NSW Health May Be Making Some Forward Steps With Patient Information Sharing.

I spotted this a few days ago:

Collaboration sets the stage for next phase of Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR)

29 August 2024

Building a landing zone for technology to take flight

eHealth NSW in partnership with the Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority (SDPRIA), Epic Systems and Amazon Web Services (AWS), completed the build of the SDPR hosting environment, known as the AWS Landing zone.

The AWS Landing Zone is a secure, scalable and foundation for how the electronic Medical Record (eMR) will be managed and deployed for SDPR.

Configuration phase moves a step closer to reality

Cutting-edge cloud technologies were developed for the AWS landing zone to improve service delivery. This core foundation means the focus now turns to configuring the SDPR to ensure it meets the needs of NSW Health staff, patients and the people of NSW.

SDPRIA Chief Executive Dr Teresa Anderson AM shares how this milestone is a fantastic outcome and yet another example of excellence in partnering.

“The achievement is the result of tireless collaboration between AWS, eHealth NSW technical teams and Epic Systems and I couldn’t be prouder of the result,” Dr Anderson said.

“It truly demonstrates that our Single Digital Patient Record now has the infrastructure capabilities and readiness, in addition to enhanced security and compliance to ensure it is ready for this exciting next phase of configuration,” - Dr Teresa Anderson AM, (SDPRIA) Chief Executive

Focus now on data migration and integration

The team will focus on data migration and integration, to enable a seamless transition and integration with other systems and workflows as well as ongoing testing and validation said SDPR Associate Director, Service Delivery, Rodney Daly.

“This step signifies the transition from planning and preparation to actual deployment and implementation, ensuring that we have the right infrastructure in place to support the high performance and reliability required for the Epic Systems eMR" - Rodney Daly, SDPR Associate Director

“This milestone while very technical will provide a number of improvements and benefits, including the easy scaling of resources to meet growing demands, enhanced security and improved performance,” said Mr Daly.

Find out more about the Single Digital Patient Record program.

The link points to this screed:

Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR)

The Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) will provide a secure, holistic and integrated view of the care a patient receives across the NSW Health system. Clinicians will be able to access a patient’s medical information in real-time from a single source.

The Challenge

Clinical information is captured in many different systems across NSW Health. Currently, healthcare teams must access several platforms to get a comprehensive patient history. These include various electronic medical record systems, patient administration systems and laboratory information management systems. This makes it difficult to quickly access comprehensive information about a patient.

Some of these systems are also not connected statewide. This means different care teams must manually request patient information from other local health districts if a patient is visiting multiple health services. Data is routinely collected but is often unable to be shared or integrated in real time. This can create data duplication or information gaps that could affect providing the best patient care possible.

To solve these challenges, a single source of clinical information is needed.

The Plan

The SDPR program will transform how people experience and deliver care across the state, providing benefits for the people of NSW and the NSW Health workforce regardless of their location and role.

It will bring the state healthcare system together, unifying access to patient clinical information in one view. This will help to provide connected, transparent and safe care for any person at any public healthcare setting statewide.

The SDPR program will achieve this by partnering with NSW Health pillars, public health services, staff, clinical leaders and community members who support or interact with the statewide health service. This will include a statewide integration of electronic medical records (eMR), laboratory information management system (LIMS) and patient administration system (PAS).

SDPR will be delivered under the leadership of the Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority (SDPRIA). The Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority (SDPRIA) has been established to work in partnership with Local Health Districts, Specialty Networks, eHealth NSW, NSW Health Pathology, shared services, Pillar agencies, the Ministry of Health and the EPIC teams to lead the implementation of the SDPR program.

SDPR will be first available in the Hunter New England LHD and Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, followed by a phased roll out schedule across the state. The overall implementation timeline is expected to be completed by 2028. This includes the configuration of the system and roll out.

The Outcome

For the first time in NSW, healthcare teams will be able to use the same digital clinical system to access patient information, record the care they provide, order diagnostic tests and manage medications, no matter which public hospital or community healthcare facility they work in.

The key features of the SDPR will include:

• Holistic, real-time patient information accessible from a single system
• Continuity of information provided within a single system across all NSW Health services
• Improved integration with medical devices and other clinical systems
• Intuitive, user-friendly design that, for example, pre-fills records based on historic patient data
• Secure access to patient records and clinical workflows via mobile devices
• Simplified clinical workflows and streamlined technical support
• Robust privacy and security functionality
• Increased analytics, dashboards and reporting to support ongoing enhancement of health services and patient safety.

The Benefits

Having one statewide system will support consistency and continuity of care, particularly for patients receiving care across multiple NSW Health settings.

For patients visiting NSW Health services, it will mean:

• A reduced need to recall and repeat health information
• A consistent experience regardless of where they seek care
• More informed discussions with their health care providers, so they are better able to make decisions about their own health.

For NSW Health clinicians, the SDPR will mean:

• Easier, faster and more consistent access to comprehensive, up-to-date patient records in a single secure system
• Enhanced clinical safety and quality, with less duplication of care across sites and providers
• Less admin, with streamlined record-keeping.

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Here is the overall link:

https://www.ehealth.nsw.gov.au/news/2024/single-digital-patient-record-infrastructure-milestone

This all sounds wonderful, but I am curious to know how much of this is beyond the ‘vapour-ware” stage and is actually doing what is intended?

Reading the announcement one really wonders how much of this grand plan is real at present.

It would be good to hear from those on the ground as to how much has thus far been achieved.

I can report – after a very recent stay at Royal North Shore that – at a ward level – virtually all documentation is electronic and is very widely used. (No one goes anywhere without their mobile terminal)

So at a hospital level real progress appears to have been made! I am now wondering what the impact has been?

Anyone care to comment from the work - face?

David.

p.s. Put another way by Adam Ang:

SDPR foundation developed

The "landing zone" for the Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) in New South Wales has been set. 

According to eHealth NSW, the landing zone, developed with Epic and Amazon Web Services, is the "secure, scalable foundation" for managing and deploying the SDPR. The single EMR project is set to replace nine EMR platforms, six PAS, five pathology LIMS, and other clinical support systems across NSW public health services. 

This step ensures that the right infrastructure is "in place to support the high performance and reliability required for the Epic Systems EMR," said SDPR project associate director Rodney Daly. 

Following this, the project now focuses on configuring the SDPR to meet user requirements, as well as data migration and integration with other systems and workflows, on top of ongoing testing and validation. 

Here is the link:

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/sdpr-landing-zone-established-and-more-nsw-briefs

 Reports from the field encouraged!

 D.