This appeared last week:
Moving toward a more connected aged health system with My Health Record
By Sean McKeown
14 March 2024
By using My Health Record, care providers can gain access to health information that aims to improve continuity of care across the spectrum, from aged care nurses to GPs.
The Aged Care Registration Project, coordinated by the Australian Digital Health Agency, offers support for residential aged care homes to connect to My Health Record.
The project emphasises several key points, including the benefits for providers, carers, and consumers, the availability of extensive records that include vaccination information, diagnostic imaging, advance care plans and GP summaries.
As of February 2024, 35% of residential aged care homes in Australia are connected to My Health Record, a notable increase from 12% just 18 months ago when the project was established. This growth is attributed to the growing benefits of accessing My Health Record, with a continuing stream of comprehensive health information being added. The capability to upload advance care plans to My Health Record is a significant development, facilitating better-coordinated care in both residential aged care and home care settings.
The Agency has collaborated with numerous software vendors to develop systems that seamlessly integrate with My Health Record. Currently, over 13 software vendors have systems supporting this integration, with plans to engage with additional vendors in the future. This integration enables authorised staff members to access a resident’s comprehensive health record, including vital information such as discharge summaries, pathology results, and medication history.
A share-by-default approach for pathology and diagnostics information would continually add to the current records held by almost 24 million Australians in My Health Record.
Speaking with Inside Ageing, Laura Toyne from the Agency, highlighted My Health Record as the digital solution for streamlining the information transfer from aged care to acute care settings.
“The Aged Care Transfer Summary (ACTS) within My Health Record facilitates the transfer of essential health information when a resident is transferred to acute hospital care. This includes details such as reasons for transfer, current medications, and other relevant records, thereby improving the efficiency and safety of care transitions,” Ms Toyne added.
Laura Toyne, Branch Manager, National Program Delivery, Australian Digital Health Agency
Registration support is available to help you connect
Through tailored registration support and educational resources, the Agency will help aged care providers navigate the transition to digital health solutions.
A registration support team is available to connect residential aged care homes, with tailored, one-on-one registration support available via e-learning modules, webinars, training simulators and more.
Don’t miss this opportunity to join the digital health revolution. Visit the Australian Digital Health website to register your interest and the team will contact you with further information and next steps.
Here is the link:
https://insideageing.com.au/moving-toward-a-more-connected-aged-health-system-with-my-health-record/
This really is one of those instances where connecting the Aged Care Home to the myHealth record clearly leads to the next question of what the Aged Care Home(s) would do with the record – given they already have their own record keeping systems and are run off their feet providing necessary and rather more relevant care than posting to the myHR!
Love this quote from the article:
"The Agency is actively engaged in promoting the benefits of digital health and supporting providers in adopting these technologies."
I have not heard of a huge level of adoption in response to the ADHA and their efforts to date - or have I missed it?
I am looking forward to a post from an Aged Care Provider telling us all just how useful and relevant they are finding the myHR for their patients – but I guess they may be too busy!
Hope springs eternal!
David.
5 comments:
"By using My Health Record, care providers can gain access to health information that aims to improve continuity of care across the spectrum, from aged care nurses to GPs."
"can"? Maybe, but only if someone has put the data in My Health Record, which is highly unlikely for an aged patient.
And then there's David's question:
"This really is one of those instances where connecting the Aged Care Home to the myHealth record clearly leads to the next question of what the Aged Care Home(s) would do with the record"
If it's empty, there's no data to be made use of.
ADHA seems to be using the strategy of telling a big lie often enough and people will start to believe it - until there's a major failure of the system.
Rather reminiscent of the Post Office Debacle in the UK, but at least its only a waste of time and money of the government, not the patients, or in the case of the Post Office, the sub-postmasters.
And who pays for the additional infrastructure , SOCI compliance and the cost of maintaining an interface to what should probably be in a retirement home? Does ADHA put dis benefits in their BS cases?
The federal departments can’t even agree to a standardised and centralised record system for themselves, I think it’s a bit rich for them to be leading a charge for the centralisation of our most sensitive of information. 10- years they have been arguing with themselves over something so straightforward and within their control.
@damien, a good question - not one I have an answer for - anyone deal with the costs and risk at a local level in dealing with the Government Health record scheme? Particularly any private hospital groups that at best might operate services funding by state taxes.
The MyHealthRecord system isn't built for daily clinical activity, no record of patient taking each dose, no daily observations. The micro management is only if they have an EMR & procedures to capture daily clinical care. What the MHR does capture is the occasional records, a 2nd source & duplicates data found in the referals/discharge letters still used.
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