote the mental and physical health of former Defence   Force Personnel, including Reserves.  This health assessment is available as a one-off to anyone who has served in the ADF and there are no time restrictions to accessing the assessment.  It is designed to assist doctors in the early identification and treatment of physical and/or mental health problems.

On completion of the health assessment the doctor identifies any services or referrals that may benefit the former serving member and provides advice relating to any issues that may require follow-up.

Bp Premier’s Indigo ADF Post-discharge GP Health Assessment Function provides a seamless and efficient experience for doctors and practice staff when working with the Health Assessment Function and existing Bp medical software functions including: social history, medications, medical conditions, the K10 test, and, other standardised tools.  Information that is recorded in the Assessment Function can also be extracted for referrals and other communication needs.

Further information regarding the ADF Post-discharge GP Health Assessment is available here.

For Australian customers of Bp Premier

With the upcoming release of Indigo SP1, Bp Premier users will soon have access to a comprehensive directory of Specialists and Allied Health practitioners within their software.

Kept up-to-date and independently verified, the new Referrals Directory is powered by HealthShare and will allow you to search for practitioners by name, specialty, sub-specialties, gap scheme participation and location. Further information on special interest areas, waiting times, languages spoken, qualifications, bio and fees will also available, where provided by a practitioner.

You will be able to pre-populate referral letters with all the relevant practitioner information with one click. For practice staff, utilising the HealthShare directory will reduce the administrative work involved with keeping your local address book up-to-date.

To schedule a training call once the Indigo SP1 update is released, register your interest here.

Changing technology and new global security threats pose a constant challenge to Practices in protecting their information systems and sensitive patient data.  While there are some great resources available to help guide Practices in developing good protocols, such as the RACGPs “Information Security in General Practice” accessible here, Practices should be aware of what data external third parties might also have access to.  

As well as internal policies and protocols for onsite team members, external parties (such as trusted hardware/network consultants, online appointment booking services and external data extraction tools for research or measuring Practice performance) who access the surgery remotely should also be carefully vetted and managed. 

Before engaging with a third-party provider, we recommend running through the following questions:

- What benefit is the third-party tool providing to your Practice and patients?
- What access are they requesting to your systems and how is this access managed?
- What are their recommended technical specifications?
- Is the system known to cause any performance impact on your database, for example during a data extraction process?
- What data do they have access to and what is it being used for?
- If they are storing data taken from your system, validate the data is located onshore as per Privacy Act
- What are the Terms and Conditions of use including their Privacy Policy?
- Do they need long term access? If not, how is access to your system disabled?
- Are there any hidden fees you need to be aware of?
- Will there be updates to the product and how frequent are these updates?
- What support and training does the third party provide?
- Is the third party product endorsed by Best Practice?

If you are concerned about who is currently accessing your database, we recommend:

- Auditing your system and doing a stock-take of all third-party systems currently accessing your database/environment. If you are unsure how to do this, we recommend speaking to your IT Provider
- Running through the above-mentioned points for each third party provider to ensure that the third party provider’s product and their access is in accordance with the Practice’s needs and requirements.
- If necessary, changing your Database Browser password and providing the new password to trusted and verified third party providers only

Further information regarding your Database Browser account can be found on our Bp Premier Knowledgebase, available here.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact our Software Support Team on 1300 40 1111 in Australia or 0800 40 1111 in New Zealand.

With the snow season in full swing, Bp Premier is once again happy to support Charlotte Pass Medical Clinic - the highest medical facility in Australia. Charlotte Pass Village, which lies snowbound in winter is located in the Kosciuszko National Park and the village at 1760m elevation is the highest in Australia.

Without the crowds of other resorts, it is a little quieter than most clinics leaving some time for the visiting doctors to get outside and enjoy the mountain air. 

And, like Dr Hodgkins pictured here, the doctors certainly have a great way of getting to work. Skiing and snowboarding do bring some risks and trauma is something all doctors at Charlotte Park Medical Centre must deal with well. As with any provision of medical services, good records are essential and Bp Premier has been the software of choice ever since the 4x6" cards were retired as the records system.

This week Best Practice welcomed someone who will be very familiar to those surgeries that used the popular medical billing software Pracsoft in the 1990’s.  Peter Murphy, who originally developed and commercialised Pracsoft, has joined Best Practice as an independent consultant, assisting with software development projects for the next 12 months. 

Peter brings a wealth of experience in working closely with surgeries to deliver optimum solutions for practices of all sizes.

CEO Dr Frank Pyefinch said Peter will be a wonderful asset to the team. “It’s great to have Peter on board.  We have always enjoyed an excellent professional relationship with Peter when he owned the Pracsoft business and we know he will be a fantastic mentor to our team” said Frank.

Bp Premier Data Updates

Best Practice creates and supplies through www.bpsoftware.net data update files to keep your system up to date.

These updates include:
• MBS and DVA Fee Updates
• PBS Changes
• MIMS drug database
• Medication listings
• Word Processor templates

Monthly updates only need to be downloaded and applied to the Server install of Bp Premier and the changes will become available to all machines.

Best Practice recommends that you familiarise key personnel in the practice that would be able to perform these updates so they can be routinely applied.

Instructions on how to download and apply the monthly data update can be found here for Lava installs and here for Indigo installs.

Australia has a great opportunity with My Health Record to create the digital health infrastructure that will produce benefits long into the future.

This year, every individual with a Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs card will get a My Health Record unless they tell the Australian Digital Health Agency they don’t want one.
In the past year there have been significant additions to My Health Record, including a medicines view and capacity to include pathology and diagnostic imaging reports.

As more people use My Health Record and information in the system grows, it will help support your clinical decision-making. However, if your clinical information system is not using the latest version of Bp Premier (Indigo) you may not be able to access these functions.

My Health Record is designed to provide you with better access to healthcare information to support you in caring for your patients. For your patients, it means their medical conditions, medicines, allergies and test results are kept together in one place.

Already, more than 5.89 million Australians have a My Health Record. In July, the program will be expanded to an ‘opt-out’ participation model and by the end of 2018 all Australians will have a record unless they choose not to have one. The three month opt-out period is being held from 16 July to 15 October 2018.

Further information on Clinical Information System and My Heath Record is available here.