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Amid all the promise AI brings, a new report warns that healthcare payers and providers must move quickly to ensure they have the right talent and data to succeed.

Monash Health and Sunraysia Community Health Services (SCHS) are the latest healthcare providers to embark on EMR journeys. Monash Health has commenced the rollout of Global Health’s MasterCare EMR solution across its drug and alcohol services division, while SCHS will implement a suite of software applications centred around Global Health’s client management and data collection EMR system. Both organisations join the ranks of Bass Coast Health, Justice Health Victoria, Fremantle Hospital and the Black Dog Institute for their recent MasterCare EMR deployments. Global Health said Monash Health is the third Victorian Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service to adopt the platform. Windana Drug and Alcohol and Bass Coast Health were the two early adopters for Victorian Alcohol and Drug Services (VADC) in mid-2018. MasterCare General Manager Kye Cherian said core function for Monash Health Drug and Alcohol services will be to ensure that it can effectively manage clients, in line with new VADC data capture and reporting requirements. The requirements were amended in November 2018 to remove identified discrepancies between data element definitions and ensure that data quality is fit for purpose. “With the concentration of the Australian Government in this area and a Royal Commission in Victoria, highly sophisticated and flexible platforms which allow for electronic connectivity, data collection and retention, secure messaging, coordination of services and recordings necessary for government compliance are increasingly essential in this complex area,” he said. Cherian also said the company is starting to see trends in data reporting requirements across both state and federal programs that require more structure and data integrity. “MasterCare… has a robust episodic framework that supports these structured community programs,” he said. As for the SCHS deployment, the deal also includes features modules from Global Health’s new-generation mobile-optimised, SaaS-based MasterCare+ solution. These include the Lifecard consumer health record, ReferralNet for secure message delivery, Patient Portal for online admissions and the HotHealth engagement portal. MasterCare Data Warehouse will also be deployed to support real-time data analysis using dashboards. The new platform is scheduled to be operational by July 1. [Read more: Fremantle Hospital deploys EMR system for better support of care in WA | University Hospital Geelong improves ED clinical workflows] Cherian said implementing MasterCare EMR across SCHS’ various health services will enable the organisation to produce a complete electronic health record for each patient using a standardised ‘Collect Once – Use Often’ methodology, which aims to collect patient information only once. SCHS’ broad range of state and federally funded programs in North West Victoria include the Community Health Program, Commonwealth Home Support Program, Home and Community Care Program for Younger People, Alcohol and Other Drug programs, National Disability Insurance Scheme and Primary Health Networks. “Each program has different minimum dataset requirements and reporting processes. By broadening the scope of the engagement beyond standard data collection criteria, SCHS will experience the combined benefits of taking a holistic approach to patient management, data capture and reporting through a single platform,” Cherian said. “These include streamlined data collection, electronic patient records, enhanced community health program reporting and improved patient engagement.”

Unsigned prescriptions are now legal when created with an electronic system that is integrated with the New Zealand e-Prescription Service (NZePS). The Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has approved a waiver for unsigned prescriptions to be recognised as legal prescriptions when strict criteria are met, including the use of an electronic system that is integrated with NZePS. Ministry of Health Group Manager of Digital Strategy and Investment Darren Douglass said the Ministry is working with partners across the health system on pilot implementations to “ensure that processes fully comply with the legislation and maintain patient safety and confidentiality." “The Ministry recognises the opportunity to move to a paperless system in the future, and the waiver for unsigned prescriptions is one step in that direction,” he said. The ePS allows prescribers to generate a barcoded prescription to give their patients to present at a pharmacy. The barcode is scanned, and all the prescription information is made available electronically. Royal NZ College of General Practitioners Medical Director Richard Medlicott envisions a paperless future where repeat prescriptions ordered via a patient portal app could be sent to people’s phones as a barcode to present to a pharmacy for scanning. However, he acknowledges that uptake of the service by GPs has been slow. Rollout began in 2013, and all community pharmacies have access, of which 75 percent are now scanning barcoded prescriptions but only 150 general practices are using the service. Medlicott said early on there were some sector leaders arguing that because GPs had to pay for ePS, it was not worth it. With a practice population of 12,000 to 13,000 patients, Medlicott pays $120 a month and estimates savings of around $1,500 a month. Not having to do triplicate controlled-drug forms is a particular timesaver. “It’s really easy, it will save you money, it will decrease fraudulent scripts and you can see whether medications are being dispensed or not,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer. There’s this idea that GPs are business-savvy, but they just see the cost and not the benefit.” Pharmacy Guild CEO Andrew Gaudin says the NZePS reduces a pharmacy’s administrative workload and increases efficiencies in the dispensary, allowing pharmacists to spend more time with patients. “As uptake of the service by general practice has been slow, pharmacies are not yet able to fully utilise the benefits the NZePS system could deliver,” he said. “Currently only 14 per cent of general practices are generating electronic prescriptions. It would be great to see this number increase.” Ministry of Health figures show that more than 1.2 million e-prescriptions have been generated by GPs in the past six months. This article first appeared on eHealthnews.nz.  

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