This appeared late last week:
Tracking the impact of telepharmacy during COVID
Clinical Communication COVID-19 Pharmacy Telehealth
Telehealth and telepharmacy have seen a surge in use and discussion with the arrival of COVID.
For pharmacists across the country, it has been a challenge while also accelerating the move to digitised services such as electronic prescriptions.
Since April 2020, pharmacists have been able to perform Home Medicine Reviews (HMR), MedsChecks, Diabetes MedsChecks, and Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMR) via video-conferencing technology or over the phone.
Traditionally, these services are one-on-one consultations between the pharmacist and patient to identify any issues the patient is experiencing while taking medication and ensure that their current medicines are having the desired effect. MedsChecks and Diabetes MedsChecks are typically held at the pharmacy, while HMR and RMMR services involve the pharmacist visiting the patient’s home or the aged care facility they live in.
These changes also included a broadening of the eligibility criteria for telehealth, and the inclusion of two additional follow-up appointments for HMRs and RMMRs.
How has funding (or a lack of it) impacted the uptake of telehealth services?
Since funding has been restricted to HMRs, RMMRS, and MedsChecks, the benefits of additional funding have been felt more by consultant pharmacists who offer these services and those in hospital contexts.
For local pharmacists, the real impact has come from the increased usage of fax, email and electronic prescription services such as the token model. Introduced late last year, the token model is the first step towards the widely anticipated Active Script List (ASL), a cloud-based service that gives pharmacists access to a patient’s list of current medication without the need for paper scripts.
“As a group of pharmacists, we’re all just waiting for [the Active Script List], which is going to be a real game changer,” says Ian Magill, the owner and pharmacist at Geeveston Pharmacy.
As with the introduction of any new technology, ensuring that it can integrate with existing infrastructure can present an issue. The need to upgrade computers or purchase modems that minimise the impact of patchy NBN service are among some of the challenges facing pharmacies. A lack of funding for pharmacy businesses has also placed the onus of upgrading equipment and preparing for the adoption of electronic services on pharmacy owners.
More here:
https://medicalrepublic.com.au/tracking-the-impact-of-telepharmacy-during-covid/40142
I found it interesting that this range of tele-services have been being used since April last year and that there is considerable confidence in the way it is working. I wonder is this pharmacy activity also locked into the future use of remote clinical consultations appears to be!
In passing I have to say I am not sure that the ASL is going to be as problem free as some would have you believe. Time will tell!
I wonder what is going on in Allied Health and Nursing?
David.
8 comments:
David re "I am not sure that the ASL is going to be as problem free as some would have you believe"
IMHO, the chances of the ASL being problem free is somewhere between zero and bugger all. That's based on the track records of Health, NEHTA, ADHA and the PCEHR/MYHR.
Interesting article in The Medical Republic
https://medicalrepublic.com.au/healthcares-four-horsemen-and-the-great-digital-bait-and-switch/40621
It includes this little snippet
"This all means by the way that the My Health Record, which our government has now spent more than $2 billion on, and which we are still persisting with – a re-platforming contract later this year with one of the big overseas tech vendors or consultants is due now – will be rendered mostly redundant in the not too distant future (some of its data and functionality will survive, but not enough to justify continuing to piling significantly money on top of a mostly wasted $2 billion).
More than 18 months ago Apple health developers pivoted to a game changing new global healthcare web data sharing standard called FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource) and started building all Apple health applications around it.
The move signals that Apple intends to be able to talk to everything important in digital health data exchange and be central in that exchange. The iPhone will be the central point of exchange for most of our healthcare data."
Even Jeremy doesn't get it "(MyHR) will be rendered mostly redundant in the not too distant future". It always was redundant so it's hard to make it more redundant.
The future of healthcare might not be as the big Tech companies are hoping but is sure as eggs are eggs, it's not crippled document management systems like MyHR.
The MyHR will persist if only for the simple reason - to work in a position where you could influence change - you have to be a Qadvocate of the MyHR and believe current secure messaging is the path to glory. The other obstacle is that people listen to 5% of what you say and they match it against their most recent experience of initiatives. Strong signals of where they go wrong? Every time they launch a wonderful new program, “In 5 year’s time, after we invested all this money, look at how life will be,” people are scanning 5% of what you say through the patterns of previous initiatives, and that’s their response.
The way we introduce programmes has got to change because we need to deal with reality. Looking at ADHA and I am sure they are nice people, there is no programme management talent nor talent required for programmes to successfully operate.
Seems nothing much is going to change - our public service has a real look the other way - head in the sand problem. This popped up in my emails today from glassdoor
I worked at Australian Digital Health Agency for more than a year
Pros
Jobs, promotions and pay rises for mates. Do not bother applying if you have no contacts there. Even if you are one of the lucky few who has no connections and gets in, seeing your peers strongest claim to a pay rise or promotion being their close relationship to their team manager will frustrate you. This is an employer of last choice.
Cons
Nice office, good location, close to public transport.
Advice to Management
No point as management finds a way to justify any wrongdoing. People who complain are just troublemakers with an axe to grind
Shouldn't the Pros be Cons and vice versa?
Yes nothing much changes it seems. As for the pro and con - yep wrong way around, but it is how it is presented on Glassdoor.com
I hear the Acting guild at ADHA is very much as it is expressed in the post Sarah shared
Just more evidence of the legacy of a previous waste of space. She even blatantly posts how wonderful she is on the glass door site. Only reaffirms what has been called out on this and other forums for years.
Still the public service is not going to change and this sort of thing will continue.
AnonymousFebruary 20, 2021 11:59 AM
That is a really interesting perspective and on reflection very much a contributor to the problem. Well put Anon.
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