The power to prescribe:
Who should have it?
 
 

The power to prescribe:
Who should have it?

A couple of weeks ago at a media conference, a Pharmacy Guild representative was photographed wearing a stethoscope over his white smock. The image triggered an adverse reaction among GPs; some asked how a pharmacist would use the instrument, others whether the event was a costume party.

The heated response suggests the national conversation over whether pharmacists should be able to extend their limited prescribing rights is gaining heat, rather than cooling. So what’s the debate all about? Let’s look at the key parties and what they say is at stake.

Party one: Pharmacists (represented by The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and Pharmaceutical Society of Australia)

Many pharmacies already offer vaccination services and support for chronic disease management. Trials have been conducted in several states, focused on providing assistance to people with conditions such as urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Pharmacists believe they can do even more to assist Australians who need help with common conditions and will be coming to them to collect medications anyway.

Backed by the Queensland government, the Guild initiated the North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot, pencilling it for December 2023 and kicking it off in April 2024. Under the pilot, conditions pharmacists can now treat include acne, hay fever and eczema. For the full list, see About the pilot | Queensland Health

The Queensland Government has since moved to make the North Queensland pilot statewide.

Party two: Governments

Governments are trying to solve a supply and demand problem. It’s hard to get a GP appointment just about anywhere — and generally harder the further you are from a state capital.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles said: “Our Government is committed to making sure Queenslanders can access good quality healthcare, no matter where they live across the state.

“We know our hardworking pharmacists are more than capable to deliver these services – for common health conditions – and divert people away from our emergency departments and GPs.

“I am really proud that Queensland is leading the nation with this initiative.”

Queensland Health states: “Pharmacists are highly qualified and trusted members of our healthcare teams. Providing pharmacists with additional clinical training and supporting them to practice to their full scope, will enable them to help and support their local communities.”

Party three: General Practitioners (represented by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACP) and Australian Medical Association)

Doctors say that medications cannot be safely prescribed without a holistic, longitudinal view of the patient’s medical history, as best understood by their usual GP. They say the pilot puts vulnerable people at risk and that a previous trial allowing pharmacists to prescribe antibiotics for UTIs led to incorrect diagnoses and serious conditions going untreated, increasing overall healthcare costs.

Party four: Healthcare consumers (represented by you and I)

While most people prefer a long term relationship with a GP who knows you and your family, getting an appointment when you need it isn’t always easy or affordable. Some people go to hospital emergency departments (or virtual versions) for free help.

Other consumers are opting for convenience, using telehealth providers that offer quick access to scripts and more, but might not have time to hear your health history, (if you can remember it). For this group of consumers, getting help from the pharmacy you’re going to anyway, may be a no-brainer. However, the services are not free. Fees of up to $55 per pharmacist consultation may limit take-up.
Those with multiple or complex conditions are likely to have to wait for the next available appointment with their GP and hope for a cancellation to get in sooner.

Sparring partners

Back in March, the Medical Software Industry Association promised a ‘ding dong battle’ between the Guild, the RACGP and government, placing three key representatives on stage together in Melbourne.

Pharmacy Guild Victorian president Anthony Tassone said the prescribing issue was not about “pharmacists being GPs. It’s about pharmacists being the best professionals they can be…. solving problems for patient benefits.”

RACGP past president Dr Karen Price said she was concerned about the ‘taskification’ of general practice, which hindered longitudinal care. Dr Price said it can take 45 minutes to explore a patient’s medication history before writing an appropriate script. She said a UTI is a “retrospective diagnosis where there may be other issues that can’t be picked up by a pharmacist”.

Representing the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care, First Assistant Secretary (Medicare Benefits and Digital Health Division) Daniel McCabe said Australia faced “acute workforce challenges” and governments were trying to unlock the full potential of professionals who could deliver, “true multidisciplinary care”.

Dr Price said multidisciplinary care was great in hospitals and, while desirable, underfunded and challenging in general practice where, “the people who most need care can least afford it”.

Mr Tassone said doctors and pharmacists were all on ‘Team Patient’ but he and his peers were not rewarded for being part of multidisciplinary teams. “Are we part of the team or are we on the bench to make up the numbers?”

He said: “Patients don’t care. They care about getting care when they need it.”
It seems this conversation is far from finished.

Skin in the game

MediRecords provides secure, cloud-hosted electronic health records and prescribing functionality to healthcare professionals across Australia delivering face-to-face and virtual care.

Further reading:

MediRecords welcomes Queensland Health contract extension

MediRecords welcomes Queensland Health contract extension

Pioneering cloud technology company MediRecords has renewed its statewide contract with Queensland Health for provision of a Practice Management Enterprise Solution (PMES).

 

The contract extension means Queensland Hospital and Health Services can deploy functions such as ePrescribing within MediRecords’ clinical platform, while continuing use of the Medicare billing and reporting workflows implemented in 2019.

Use of the clinical records platform is growing, with MediRecords now supporting Queensland Health (QH) teams in alcohol and other drug clinics and virtual care.

The renewed Standing Offer Arrangement (SOA) is for an initial term of three years with an option to extend two.

MediRecords Founder and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Galetto welcomed the SOA extension and the opportunity to innovate with QH teams.

“As an industry leader in cloud hosted FHIR technology, the sky is the limit for how we can support Queensland Health staff and patients.”

Mr Galetto said the MediRecords billing and claiming platform had delivered significant efficiency gains for Queensland Health since 2019, including an 85% reduction in rejected Medicare claims realised within two months of go live.

“With more than 6000 subscribers within Queensland Health, we have been able to demonstrate the value and efficiency of a scalable solution for a large enterprise client,” Mr Galetto said.

MediRecords was the first clinical and administrative, cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) application introduced within the QH IT environment.

Implemented to support private practice billing, receipting, distribution and reporting of practice revenue on behalf of medical officers, MediRecords also provides appointment management and clinical records at some HHSs.

New features to be added to the MediRecords platform in 2024 include transaction reports, deposits, an inpatient Admissions Module, and new patient portal.

Media inquiries

To arrange to speak with Mr Galetto, or for further information on MediRecords, please email Tim Pegler or call 0412 485 146.

For information on MediRecords FHIR technology, see https://connect.medirecords.com/

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    Federal Government’s digital-health plan puts people first
     

    Federal Government’s digital-health plan puts people first

    The Federal Government has launched its 10-year blueprint for digital health investments and initiatives, with a key focus on encouraging Australians to trust in data and enable its innovative use in healthcare. 

    The much-anticipated blueprint envisions an efficient, person-centred healthcare system underpinned by secure, interoperable data, and responsiveness to emerging technologies.

    Digitally enabled collaboration between hospitals, primary care and community providers, including allied health, will ensure information follows patients through the system, the report said.

    The Digital Health Blueprint 2023-2033 is accompanied by an Action Plan establishing broad strategies for the coming decade.

    The central aim of the blueprint is convenience for consumers whose healthcare journeys will be supported by multidisciplinary teams providing coordinated care. These teams will deliver services underpinned by digital-health technology that enables consumers to make informed decisions about their care.

    While eyebrows were raised at the timing of the release of such an important planning document, three days before Christmas, the arrival of the national strategy was welcomed by the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA).

    The blueprint states: “Trusted, timely and accessible use of digital and data underpins a personalised and connected health and wellbeing experience for all Australians.”

    The action plan sets out a range of initiatives either already started, ongoing or at planning stage. “While each initiative calls upon specific delivery partners, the health software industry should be recognised for its key role in realising many of these,” it says.

    The Initiatives include:

    • Allied health providers to connect to a beefed-up My Health Record, “building on adoption within general practice and medical specialists”
    • Strengthening and expanding ePrescribing, including to public hospitals
    • Real-time prescription monitoring
    • Electronic medication charts 
    • Establishing a core national standard — Sparked – Core FHIR standards — for consistent patient health interaction information capture (MediRecords is an active participant in the Sparked community)
    • “Digitally empowering” Australia’s healthcare workforce
    • Establishing a national eRequesting capability for pathology and diagnostic imaging health services, facilitating electronic clinical-decision support
    • National health-information exchange capabilities, requiring agreement between states and territories
    • Broadening the range of assistive technologies available for seniors living independently.

    MediRecords is uniquely capable of supporting the digital health initiatives. The MediRecords  Care platform is designed for use by multidisciplinary teams and for data interoperability. Featuring FHIR and API connectivity, MediRecords is working on a major national project for data sharing across the healthcare spectrum of patients, GPs, allied health providers, specialists and hospitals.

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      Innovations in Hospital Healthcare
       

      Innovations in Hospital Healthcare

      Exploring Virtual Hospitals, Hospital in the Home, and Hospitals Without Walls.

      Advancements in technology have seen an explosion of new terms and concepts in healthcare.

      In this article, we aim to demystify three innovative approaches: Virtual Hospitals, Hospital in the Home, and Hospitals Without Walls.

      All three challenge traditional notions of hospitals and have potential to revolutionise patient care as they reshape healthcare delivery.

      Virtual Hospitals: Remote Care

      Virtual hospitals use telehealth and telemedicine technologies to bring medical care directly to patients’ homes. Through video conferencing, remote-monitoring devices, and electronic medical records, healthcare professionals can remotely diagnose, treat, and monitor patients.

      Hospital in the Home (HITH): Care in Familiar Surroundings

      HITH programs deliver acute-care services to patients within the comfort of their own residences. Healthcare professionals visit patients at home to directly assist with treatment but also use remote-monitoring devices and video conferencing.

      Hospitals Without Walls: Care Beyond Traditional Boundaries

      A hospital without walls provides healthcare services in non-traditional spaces such as community centres, nursing homes, or even workplaces. The goal is to bring medical care closer to where people live, work, and play, increasing accessibility and equity of healthcare. Multidisciplinary teams leverage technology and resources to provide more convenient and more cost-effective care.

      All three models of care offer increased efficiency, accessibility and personalised care experiences. They use technology, patient-centred care, and interdisciplinary collaboration to bring healthcare closer to the individuals who need it — and can help reduce demand for beds in traditional bricks-and-mortar hospital wards.

      MediRecords currently supports clients in hospital settings including:

      • My Emergency Doctor virtual teams providing Senior Emergency Physicians to Urgent Care Centres, hospitals and ambulance services across Australia
      • Victorian Virtual Emergency Department and Northern Health outpatient teams as an ePrescribing system
      • Queensland Health virtual emergency department team as an ePrescribing system
      • Queensland Health Hospital and Health Services as a billing and claiming system for outpatient clinics
      • Private hospital VMO (Visiting Medical Officer) consulting suites as an electronic health record (EHR) and patient management system.

      As a flexible and scalable EHR platform with inpatient functionality in development, including medication charting, MediRecords is well placed to be the clinical system of record for models of care including HITH and Hospitals Without Walls. 

      Book a demo with our Sales team to learn how we can assist you.

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        MediRecords in the fast lane for FHIR connectivity
         

        MediRecords in the
        fast lane for FHIR connectivity

        MediRecords will be releasing new FHIR integration pathways for clients throughout 2023, as part of our commitment to a better connected Australian healthcare system. 

         

        As can be seen from our FHIR Roadmap below, we not only have established and proven options for data sharing, but we’re investing in the expansion of our Connect platform which comprises of  FHIR (Fast Health Interoperability Resources) and Connect services.

        We now have FHIR integrations with hospital systems for ePrescribing, and updating patient records. New resources in development for MediRecords 2.0 include allergies, diagnostic requests and reports, patient summaries, and inpatient charting.

        MediRecords Chief Executive Officer Matthew Galetto said the Connect platform enabled health care providers and patients to access records quickly and securely, driving better and timelier health outcomes.

        “We’re keen to see more software vendors hit the road and deliver on industry standards for interoperability, resulting in connected health care across Australia,” Mr Galetto said.

        “Some vendors seem to be waiting for a reason to modernise when the motivation should be clear — the right care at the right time, wherever you are in Australia.”

        MediRecords is part of a national consortium, led by Leidos Australia, developing a new Health Knowledge Management (HKM) system for the Australian Defence Force. This project will see MediRecords connect health records for GPs, allied health practitioners, specialists, patients, and hospitals.

        MediRecords is also supporting the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department with an integrated ePrescribing system.

        MediRecords Technical Product Lead Sanjeed Quaiyumi said 2023 would be an exciting year. “We’re working on consultation notes and can’t wait to hit other milestones on our roadmap.”

        MediRecords FHIR Roadmap

        MediRecords FHIR roadmap was last updated 01/11/23.

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          Communication the key to reducing hospital readmissions

          Communication the
          key to reducing
          hospital readmissions

          Can health tech help reduce hospital readmissions?

           

          According to a global research review, telehealth and virtual wards can certainly make a difference.

          The Deeble Institute — the research arm of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) — reviewed international research on the role of primary care in reducing hospital readmissions.

          In its Evidence Brief no. 24, the Institute says telehealth can be used to boost general practice involvement in hospital discharges and subsequent multidisciplinary virtual care, resulting in fewer unplanned readmissions.

          Unplanned readmissions are associated with poorer health outcomes, dissatisfaction with healthcare, increased costs, and bed blockages.

          The report highlighted research that showed improved communication and coordination of care between GPs, hospitals and/or pharmacists is effective.

          “Effective interventions included … electronic tools to facilitate quick, clear, and structured (health) summary generation… use of electronic discharge notifications; and web-based access to discharge information for general practitioners,” reported the Netherland’s Hesselink and colleagues.

          Virtual wards are another way to reduce risk of hospital readmissions and improve outcomes during hospital-to-home transition, with research indicating these can be effective with specific disease cohorts but less so with non-specific, complex diseases.

          The Evidence Brief contrasted virtual wards with Hospital in the Home (HITH). HITH is a form of remote hospital inpatient care whereas virtual wards facilitate transition from hospital care to home care.

          “Compared to HITH, virtual wards typically have a higher degree of interdisciplinary care coordination and review, are simpler in design and implementation, and have a broader scope of activities,” The Deeble Institute reported.

          “Transitional care is similar to virtual wards, but usually implemented within existing systems. Virtual wards typically require a completely new care pathway and potentially new organisations to manage its implementation.”

          MediRecords Connect provides FHIR (Fast Health Interoperability Resources) and API options for connectivity with hospital systems, including patient administration systems (PAS). MediRecords is deployed as an ePrescribing system at two Australian virtual emergency departments and as an outpatient billing and claiming system for Queensland Health. New functionality enabling multidisciplinary case management and inpatient care will be released later this year.

          MediRecords is also integrated with the Coviu telehealth platform for streamlined virtual consultations.

          Top three Technologies that reduce hospital admissions:

          Further reading

          ‘A wonderful day’: telehealth to become permanent

          Improving Patient Handovers From Hospital to Primary Care

          Consumer adoption of digital health in 2022: Moving at the speed of trust

          PARR++ is dead: long live predictive modelling

          Impact of ‘Virtual Wards’ on hospital use: a research study using propensity matched controls and a cost analysis

          Applying the Integrated Practice Unit Concept to a Modified Virtual Ward Model of Care for Patients at Highest Risk of Readmission: A Randomized Controlled Trial

          Effect of post-discharge virtual wards on improving outcomes in heart failure and non-heart failure populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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            MediRecords 2.0: New ways to Care, Connect and Engage
             

            MediRecords 2.0: New ways to Care, Connect
            and Engage

            MediRecords 2.0 is the most comprehensive overhaul of our electronic patient record and clinic management system since we launched in Australia in 2016. While there have been many product updates over the years, MediRecords 2.0 is designed to use screen space better, streamline workflows, reduce administrative burn-out and support shared care.

             

            MediRecords Head of Product Jayne Thompson says, “Innovation is as important to us as it is to our customers”. The 2.0 product update reflects this philosophy, introducing best-in-class user experience design and other client-driven enhancements, while reinforcing the foundations for next generation digital health connectivity.  

            Having grown beyond its origins as Australia’s pioneering, cloud-based practice management system, the MediRecords platform is now underpinned by three pillars: Care, Connect and Engage. Each of these will gain major new features during 2023.

             

            Care

            The MediRecords Care pillar contains core clinical features such as patient records, ePrescribing, appointment management, investigations, billing and claiming, correspondence, and assessments. New Care functionality will include: 

            • Case Management – Members of a designated Care Team can view and update client case notes. This is particularly valuable where care is shared between a multidisciplinary team working from separate locations or across different shifts. For example, mental health practitioners can collaborate with GPs and rehabilitation specialists as patients progress towards a safe return to work. 
            • Group appointments – Patients will be able to book and join group sessions or classes. This feature will enable group therapy, family consultations and community health programs, with providers able to message an entire group or individual group members. 
            • New mental health and readiness for work assessment templates are being added, including the Glasgow Coma Scale. 
            • Single provider view of appointments: Clinicians practising across multiple clinics won’t have to jump between them to view their appointments. Appointments across multiple sites will be consolidated in a single view. 
            • New communication capability: Real time chat with team members will be available throughout MediRecords, making it easier to message team members on the fly. Our new Comms bar will also provide shortcuts to SMS, email, alerts, and notifications. 
            • Inpatients – In a major new premium* feature, MediRecords will be able to support complex care, including inpatient admissions, detailed charting, clinical escalations, progress notes and Discharge Summaries. 
            • Our Letter writer tool is having a makeover and will be even easier to use, with highly requested new functionality, such as digital signatures. 
            • We’ve added industry-leading means of recording Consent (or denial of consent) and made it easier to add attachments to patient records. 
            • Custom fields and Tagging can be used in patient records, creating new and innovative ways to capture information, search records and report on data. 

             

            Connect 

            Many clients are familiar with our Connect site. MediRecords was an early adopter of FHIR (Fast Health Interoperability Resources) and API technology and new options for using these to share data are on the way. We have proven integrations with patient monitoring devices, patient-reported outcome and engagement measure systems (PROMs and PREMs), dictation technology and partner products. MediRecords is built on the SNOMED-CT-AU data coding system, which makes the data we share cleaner and primed for analytics. 

            • We now have FHIR integrations with enterprise products such as hospital patient administration systems (PAS) and scanned medical record software. This means a patient record created or updated in MediRecords can be pushed up into hospital systems, ensuring consistency of records and supporting better patient safety. Current options include allergies, medication requests and dispense notifications. 
            • New FHIR resources to be added throughout 2023 include referrals, diagnostic requests, diagnostic reports, and vital signs.  

             

            Engage 

            MediRecords has already connected over 60,000 patients to healthcare records via our patient mobile app. This enables consumers to book appointments, see medication information, receive reports and educational resources, and access and store personal health documents. We’re taking this to the next level in 2023 with an entirely new patient engagement platform. This will include new features such as:  

            • Real time surveys and forms 
            • Clinical assessment and observations data for remote monitoring 
            • In-appointment chat functionality 
            • Secure web access to personal health data. 

            Frequently asked questions

            MediRecords 2.0 is an overhaul of our current platform rather than a new product. All existing customers will transition to 2.0. Sticking with the old MediRecords format will not be an option.

            We will perform the update remotely. Users won’t have to download or do anything.

            We have done our utmost to preserve familiarity and usual behaviour within the MediRecords application, but the new layout may take some adjustment. To help with this, we have been providing Lunch and Learn sessions for clients. Please reach out to our training team if you have any further questions, training.success@medirecords.com.

            Development will finish in March. Rigorous testing will follow before pilot sites switch to 2.0 in late April. Once we have considered their feedback, we’ll finalise the date for general release and shout it from the rooftops to let you know. 

            If you are a current client, please contact your Account Manager if you would like to be a test pilot for these new features. Limited places are available.  

            MediRecords 2.0 is an upgrade of your existing system and will be covered by usual licence fees. However, some of the optional new features will be Premium products and require additional fees. Details will be published as soon as possible. 

             

            For other questions, please email support@medirecords.com.

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              MediRecords on FHIR at Northern Health
               

              MediRecords on FHIR
              at Northern Health

              Mental Health teams at Northern Health now have access to the MediRecords e-Prescribing platform, following successful integrations with the hospital’s patient administration system (PAS) and Clinical Patient Folder (CPF) software.

               

              The pioneering FHIR (Fast Health Interoperability Resources) connections mean doctors don’t have to search a second database for patient records and can generate electronic prescriptions quickly, informed by current clinical information, including allergies and medication histories. Prescription records are then sent to CPF in real time, and no longer have to be posted to patients or manually scanned and uploaded to hospital digital records.

              The FHIR go-live signals Phase 2 of MediRecords’ implementation at Northern Health, following an initial launch as a stand-alone system for Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) doctors in July 2022. Wider use of the e-Prescribing system is being adopted, with Northern’s Outpatient clinics and mental health included in a staggered roll out from 31st January 2023. This implementation was the first FHIR implementation performed at Northern Health.

              MediRecords Chief Executive Officer Matthew Galetto said Northern Health had demonstrated the benefits of using industry-leading FHIR technology to streamline data interoperability and support efficient patient care in a hospital setting.

              “It is important for healthcare organisations investing in new digital health projects to future proof their investments by adopting the latest standards. Implementing FHIR will help organisations stay ahead of the curve and meet near future regulatory requirements,” Mr Galetto said.

              Mr Galetto said MediRecords would be releasing additional FHIR integration pathways for clients throughout 2023, as part of the Connect pillar underpinning the MediRecords platform.

              “We are fortunate to be at the forefront of FHIR development in Australia, thanks to our role in the Leidos-led consortium delivering a new Health Knowledge Management (HKM) system for the Australian Defence Force,” Mr Galetto said.

              “Data sharing for the HKM project has applicability throughout Australian healthcare and means we will be able to connect health care records in primary care all the way up to hospital, or tertiary care. This will help provide patients and clinicians with access to the right data at the right time, with significant safety benefits.”

              Mr Galetto thanked Northern Health for being an early adopter of the technology, the first time MediRecords has been deployed in a hospital setting supporting virtual care.

              “The Northern Health team are pioneers in virtual care and are now leading the way in connecting patient information systems.”

              Northern Health’s Mental Health Division provides hospital-based, community and specialist mental health services to youth, adults and aged people across northern and western Melbourne. The introduction of ePrescribing means prescriptions can be sent instantly and electronically to patients or carers, with a QR code to be scanned at pharmacies for dispensing. This provides significantly faster access to new and repeat medications for mental health clients.

              Media inquiries

              For further information, please email Matthew Galetto on matthew@medirecords.com or Tim Pegler at tim.pegler@medirecords.com

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                The Clinician Interviews Matthew Galetto, CEO at MediRecords

                The Clinician Interviews
                Matthew Galetto, CEO at MediRecords

                This article was originally created and shared via The Clinician. The original article can be found here.

                 

                The Clinician sat down with Matthew Galetto (founder and CEO, MediRecords) for a conversation on interoperability, adoption issues for regulatory standards, and our recent collaboration on a FHIR-based integration.

                 

                Thanks for being here, Matt. Could you describe your background and maybe some current or upcoming initiatives you’re particularly excited for?

                Matthew Galetto: I founded MediRecords in 2014, but my background in health technology spans over 20 years. I started my health tech journey working in primary care, working with a health technology company consolidating GP clinical systems through acquisition during the dotcom boom. In fact, my job was to integrate a dozen or so different applications into a single consolidated platform—I was a lead technical architect in that endeavour.

                I worked there for a few years and then set up a company called AsteRx, which was a data analytics and clinical data business that collated information from multiple GP systems and provided insights and reports back to corporate practice groups and industry generally.

                How do you define and approach interoperability, both within MediRecords and in the larger context?

                Matthew Galetto: Interoperability is information exchanging freely across different systems. There’s the technical implementation of interoperability, which is the systems themselves enabling the transfer of information across technology boundaries and platforms and in different healthcare settings, and there are also the regulation and legal structures that support information exchanges.

                In the context of MediRecords, the interoperability piece is making sure that the system that we’ve developed in the platform that underpins our products and services can connect to the broader Australian health ecosystem. To do that, it needs to connect to different players in the market that provide certain services, so it might be diagnostic services, My Health Record, Medicaid-claiming type services, payments and those sorts of things.

                So, I would describe the interoperability piece as that free-flowing information across systems.

                What do digital health systems and organizations need to be doing to ensure that’s possible: to ensure information can be easily shared and used by other systems? What are the key barriers, or where do you see some organizations falling short?

                Matthew Galetto: In the Australian market we have a bunch of these legacy technology providers, both in the GP/specialist arena and even in the hospital market. Systems are not geared for supporting the latest standards of interoperability—things like FHIR and SNOMED terminology services to underpin the ontology mapping of information across systems.

                There’s been insufficient adoption of those standards here in the Australian market, and no incentives provided by government or industry to adopt those technologies, partly because so many of the existing market players still operate on old technology platforms.

                In our recent collaboration, a bidirectional FHIR-based integration was able to be established between MediRecords and ZEDOC within a matter of a few days. From your perspective, what was the process like and what would you identify as the key success factors?

                Matthew Galetto: Sure, that was a particular problem case that we needed to solve. ZEDOC was providing a PREMs and PROMs solution patient engagement platform and MediRecords was the underpinning electronic health record and system of record; we don’t have the same level of patient engagement capability that ZEDOC offers.

                This particular customer was looking at integrating a patient-engaging PREMs and PROMs platform as well as MediRecords capability. To achieve that, as part of a proof of concept delivered in that very short timeframe you described, we were able to connect MediRecords in a bidirectional way to ZEDOC, with MediRecords providing the source of truth for the patient record.

                Very quickly, were able to put into the clinical workflow a feeder of the patient record through to the ZEDOC platform enrolling that patient in a particular program. ZEDCO would then handle the patient engagement capability.

                Information that was captured as part of those PREMs and PROMs would then make its way back into MediRecords’ platform as long-form patient summaries and patient-centered observation data, using remote patient monitoring devices. This information would also be added to the longitudinal health report of the patient.

                That was achieved through applying those FHIR open standards capability. And given that there was a common language and common understanding and protocols we were able to achieve them in pretty quick time.

                What role do standards like HL7 or FHIR play in enabling PMS like MediRecords to tightly integrate with solutions like ZEDOC?

                Matthew Galetto: They’re vitally important. I’ve just come back from the US, having attended the HIMSS conference in Orlando. In the US in 2016 the government initiated the 21st Century CURES Act, which essentially removed barriers to the flow of information across systems so the patient could access their clinical record, regardless of where they travelled or the health care facility that they attended.

                That regulation mandated FHIR as the protocol for exchanging information, and also supporting HL7 (version 2). But essentially, it was saying OK, these systems need to talk to each other, we need to define some common protocols and terminology for that information to share, so we’re going to regulate this. And what we’re seeing in the US is that the innovation that’s come from that initiative has resulted in interoperability across different systems.

                We actually saw live demonstrations of some examples of patient records being shared, across continuums of care and across competitors, using HL7 and FHIR combinations. It was shared from primary care or ambulatory care, through to secondary care, through to tertiary care, and then even to some patient engagement platforms as well.

                Those standards are critical in order for information to exchange with the known set of terminology, and also for defining how those systems can communicate.

                In fact, we’re currently undertaking an integration with a hospital group in Victoria using a combination of HL7 and FHIR protocols. Those protocols are well documented, supported by the international organizations like HL7 and the FHIR community, so we have a clear understanding of what those standards and protocols are. This means we’re able to build confidently, understanding the protocols in place and that they’re reliable and safe to implement.

                And what is the other side of that coin—what are the key barriers to adoption of those standards by the industry?

                Matthew Galetto: If we look at FHIR, there are a couple of barriers. One is actually accessing resources and skills that have that knowledge, particularly in Australia. That’s a problem because of poor adoption. And then the other barrier is really a technical barrier.

                FHIR is a web-based protocol—it’s designed for systems that are built and implemented in the cloud. The Australian market isn’t really cloud-ready at the moment, with 95-plus odd percent of the vendors operating in the old legacy client technology.

                But the main barrier would really be the regulation. There’s just no government regulation to say, these are the standards that we need to implement, we want the industry to shift and pivot and implement these particular standards, and give us a roadmap to doing so. The regulatory barriers are significant in maintaining the status quo and not encouraging the adoption of these new standards.

                With an eye to the future, can you give us your thoughts about the ability to capture data from patients at home and then bring that data into the system, what could that make possible?

                Matthew Galetto: Well, if all of the systems are talking the same language and adopting the same protocols, regardless of whether they’re patient-facing or clinical-facing, then you have a clear understanding of the context of the information shared across those systems.

                In terms of the Australian market, one of the things I noticed in the US is the challenges identifying a patient across states and/or healthcare settings. They don’t have the concept of a master patient index as such.

                In Australia, we’re blessed with some of the initiatives that the ADHA have implemented, like My Health Record. These unique identifiers are tagged not only to the patient, but to the clinician and also to the practice.

                We already have some of the foundations in place in Australia to identify the various participants in the healthcare system: patient, provider, practice, and location. If we’re talking about information flows from the patient to the clinician right through to the tertiary system, we do have those identifiers.

                If we can find a way to then implement some of these standards, FHIR in particular, and identify the resources that need to be supported and implemented across these different settings, including the patient engagement setting, then I’m very encouraged about where we can go, provided that regulation comes into play.

                What’s coming next as far as interoperability? What ought industry be considering in order to stay ahead of the game?

                Matthew Galetto: Essentially, build those connected platforms and open up the systems. Be less protective of your information because it’s not your information—understand I’m talking as a vendor at the moment. Vendors have a tendency to lock the data in and feel that’s good for business when, in fact, it’s not.

                This is the journey that MediRecords is going on—we will open up our platform to expose APIs. MediRecords’ platform will open up to and encourage third parties. Of course, through a curated process verifying their use case, but we’re opening up that system. Allowing third parties to connect and exchange and share information from the platform is the way to go.

                So I think it’s a question of breaking down the technical barriers, but also the business models that are out there.

                If you actually look at some of the vendors that are operating in the Australian market, understanding that they want to protect not only the customer list, but also the information that sits in those systems and maintain those silos of information.

                If we can break that down, and also the business models that support those old siloed systems, then I’m pretty confident. If multiple vendors, like MediRecords and The Clinician, are prepared to open up those systems and support the exchange of information across those platforms, then there’s going to be a net benefit to the healthcare sector generally, but particularly to the patient, as well as a pivot from a clinician-focused to a patient-focused or patient-centric model.

                In the scenario you’ve just described, would that diminish the reliance on regulation, or is there a way that industry could make this happen—to a point—without waiting for regulation to come in?

                Matthew Galetto: My personal view is that we need regulation. And my personal view is that we need the government setting the example on some of the infrastructure and rails that support the exchange.

                I’ll give you an example: there’s a tender out now for the prescription exchange which is currently managed by two private operators. They’ve done a wonderful job in the last 10 years implementing a particular framework to support electronic prescribing.

                The government have now issued a new tender, and they’re looking to undercut the commercial model of those existing vendors by maybe 20%. The original value of that contract will disappear, and all the business models out there supporting the electronic prescribing with money flowing through to the PMS vendors and to the dispensary systems.

                That’s an example of some infrastructure that I think could be owned and operated by the government, which seems odd, but I think it’s something that might benefit the ecosystem just generally. One other area that’s a bit of a problem in Australia is around the exchange of information messaging between pathology companies, specialist to GPs and vice versa. These are private enterprises and I’ll give you an example of one of the challenges…

                There are three particular brokers in the market that provide services supporting the exchange of information across systems. So that’s the pathology companies, radiology and diagnostic reports, and requests and specialist letters and referrals and those sorts of things.

                The ADHA formed a common directory service a couple of years ago and all the brokers were encouraged to upload their contacts list to this new directory service implemented by ADHA. None of them uploaded because they were afraid of sharing their customer lists with their competitors.

                In that example you have a bit of innovation around FHIR, implementing and documenting it, and then in the end the private sector didn’t conform and participate.

                I think there’s an example where some regulation needs to come in and mandate a few things. I don’t think we’re going to get the change without the regulation.

                Considering the digital health landscape through the lens of interoperability, is there an element of the current conversation that you think is not getting enough attention, or is given short shrift? In other words, what are you thinking about that we all should be thinking about?

                Matthew Galetto: For any health technology company hosting information, security will be what keeps them up at night. That’s certainly the case for us: making sure our system is secure.

                And as you open up your systems through the interoperability play, including these new standards, security has to be absolutely front of mind, because you are actually opening up your systems to the market generally.

                Some context for the Australian market: we don’t actually have any security standards that are like a HIPAA compliance standard. So going back to one of your previous questions around some of the barriers and the regulation, we definitely need to see an uplift in the security protocols and accreditation services to support the interoperability piece, and the opening up these systems using FHIR and so forth.

                Learn more about The Clinician and MediRecords’ recent FHIR-based collaboration in this case study here

                This article was originally created and shared via The Clinician. The original article can be found here.

                 

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                  Could virtual care ease the pressure sores in healthcare?
                   

                  Could virtual care ease the
                  pressure sores in healthcare?

                  How can the burden on Australian healthcare be eased? Tim Pegler says thinking beyond the hospital walls may help

                   

                  People and resources in the Australian healthcare system are under unprecedented pressure. Demand for hospitals beds continues to rise, due to a combination of COVID-19, influenza, and other illnesses.

                  Ambulances can often be seen stuck ‘ramping’, waiting outside Emergency Departments because there are insufficient empty beds to transfer patients to. This affects response times for other emergencies; ramped ambulances are effectively offline until they can offload patients.

                  Healthcare clinics and hospitals struggle to fill their rosters because so many staff are unwell or home caring for sick family members. Those available to work are likely to be overstretched, covering for absent colleagues, and generally running on empty.

                  As for patients, lockdowns and fear of infection led many to defer check-ups or investigations perceived as non-urgent. Consequently, illnesses are being detected later and people may have more advanced conditions at diagnosis, creating further pressure on the healthcare system and adding to elective surgery waitlists.

                  Psychological distress and domestic violence also proliferated during the initial years of the pandemic, ratcheting up demand for mental health care, crisis, and support services that were already under-resourced.

                  Shaking things up

                  Much has been written about how the pandemic accelerated adoption of telehealth and other forms of virtual care. Pre-pandemic, leading international hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic, New York Presbyterian, and Mercy Virtual pioneered varying models for remote care but the take-up in risk-averse, budget-poor Australia was slow. It would take leadership, determination, and a fertile mind during a period of isolation, to catalyse Melbourne’s Northern Health, with the city’s busiest Emergency Department, into thinking differently.

                  During one such iso period Northern Health emergency physician Loren Sher fleshed out the model for what would become Australia’s first virtual emergency department. Goals for the virtual service included:

                  • reducing avoidable ‘presentations’ at the hospital’s Epping ED by triaging and assisting non-urgent patients remotely
                  • reducing the risk of COVID-19 infections to hospital patients and staff
                  • enabling ambulance crew to focus on urgent cases
                  • enabling doctors with COVID to work remotely

                  The virtual ED means that non-urgent patients using a computer or mobile device can speak with a triage nurse online. The nurse determines whether the patient needs to attend hospital, can be helped with medication or by speaking to a telehealth doctor or physiotherapist, or can safely wait to see their usual GP.

                  Ambulance crews responding to 000 calls can also contact the virtual ED for advice on whether the patient can be helped at home. If the case is non-urgent, the ambulance crew can be dispatched elsewhere.

                  The virtual ED opened in 2020 and, by early 2022, was assisting more than 300 patients per day. Importantly, more than 70% of these do not need to attend hospital or use an ambulance.

                  In April 2022, the Victorian Government provided $21 million so Northern Health could extend the service state-wide. By July, the Victorian Premier announced further funding to enable care for an estimated 500 patients per day and help improve ambulance response times.

                  The model is also being extended to residential aged care facilities and COVID positive patients being cared for in the community. It will soon add outpatients and people experiencing mental ill-health.

                  Strategic partnerships

                  Northern Health partnered with best-in-class vendors to bring together key elements of the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED).

                  MediRecords is at the heart of the solution, enabling VVED doctors to send electronic prescriptions direct to patients or their carers, virtually eliminating piles of paper scripts, expediting access to medications, and slashing postage and courier costs.

                  MediRecords’ use of FHIR technology (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) means medication requests and prescriptions are fed seamlessly into Northern Hospital’s electronic record systems.

                  The VVED also uses the ZEDOC digital care pathways platform for patient registration and feedback measures, and the Coviu-powered healthdirect video conferencing system.

                  There’s a long-term vision for the VVED to partner with primary and community care providers so that virtual ED patients can be referred to specific GP practices. These organisations could then direct complex cases, via the VVED, back to the hospital as needed. It’s this kind of thinking – and data sharing – that Australia’s healthcare system desperately needs more of to treat its current pressure sores.

                  Tim Pegler is Senior Business Development Manager at MediRecords.

                  This article was originally shared via The Medical Republic. The original article can be found here.

                  References:

                  ePrescribing now available to patients – Northern Health

                  Victoria doubles virtual emergency department capacity to cope with COVID and flu surge – ABC News

                  Patients waiting more than 24 hrs in emergency departments – ABC Radio National

                  Victorian Virtual Emergency Department – Northern Health 

                  If you would like to find out more about our e-Prescribing solution, click the below link:

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