What’s happening in health?
 
 
 

July 9, 2024

What's happening in health?

As one of the biggest industries on the planet, there’s always something happening in healthcare. Here’s what has captured our attention recently.

Industry news

Private hospitals are facing tough times as costs of doing business keep rising while a major source of their revenue – private health insurers (PHI) – are seen to be holding tight to profits. The ill-will between PHI and private hospitals is best demonstrated by the battle between the St Vincent’s group and NIB, which is at breaking point.

Suggestions of a crisis in the private hospital sector are underlined by key players co-operating with a Federal Government review. Health Services Daily reports that, “79 facilities — including day surgeries, endoscopy centres, private hospitals, wound care centres, cosmetic surgery centres, dental centres, respiratory and sleep disorder clinics, dialysis clinics and mental health centres — have either closed or revoked their declaration as a private hospital since 2019”.

Internationally, post-pandemic use of telehealth has fallen and major retail chains who leapt into healthcare are back-pedalling. American companies Walmart and Walgreens winding back their health businesses (see What retail titans might do next on health care (axios.com)), makes us wonder how Healthylifeis going for Woolworths, locally.

The pressure to be profitable means most hospitals are searching for ways to reduce the costs of delivering care. Managing patients in their own beds may be cheaper than hospital beds and so the cash-strapped UK National Health Service has committed to scaling up virtual care.

If the NHS needs a success story to use as inspiration, the ever-innovative Cleveland Clinic is hailing its acute hospital care in the home program a success for patients and staff, while acknowledging further improvements are possible. For details, see Lessons from Cleveland Clinic’s 1st year of ‘hospital at home’ (beckershospitalreview.com).

Melbourne’s Austin Hospital has also committed to virtual wards as business as usual, particularly for cardiac and haematology patients.

And the Federal Government is funding virtual careto chip away at a barriers to accessing mental health inpatient care, (partly caused by a shortage of accessible psychiatrists).

Keeping it real on artificial intelligence

Investors seeking share-market alchemy remain bullish on Artificial Intelligence while potential end users want ethical, regulatory and security assurances to precede introduction of these potentially very useful new tools. The American Medical Association offers sensible tips on technology adoption here: In the push for AI in health care, avoid EHR rollout mistakes | American Medical Association (ama-assn.org)

As to the smorgasbord of AI news, here is an aperitif:

 

Source: Future Health Index 2024 Better care for more people

We're all healthcare consumers

We also keep a close watch on consumer health news, in the interest of all of us avoiding hospitalisation. Here are some insights aimed at keeping our engines running:

Evidence is mounting that good gut health boosts mental health and ability to handle stress. Stress: Could a healthy gut microbiome make you more resilient? (medicalnewstoday.com)

Multivitamins, however, might only contribute to expensive and colourful urine. Another Study Finds No Life-Extending Benefit From Multivitamins (healthday.com)

In other product news, the old advice (or excellent marketing) that taking aspirin reduces risk of heart attack appears to have been debunked – unless you have previously had a stroke or heart attack. American Adults Warned Over Aspirin Use Despite Risks – Newsweek

Stanford University research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, has identified six different types of depression, which has implications for better treatment and management of mental ill-health. 6 types of depression identified in Stanford study | CNN

And there are clear reasons to avoid COVID19 because the long form of the illness is particularly nasty. Report: More than 200 symptoms tied to long COVID | CIDRAP (umn.edu)

The last word

Police, prisons and hospital emergency departments are often the professionals most likely to be dealing with people experiencing acute mental ill health. Here’s a good news story of how technology and faster access to treatment can successfully divert people from EDs and custody – https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/outfitting-police-telehealth-ipads-mental-health-program-saves-government-62m?

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Eight reasons to embrace cloud technology in healthcare
 

October, 2023

Eight reasons to embrace cloud technology in healthcare

We’ve done the maths. But saving $600K in ten years is just one good reason to switch to the cloud.

In today’s fast-paced world, healthcare needs to be as efficient and technologically advanced as any other sector. This doesn’t mean adopting the latest technology for the sake of it. It does mean delivering 21st-century healthcare and, by doing it right, reaping substantial, long-term cost savings, and significant workplace and environmental benefits.
Here are eight reasons why cloud technology is essential to healthcare:

1. Interoperability is the future
Interoperability isn’t just a passing trend. Governments worldwide are moving towards legislating information sharing by default and cloud technology ensures real-time information exchange at the point of care. In contrast, non-cloud technologies, including cloud-bridging platforms, introduce multiple risks ranging from data integrity to security and governance issues. Cloud-based EHRs (Electronic Health Records) provide superior interoperability, enabling more coordinated and integrated care.

2. Cloud technology drives operational efficiency
From minimised IT overheads to consolidation of services and identity management, cloud technology reshapes how businesses operate. It offers universal access, strengthens data security, supports single source systems, and much more. Adopting the cloud doesn’t just mean upgrading technology; it enables overhauling and enhancing the operational fabric of your organisation.

3. Unparalleled scalability with cloud solutions
The adaptability of cloud applications is noteworthy. In a landscape that’s continuously evolving, cloud-based solutions can adeptly manage unpredictable usage patterns, support multi-party usage, and adapt to regulatory changes swiftly. With unparalleled scalability, cloud solutions are equipped to handle increasing data volumes, user counts, and evolving stakeholder needs.

4. Cost Analysis: Cloud vs. on-premise
When it comes to the financial aspects of healthcare, cloud solutions offer undeniable benefits. Consider the following costs associated with cloud and on-premise solutions. 

Click here to view the below table in a new window.

5. Adapting to the casualised workforce trend
The post-pandemic period has witnessed a shift towards a more casualised healthcare workforce. The burgeoning telemedicine sector, and changing economic circumstances, have resulted in more flexible work arrangements. Digital platforms are bolstering this change, fostering work-from-anywhere telecommuting and freelance opportunities. Cloud technology stands at the crux of these changing workforce trends, ensuring seamless transitions and facilitating innovative care models for healthcare providers and consumers.

6. Meeting patient expectations in the post-Covid era
The Covid-19 pandemic reshaped many sectors, and healthcare wasn’t exempt. Nowadays, patients anticipate digital solutions such as online appointment bookings, e-prescriptions, and quick access to telemedicine. Beyond the functional solutions, they also expect a personalised touch to their care, and more involvement in decision-making. Digital healthcare, powered by cloud technology, enables safety improvements, real-time access to information, and an enhanced patient experience.

7. Environmental benefits
According to research, cloud computing can decrease carbon emissions by approximately 60%-70%. This not only reflects more sustainable utilisation of resources like water, but also effective management of waste products when decommissioning hardware. As opposed to traditional data centers, cloud data centers are known to be significantly more energy efficient. [1,2] Transition to the cloud means reducing the carbon footprint of your health business.

8. Virtual care: The way forward
With virtual care rising in popularity, especially in Australia, integrated patient data systems are crucial. Cloud-based EHR solutions offer healthcare providers location-agnostic access to patient data, ensuring comprehensive care, whether provided remotely or in-clinic.

In summary, the transition to cloud technology in the healthcare sector isn’t just a tech upgrade; it’s a holistic approach to meeting modern business challenges head-on. Furthermore, the estimated costs savings over a 10-year period for a 10-doctor practice is over $600,000, not to mention the environmental benefits and peace of mind that come with outsourcing operations to a trusted partner.

Whether you’re a startup or an established player, it’s time to harness the power of the cloud.

[1] https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/products-services/the-cloud?energyType=true

[2] https://aws.amazon.com/executive-insights/content/fighting-climate-change-with-the-cloud/

This article was written by MediRecords CEO & Founder Matthew Galetto, and originally published by Health Services Daily and The Medical Republic.

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    A clinician’s MediRecords odyssey: unveiling efficient, mobile aged care medicine

    October 23, 2023

    A clinician's MediRecords odyssey: unveiling efficient, mobile aged care medicine

    Here’s the latest in our series on how people use MediRecords. In this Q & A, Dr Gaveen Jayarajan explains why he made the switch to the cloud and MediRecords to power his Doctors in Aged Care mobile medical practice.

    Tell us a bit about your practice.

    I operate the Doctors in Aged Care mobile GP service that visits residents at several Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) throughout metropolitan Melbourne. Our service exclusively does RACF work and is fully mobile and virtual; we see residents in their homes every week. We are committed to excellence in medical care of the elderly using innovative, non-traditional/hybrid approaches to healthcare service delivery.

    Associated with our medical practice, I have built the Doctors in Aged Care (DiAC) Facebook group, which is a community of over 2300 doctors Australia-wide.

    Please contrast MediRecords with the system you used prior to using MediRecords.

    I had used all the common GP clinical and practice management systems working as a GP in medical centres for the previous eight years. Usually clinics would use two different programs, one for clinical use and one for practice management (i.e., appointments/billing/claiming/reporting). When I started working full-time in aged care, I used a popular GP clinical software system which was server-based. This worked okay in a medical centre but was not well suited to mobile work visiting RACFs.

    As a doctor working in a challenging and inefficient setting, I urgently needed a reliable and stable solution. Hence my move to a cloud-based alternative, MediRecords.

    My initial apprehension with using a cloud system was what happens if internet speed and connection were unreliable? To my surprise this was a non-issue. Using mobile broadband devices, which now give NBN-type speeds in some locations, internet speed was not an issue. I could also use my mobile phone as a Hotspot if needed.

    MediRecords is an all-in-one, integrated clinical and practice management system. So, from a single browser window I could access the clinical functions I needed as well as seamlessly view my appointment book, create new appointments, perform billings, view current Medicare claims in progress, and generate reports for total invoices/billings over any time period.

    The third change was no longer having to engage and deal with a third-party IT service provider. Now all of this was handled in the background automatically; updates are   installed remotely with no disruption or major technical issues.

    How does MediRecords enhance your efficiency?

    I use the MediRecords appointment book as a key tool to manage my workload, maximise efficiency and provide proactive rather than reactive care.

    Every time a phone, email or fax request is received to review a patient, the patient’s name is entered into the appointment book for the next weekly visit day (or on the day of request if urgent) with an appointment type depending on the nature of the issue. It could be a “Regular” appointment or classified as for example, “Urgent’’, “Vaccine”, “Wound Review”, “Post-fall Review”, “Health Assessment”, “Phone Consultation”, etc. MediRecords allows multiple appointment types and durations to be created. Every time a patient is seen, a follow-up appointment is also made at an appropriate interval. When done for every patient, I can see with reasonable accuracy what my workload will be like. Unplanned extra patients, or “walk-ins”, can be added to the daily schedule depending on demand that day.

    We further enhance our scheduled care by using the recalls or “Clinical Actions” function. For every new patient we have recalls for core things relating to Medicare item numbers and due dates, e.g., Health Assessments, Residential Medication Management Reviews and Care Plan Contributions.

    Also useful for efficiency is the Tagging feature. I use Tags, along with another existing MediRecords feature of doing multiple patient invoices at once, to reduce the time taken to process daily billings to under five minutes.

    Another recent improvement has come with my API integration of MediRecords with Snapforms. Using Snapforms I created a “New Patient Details Form”. Now when a RACF asks me to take on a new patient, I email them a cloud-based form with a URL link. They complete all new patient details, attach a recent patient health summary or hospital discharge summary and a current medication list. After they hit submit, something magical happens! A new patient file is created in MediRecords with the key demographic data already populated, and a PDF copy of the form and any uploaded health summary or discharge summary and medication lists stored in the Correspondence IN tab in the patient file.

    I use MediRecords on multiple devices including my Surface Laptop, Samsung Galaxy tablet and Samsung Z-Fold 5 mobile phone.

    How does MediRecords enhance patient care?

    MediRecords allows me to operate with the lowest and leanest cost base and make it financially viable and sustainable for the long-term. It enables me to maintain safe and high standards of care that are consistent, repeatable and maximise quality of life for patients.

    What are your tips for people considering changing to MediRecords?

    Have a clear idea and rationale for why you want to move to the cloud.

    It can’t just be about saving money on software subscription costs or on upgrading or buying a new server. Independent GPs working at your practice will not be interested in this. Show them a way forward with a big picture view of how moving to the cloud can change the way they deliver healthcare, creating benefits they are not currently experiencing. Avoid trying to replicate like-for-like every feature of server-based software.

    What are you looking forward to with MediRecords in the future?

    The efficiencies we have been able to achieve by using cloud-based software have been done with an intense focus on optimising processes and managing costs – and without Artificial Intelligence (AI). We look forward to incorporating AI to further drive efficiency and improve patient care standards by automating more administrative processes and providing advanced clinical decision support and insights.

    If you’d like to showcase innovative ways you use MediRecords in healthcare, please reach out to us via sales@medirecords.com.

    Dr Gaveen Jayarajan is an investor and member of the MediRecords Medical Advisory Board.  

    Read more about Doctors in Aged Care on their website.  

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      What are the keys to embedding telehealth into your practice?

      October 6, 2023

      What are the keys to embedding telehealth into your practice?

      A new US study has identified reasons that some primary-care practices were better able than others to adapt to the surge in the demand for telemedicine during the pandemic.

      We wanted to know if the Australian experience was the same, so we asked our telehealth partner, Coviu.

      The study of 87 US practices, in the Annals of Family Medicine, found key factors were:

      • Prior experience with virtual health, such as knowing the importance of grouping telehealth visits together; and
      • Triaging rules, that is, clearly or not clearly knowing which patients could be treated virtually and which required an in-person visit 

      Coviu observed during the pandemic that primary-care practices, boosted by the rapid introduction of universal Medicare reimbursements for phone and video telehealth, were quick to adopt phone for telehealth, but were more reluctant to adopt video telehealth, according to CEO Silvia Pfeiffer.

      “This has remained the major approach to telehealth in primary care,“ Dr Pfeiffer said.

      “This trend persists despite the government’s push for the adoption of video and compelling evidence suggesting that, for many visits, video results in better outcomes than phone calls.

      “But for many primary-care services, phone telehealth is completely adequate, and for many patients without connectivity, phone is the only telehealth option.”

      Coviu confirmed that practitioners throughout the Australian healthcare system demonstrated greater adaptability to telehealth when it was already integrated into their practice model, such as in rural settings, or when it was part of their pre-pandemic strategy.

      “The absence of clear and consistent triage guidelines, especially early in the pandemic, contributed to the challenges faced by healthcare providers,” Dr Pfeiffer said.

      “Triage guidelines help determine which patients should receive in-person care, telehealth consultations, or home care, and their absence can lead to uncertainty and increased workload for clinicians.”

      She said when initially adopting telehealth during the pandemic, primary-care practitioners faced significant challenges including “unmet basic requirements, such as the absence of webcams or sufficiently powerful computers for telehealth”.

      “In addition, many GPs lacked adequate training on what could be accomplished through video telehealth.”

      Today, obstacles to wider adoption of telehealth include, “the stigma associated with video consultations, particularly among practitioners accustomed to in-person care”, Dr Pfeiffer said.

      “Slow change management within healthcare organisations hinders progress, with a perception that video visits are inferior to in-person appointments, which does not apply in all instances. For example, mental health advice often leads to better outcomes when delivered via video in the comfort of a person’s own home.

      “Reimbursements are still a challenge as the rules continue to change, causing confusion.

      “Misinformation about privacy and security concerns as well as regulatory requirements also loom, impacting patient trust.

      “Furthermore, inadequate training, both in technical software use and determining the clinical appropriateness of remote consultations, remains a hurdle.”

      Factors Coviu says lead to successful telehealth adoption include:

      1. Digital knowledge within practices that already had digital communication mechanisms set up with their clients.
      2. Practices that strategically integrated telehealth into their workflows and adopted technology to make this seamless
      3. Practices that prepared their staff with training on their virtual-care workflow
      4.  Adoption of triaging rules by clinicians, as proposed by industry experts such as the RACGP, and other industry bodies and federations.

      MediRecords has partnered with Coviu to streamline booking of video consultations with practice clients. Once your Coviu account is connected to MediRecords, any consultation nominated as a telehealth appointment auto-generates a link to the Coviu virtual consultation and your client is sent an invitation via SMS or email.

      MediRecords and Coviu are both Australian developed cloud-hosted health technology companies.

      Read more about Coviu on their website. 

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        Innovation that takes the stigma out of STI testing
         

        September 25 , 2023

        Innovation that takes the stigma out of STI testing

        Approximately 30,000 Australians are using a revolutionary service that saves them from awkward face-to-face conversations with doctors about sexually transmitted infections

        The service, Stigma Health, is part of Australia’s largest sexual health network specialising in online STI testing. And it uses MediRecords for patient records, appointment management, Medicare claiming and more.

        Stigma Health eliminates embarrassment by removing the need for in-person clinical consultations and allowing consumers to get a non-confrontational STI-test pathology referral online then take it to any of the 10,000 pathology collection centres Australia-wide.

        Australian data shows that one in 25 people aged 15-29 had chlamydia in 2021, but fewer than one third received a diagnosis. Additionally, 2,630 Australians are unknowingly living with HIV. Reluctance to be tested is likely to contribute to these statistics.

        Stigma recommends STI testing whenever people have a new sexual partner — or every three months.

        Founders James Sneddon and Dr. Mitchell Tanner believe strongly in the power of new technology for the greater good.

        “We use MediRecords as it is a cloud solution, which is fantastic for our remote workforce,” the CEO, Mr Sneddon, said.

        “Further, the MediRecords app is the most secure way to communicate and share results with our patients.

        “The SMS-on-demand feature is also a fantastic communication/notification tool.”

        Stigma Health has recently introduced telephone and video appointments.

        “We are managing these with MediRecords appointments and the COVIU video platform, Mr Sneddon said.

        “These appointments also carry Medicare claiming, which is simple with the MediRecords platform.”

        “In my role as CEO of our group of clinics, MediRecords allows me operational transparency to understand our capacity, our efficiency and, best of all, our outcomes.

         “MediRecords’ facilitation of APIs and working towards keeping their system open and able to integrate is of huge value to our organisation,” Mr Sneddon said. 

        Legal drug testing

        In a world first, Mr Sneddon and Dr Tanner have also started harm-minimisation telehealth testing service for users of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) & performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs).

        Also supported by MediRecords software, the service, Roidsafe, is a legal, judgment-free platform.

        “Many steroid users rely on ad-hoc information from other users within their community,” the site noted.

        “Regular Roidsafe testing gives you insight into how your body functions pre, during and post-cycle, so you can make informed decisions.”

        It tests liver and kidney function, cholesterol levels and a range of hormone levels.

        “Our platform is 100% confidential and more affordable than making multiple visits to your GP to gain a referral, plus follow–up appointments to get your results,” Roidsafe stated.

        “Getting tested with us is easy. We deliver your online referral, you get tested at a local pathology clinic, and your results will be sent securely to your mobile phone.”

        Read more about Stigma Health on their website. 

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          Untapped potential: Hybrid care benefits remain overlooked post-pandemic

          September 7, 2023

          Untapped potential: Hybrid care benefits remain overlooked post-pandemic

          Hybrid care — that is the mixed delivery of in-person and telehealth consultations by a clinic — is decreasing in Australia, according to leading telehealth platform Coviu.

          “This compares to a continued increase in the use of self-paid telehealth consultations with online-only GP services,” Coviu CEO Silvia Pfeiffer said.

          “The recent introduction of GP telehealth services by Woolworths for a fixed $45 rate is a clear example demonstrating what consumers want, but what their own GPs may not be delivering.”

          “While hybrid care is deemed the future of healthcare, we seem to be going in a direction where we are facing a segmentation of the industry into technology-only service providers and technology-averse service providers.”

          For hybrid care to function successfully, new reimbursement models and new models of care are necessary, Dr Pfeiffer said.
          Currently, most practitioners favoured the in-person attendance of patients, and patients did not feel empowered to ask for telehealth consultations, she said.

          “In a situation of clinician shortage where brick-and-mortar clinics have sufficient in-person patient traffic, there is very little incentive for the adoption of telehealth.

          “This will unfortunately lead to a continued reluctance of the adoption of hybrid care [and] lead to patients turning their backs on their own local GPs, instead seeking telehealth services from online-only providers.

          “This cannot be a desirable future.”

          Coviu’s position is that today’s Medicare reimbursements for telehealth consultations, “certainly are not designed to encourage the use of telehealth”, requiring an in-person visit at least once a year before patients become eligible for telehealth consultations.

          “This creates extra administrative burden on the practice, even discouraging practice administrators from offering telehealth consultations to patients,” Dr Pfeiffer said.

          “Better training and better triage rules for healthcare professionals, practice managers, administration staff, and nurses would certainly help to empower the industry with better telehealth capabilities.

          “It would address the technical capabilities gap in healthcare, the reluctance to video telehealth adoption, and facilitate necessary changes in patient pathways.”

          MediRecords has partnered with Coviu to streamline booking of video consultations with practice clients. Once your Coviu account is connected to MediRecords, any consultation nominated as a telehealth appointment auto-generates a link to the Coviu virtual consultation and your client is sent an invitation via SMS or email.

          MediRecords and Coviu are both Australian developed cloud-hosted health technology companies.

          Read more about Coviu on their website. 

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            Head in the cloud: embracing cloud technology for virtual care

            August 29, 2023

            Case study

            Head in the cloud: embracing cloud technology for virtual care

            A case study on how MediRecords helped Doctors on Demand embrace cloud technology for virtual care. 

            At the international MedInfo conference in Sydney, MediRecords had the pleasure of leading a panel with key client Doctors on Demand. The focus of the session was managing the transition from legacy server-based software to MediRecords’ cloud-based technology.

            MediRecords Group Manager of Customer Success, Michael Alldrick, and Doctors on Demand Director of Governance and Programs Amanda Yeates, discussed the challenges of server-based software for virtual care businesses, the process of changing to the cloud, and benefits that have flowed from making the move. For those who could not attend, here are some highlights from their conversation.

            Doctors on Demand Overview

            Michael: Before we delve into the details, let’s start with an overview of Doctors on Demand and the services the company provides.

            Amanda: Doctors on Demand is a virtual healthcare service provider that connects patients to doctors through video conferencing. We prioritise technology, and our 100% remote workforce allows patients to access healthcare from anywhere. Initially, we faced challenges with our on-premise practice management software, which was retrofitted to meet our needs. However, as we grew, it became clear that a more seamless and scalable solution was required, leading us to explore cloud-based options like MediRecords.

            Michael: The limited options for cloud-based technology in 2015 necessitated careful consideration. Can you explain the challenges faced during the transition and the decisions that led to embracing a cloud-based solution?

            Amanda: Certainly. We established virtual servers to provide remote desktop access for our doctors, enabling them to access clinical information about patients. However, this setup created a complex workflow, where doctors had to toggle between their own desktops and the virtual server, leading to inefficiencies and scalability issues. We needed a seamless solution where doctors could access patient data anytime with an internet connection. After surveying the market, we chose MediRecords as the cloud-based system that aligned with our requirements.

            Data migration and maintaining continuity of care

            Michael: Moving from an existing system to a new one while maintaining patient continuity of care is critical. MediRecords placed a lot of emphasis on this and worked hard to ensure complete patient record and appointment history was migrated. How did you feel about this process and was it enough to ensure a smooth transition into a new system?

            Amanda: The data migration process was complex due to the extensive amount of data accumulated over the years. We worked closely with MediRecords’ data migration team, implementing a phased approach to ensure minimal disruption to our 24/7 service. We started with a few doctors, gradually migrating data in tranches. Our collaboration with MediRecords ensured that the data was accurately represented in the new system. Despite the size of our clinical workforce, we managed to complete the transition within a few weeks, thanks to MediRecords’ support and training resources.

            Cost savings and streamlined operations through cloud technology

            Michael: During your transition to MediRecords’ Doctors on Demand achieved substantial cost savings by eliminating the need for a dedicated IT team to manage your previous complex on-premise system. Can you elaborate on how this switch streamlined your operations and led to significant improvements in efficiency?

            Amanda: Certainly, Michael. The move to a cloud-based solution with MediRecords was a game-changer for us. As mentioned, we had previously set up virtual servers to provide remote desktop access for our doctors, which introduced complex workflows leading to inefficiencies and scalability issues. With MediRecords’ cloud technology, and the ability to access patient data anytime and anywhere, we eliminated the need for a dedicated IT team to manage our previous on-premise infrastructure. The cloud-based solution is more user-friendly and requires minimal maintenance. The API integration also played a crucial role in automating tasks, reducing administrative overhead, and saving on operational costs. Thanks to these cost savings, we could reallocate resources to enhance our virtual care services, expand our offerings, and pursue future growth opportunities, creating a more sustainable and efficient healthcare model for Doctors on Demand.

            Harnessing the power of cloud and APIs

            Michael: Embracing cloud technology can significantly impact workflows and patient care. How has the integration of MediRecords Connect API service supported your doctors and users, and how does it enhance your current workflow?

            Amanda: As a patient-driven service, it was crucial for us to have real-time access to clinical data during consultations. MediRecords facilitated this through API integration, enabling data to seamlessly flow into our practice management software. Doctors now have immediate access to essential patient information during consultations. Additionally, our administrative team can enter doctor schedules in MediRecords, which are promptly reflected on our website. The two-way communication facilitated by APIs streamlines our operations and enhances patient care. 

            Future growth and advancements

            Michael: Doctors on Demand has shown progress in corporate health, private insurance, and other areas. What are Doctors on Demands future plans, and how does the company envision growing its services?

            Amanda: Like many health tech companies, we have an ambitious pipeline of work for the coming months and years. In the next financial year, we plan to focus on mental health services, providing virtual primary care and mental health care plans. Additionally, we aim to strengthen our partnerships with corporate entities, leveraging the advantages offered by MediRecords’ 2.0 interface. This new interface will enhance patient communication capabilities, including email and demand management.

            Michael: Exciting times ahead! Lastly, based on Doctors on Demand’s experience and decision-making process, what advice would you give to organisations considering new technologies to future-proof their businesses?

            Amanda: Making the transition to new technologies can be challenging, but it’s crucial for scalability and growth. As an organisation, we were determined to embrace change. Education, support, and collaboration were key in successfully navigating this journey. MediRecords’ training resources, webinars, and live chat support played a significant role. Despite the initial resistance to change, we managed to onboard our large clinical workforce within weeks. So, I would encourage organisations to thoroughly assess their needs, seek support, and embrace new technologies for long-term success.

            Conclusion

            The collaboration between Doctors on Demand and MediRecords highlights the positive impact of cloud technology on virtual healthcare services. By migrating from a legacy server-based solution to MediRecords’ cloud-based system, Doctors on Demand overcame challenges, improved workflows, reduced costs, streamlined operations and enhanced patient care. The seamless data migration, ongoing support, and future growth plans demonstrate the successful transformation enabled by embracing cloud technology for virtual care. 

            Read more about Doctors on Demand on their website.  

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              Communication the key to reducing hospital readmissions

              March 14, 2023

              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
                 

                     March 7, 2023

                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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                  Federal Government digital health upgrade grants on the way

                  February 28, 2023

                  Federal Government digital health upgrade grants on the way

                  Update: 24 April 2023

                  New details are now available on the Strengthening Medicare General Practice Grants.

                  Grants of $25,000, $35,000 or $50,000 are available depending on practice size. The grants will be administered by your local Primary Health Network (PHN) or the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). To take advantage of this funding, complete a grant application sourced via your PHN or NACCHO.

                   

                  MediRecords welcomes the news that Federal Government grants aimed at helping to enhance digital health capability for Medicare general practices and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) will become available from April. 

                   

                  General practices and ACCHS will be eligible for one-off grants of up to $50,000 for innovation, training, equipment, and minor capital works under three categories:

                  1. Enhance digital health capability – Accelerate moves to a more connected healthcare system that meets future standards;
                  2. Upgrade infection prevention and control arrangements – Ensure infectious respiratory disease (e.g. COVID, influenza) patients can be safely seen face-to-face; and/or
                  3. Maintain and/or achieve accreditation against the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for General Practice to promote quality and safety in health care.

                  The grants were an election promise from then opposition leader Anthony Albanese in May 2022. The Strengthening Medicare – GP Grants Program was subsequently allocated $220 million in the October 2022 federal budget.

                  Medicare general practice grants will be administered by local Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and ACCHS grants by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). Practices and health services owned or operated by a state, territory or local government agency are ineligible.

                  MediRecords Chief Executive Officer Matthew Galetto welcomed the move and said he hoped it signalled a shift to better data connectivity between GPs and the broader health care system.

                  “We would like to see incentives for general practices to switch to the cloud, given the environmental, security and interoperability benefits that flow from leaving behind legacy software and hardware systems.”

                  Mr Galetto said the grants program was an opportunity for the Federal Government and PHNs to drive industry-wide reform and boost adoption of new technology platforms.

                  “Just as PIP (Practice Incentives Program) grants helped shift GPs from paper-based systems to electronic, this grant funding should seek to do the same for next generation interoperable technology.”

                  “This is bigger than improving the My Health Record. There is an opportunity to follow the United States example and provide genuine connectivity of digital health records for patients, from primary to tertiary care.”

                  MediRecords is a true cloud electronic health record system featuring global standards-based interoperability and SNOMED-CT-AU clinical coding. MediRecords pioneered cloud practice management software in Australia and is now used by general practitioners, specialists, multidisciplinary clinics, hospitals, and government departments.

                  Practices considering using their grant to upgrade to cloud clinical software are welcome to reach out to MediRecords. We provide onboarding services including training, data migration and configuration of electronic prescribing, telehealth integration, Medicare claiming and more.

                   

                   
                  Find out more here!

                  Further information

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