Important Dates
December 2014
Northern Territory Medicare Local (NTML) Assisted Registrations NTML will be visiting Alice Springs and Darwin hospitals to give visitors and staff an opportunity to have their eHealth questions answered and to register for an eHealth record. Registration only takes a few minutes.
Alice Springs Hospital Where: ASH Hospital Foyer Date: Mon 17 to Fri 21 November Time: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM daily Royal Darwin Hospital
Where: RDH Hospital Foyer Date: Tue 25, Wed 26 November and Tue 2 , Wed 3 December Time: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
What to bring: All you have to bring is your Medicare card and photo identification/driver’s licence.
Statistics
National eHealth Record/PCEHR The figures below show the number of consumers already registered, to 29 October 2014.
National Northern Territory
1,942,498 23,193
Since July 2014, 9.55% of patients who presented at NT public hospi- tals had a national eHealth record.
eHealthNT Happenings
eHealthNT Happenings features articles relating to the health sector and the use of information technology in this sector in the Northern Territory. This edition highlights the communication and engagement activities, as well as testimonials around the clinical use of the national eHealth record system.
We continue to highlight the M2N Transition Project. This project remains one of eHealthNT’s largest eHealth initiatives that will progressively improve care for patients and make the health system more efficient.
This publication is produced by eHealthNT in collaboration with the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) and the Northern Territory Medicare Local (NTML).
Northern Territory Department of Health
In October, eHealthNT provided a presentation at the Royal Darwin Hospital Grand Rounds to raise awareness of the national eHealth record for hospital staff. The presentation outlined the transition journey that NT Health facilities will undergo over the next nine months.
Hospital staff who did not see the presentation are invited to download it from www.ehealthnt.gov.au on the publications page.
This presentation is focussed on the upcoming changes in our hospitals. Initially only hospitals will be able to send documents to a patient’s national eHealth record. This will begin in December 2014 (and is known as M2N Release 2A).
Hospitals will begin by sending Emergency Department Discharge Summaries to the national eHealth record. From December, this will be focussed on patients who are only registered for the national eHealth record.
There will be no changes to the way documents are managed for consumers who are registered for the My eHealth Record. Even if a My eHealth Record consumer is also registered for the national eHealth record, hospitals will continue sending to their My eHealth Record.
NT Health will introduce additional national eHealth record capabilities in 2015:
• more document types will be sent to the national eHealth record for all consumers who have one;
• clinicians in hospitals will be able to view a patient’s national eHealth record;
and
• staff members in NT Health Primary Care facilities will also be able to send and view national eHealth record documents.
A training module is available for all NT Health staff who wish to learn about the national eHealth Record before these additional capabilities are introduced.
To access the training module or to learn more about M2N Release 2A, visit ehealthnt.nt.gov.au.
Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory
The national eHealth record posters, pamphlets and assisted registration resource books have now been distributed to most Aboriginal controlled health services in the Northern Territory. If your health service has not received these resources, please contact Shirley Spicer at AMSANT, [email protected] or 8944 6666.
ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 2014
eHealthNT HAPPENINGS
A Northern Territory Government initiative, developed with financial assistance from the Australian Government.
Websites
eHealthNT
www.ehealthnt.nt.gov.au Aboriginal Medical Alliance NT www.amsant.org.au
Northern Territory Medicare Local www.ntml.org.au
My eHealth Record
www.myehealthrecord.com national eHealth record/PCEHR www.ehealth.gov.au
Glossary
ACCHS – Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services ACIS – Acute Care Information Systems (includes CareSys, Clinical Workstation, etc used in NT Public Hospitals)
AMSANT – Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory Communicare – A fully integrated electronic health and practice management system
GP – General Practitioner
M2N – My eHealth Record to the national eHealth record system M2N Transition Project – project to transition from the My eHealth Record service to the national eHealth record system
Medical Director – a clinical software package
NTML – Northern Territory Medicare Local
PCEHR – Personally Controlled eHealth Record or national eHealth record
PCIS – Primary Care Information System
eHealthNT HAPPENINGS
A Northern Territory Government initiative, developed with financial assistance from the Australian Government.
Several videos that will be shown in health centre waiting areas have also been produced. These videos were developed by the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory and will be distributed to health services in the Northern Territory soon.
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory continues to work with Aboriginal community controlled health service communities and has now completed national eHealth record consumer engagement in:
• Darwin, East Arnhem, Katherine and Alice Springs
• communities through the west and east of Katherine
• some of the Barkly region
• parts of remote Central Australia including Mutitjulu, Amoonguna, Santa Teresa, Areyonga and Pintubi
• several Central Australian community councils
• several Northern Territory Government health centres.
Many of the Aboriginal community controlled health services in these areas are now doing patient registration to the national eHealth record system themselves through Communicare.
Northern Territory Medicare Local
Dr Bernie Westley MBBS FRACGP is a Darwin GP based part-time at Stuart Park Surgery and is also employed by the NTML as Clinical and Public Health Advisor. Dr Westley shares his experience with the national eHealth record system (also known as the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record or PCEHR).
“All clinicians are motivated to give the best care possible to every patient that walks through their door. Although there are many challenges ahead (some already identified and others likely to emerge) the PCEHR has amazing potential to improve continuity of care and increase safety of health services for all Territorians”.
“During a recent after hours GP shift I had an older gentleman with multiple medical conditions that recently returned from interstate for management of a significant active problem. He informed me that he was registered
with “the national system”. I clicked on PCEHR (in Medical Director) and within seconds a full description of his active condition, past history, in-hospital management and recommended post-discharge care was listed with clarity and detail. This clinical information, which was easily downloaded, was extremely helpful to support his immediate requirements and to also support his ongoing integrated multi-disciplinary health care needs. This was a positive experience for the patient and supported the holistic care that we strive to achieve every day in primary health care”.
Stay informed
To stay informed, regularly visit www.ehealthnt.gov.au and go to the publications page where communications will be published.
Dr Bernie Westley MBBS FRACGP
ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 2014
