Digital health Archives | Page 8 of 9 | South Western Sydney PHN

17 November 2022

Effective information security in general practice is essential.

As the digital healthcare landscape in Australia continues to evolve, so do the information and cyber security risks.

RACGP’s new Information Security in General Practice resource will equip GPs and practice teams with key tools to:

implement robust information security protocols to protect critical clinical and practice data
manage the ever-evolving cyber-security risk landscape
successfully prepare for, respond to and recover from crisis situations
align with requirements and legal obligations of the current health technology environment
keep patients, staff and the business safe

RACGP Information security in general practice

This article appeared in Practice Pulse on Wednesday, 16 November 2022. If you are a GP, practice nurse or practice manager in South Western Sydney and do not get the weekly Practice Pulse email, speak to your Practice Support Officer.

07 September 2022

South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) is inviting feedback from Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) across our region about what support they require to increase the availability and use of telehealth services for their residents.

We have received funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) to promote appropriate telehealth facilities and equipment in RACFs to facilitate increased capability and usage.

We will also:

Provide training to improve the capacity of RACF staff to assist residents with accessing telehealth consultations
Encourage the use of My Health Record by RACFs to improve how information is shared between healthcare providers
Assist RACFs to ensure appropriate after-hours plans are in place, and provide education on after-hours care options and processes

Understanding needs of RACFs in our region

SWSPHN is conducting a needs assessment of all RACFs within south western Sydney to determine the level of support they require to increase the availability and use of telehealth services at their facility.

Our current ETA for needs assessment completion is March 2023.

The financial assistance SWSPHN offers your RACF may include:

procurement of equipment required for telehealth consultations, including IT hardware and software, and
staff training in the availability and use of telehealth options.

Complete an expression of interest for your facility

Complete the RACF telehealth grants EOI now

Need help or have questions?

Please contact our Digital Health Team on (02) 4632 3000 or email digitalhealth@swsphn.com.au.

20 July 2022

If you’re a medical specialist or practice manager in a specialist clinic, you can learn from local specialists about the digital health tools available to improve how you deliver healthcare to your patients.

SWSPHN is hosting three webinars featuring guest speakers: Dr Benjamin Kwan and Dr David Hoffman.

Dr Benjamin Kwan is an endocrinologist practicing in Cabramatta, with appointments at Canterbury and Concord Hospitals. He has a special interest in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, thyroid disease, and calcium and bone disorders. He will present at a meeting on Wednesday, 27 July.

Dr David Hoffman has practiced as an endocrinologist in Fairfield for almost 25 years. He is also associated with the Australian software company, S4S, which produces the Audit4 EMR for medical specialists, and which integrates My Health Record and electronic prescribing. He will present at a meeting on Wednesday, 10 August.

Dr Hoffman and Dr Kwan are early adopters of digital health solutions and are invested in helping their specialist peers to understand the benefits they bring to their patients and their practices.

The webinars aim to support specialist practices to use digital health tools to transform they deliver care, reduce administrative burden, save time and improve clinical handovers.

Register for a webinar:

Tuesday, 26 July
6.30pm-8pm
REGISTER HERE

Wednesday, 27 July
7.30pm-9pm
REGISTER HERE

Wednesday, 10 August
7pm-8.30pm
REGISTER HERE

At the webinar, medical specialists and practice managers can expect to learn about:

Identifying the digital health tools available to specialists which can improve service delivery and clinical handovers, including My Health Record, electronic prescribing, telehealth and secure messaging
How some digital health tools can be used in everyday clinical workflow to help increase efficiency, lower cost and improve patient outcomes
Recognising the ease of sharing letters and viewing your patient’s information in the My Health Record using clinical software
Identifying the support available for specialists to adopt digital health tools

To hear the benefits from your local specialists, register above.

If you can’t make it on the day, all webinars will be recorded, and a link will be sent out to those who have registered, so jump over and register before they close.

Find out more about digital health by:

Contacting SWSPHN Digital Health Officer, Catherine Worsley, on 4632 3052 or via email at Catherine.Worsley@swsphn.com.au.

Visiting the Australian Digital Health Agency website at Digital Health resources for healthcare providers.

22 March 2022

SWSPHN is continuing its partnership with the Australian Digital Health Agency to assist medical specialists connect with the My Health Record system.

Through My Health Record, medical specialists can join GPs in accessing patient clinical information in a timely manner minimising administrative time and burden. It also facilitates care coordination with other healthcare providers to ensure continuity of care.

My Health Record is designed to provide you with key health information, including;

Hospital discharge summaries
Medicine prescription and dispensing records
Pathology and diagnostic imaging reports
Medicare information

If you are a medical specialist or work with one, we encourage you to register to connect to the My Health Record system. Please send an email to digitalhealth@swsphn.com.au to contact one of our Digital Health Officers for assistance.

To find more information:

Factsheet 1

Factsheet 2

14 March 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the introduction of additional funding to improve access to telehealth services via general practice and other health services, to reduce transmission of the virus.

Two years on, many GPs are now also using electronic prescribing to complement their telehealth services.

In the past, a patient had to visit a GP to receive a paper prescription which was handed over at the pharmacy so medications could be dispensed.

With telehealth, a patient consults with their GP via telephone or video, but until recently, still had to visit the practice to pick up their prescription.

This is where electronic prescribing is useful.

With electronic prescribing, a GP can send a 2D barcode via an SMS or an email. The 2D barcode contains the prescription details. The patient can either visit a pharmacy to have the barcode scanned and have the medications dispensed, or forward the barcode to a pharmacy and have their medications delivered.

Electronic prescribing makes telehealth appointments with a GP and accessing medications more convenient. It also eliminates cross infections between patients in waiting rooms and between GPs and patients.

The 2D barcode is specific to a patient so medications cannot be dispensed to another person. If the barcode isn’t received or is lost, the patient can inform the medical practice and have the barcode re-sent.

The widespread use of telehealth and electronic prescribing are still relatively new, but with time, will become the norm in general practice.

Learn more about electronic prescribing

19 October 2021

South Western Sydney patients are no longer exempt from the “existing relationship requirement” for MBS telehealth services after the region was taken off the Commonwealth-declared hotspot list on Monday, 18 October.

The temporary MBS telehealth items put in place to reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and provide protection for patients and healthcare providers, will continue to be available until 31 December 2021.

Under current requirements, GPs can only perform a telehealth or telephone service where they have an established clinical relationship with the patient.

There are limited exemptions to this requirement, including:

the patient is in COVID-19 isolation because of a State or Territory public health order
the patient is in COVID-19 quarantine because of a State or Territory public health order
the patient is located in a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot

This means that people who are not in isolation or quarantine, and are in a location which is no longer a Commonwealth-declared hotspot, are no longer be regarded as in a COVID-19 impacted area for the purposes of being exempt from the existing relationship requirement.

The MBS items for people in COVID-19 hotspots which are no longer in effect in South Western Sydney are 92746 and 92747.

What is COVID-19 isolation?

A person with COVID-19 or suspected to have it must enter mandatory isolation.

What is COVID-19 quarantine?

When a person is well but may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, they are required to isolate from other people to prevent the spread of the virus. The quarantine period is 14 days from when they may have been in contact with the virus.

What is a Commonwealth-declared hotspot?

The list of hotspots declared by the Chief Medical Officer is available on the Department of Health website.

Download COVID-19 Temporary MBS Telehealth Services factsheet

29 October 2020

The Australian Department of Health has extended the Healthdirect Video Call Service Pilot Program to 30 June 2021. If you already have an account set up, SWSPHN’s Digital Health team encourages you to continue using this secure video consulting platform which has been purpose-built for primary health settings.

The eligibility for access to the Video Call Service Pilot remains consistent with the current pilot. The program provides Video Call licenses free of charge for use by GP and non-GP type primary care services classed as Mental Health, Aged Care, Maternity, Indigenous Health and Allied Health services, which includes:

General practice; general practice after hours services; paediatrics and child health palliative medicine; psychiatry; chiropractors; diabetes educators; exercise physiologists; mental health workers; midwives; nurses; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health worker; nurse practitioners; clinical psychologist; psychologist; occupational therapist; social worker; speech pathologist; and physiotherapy.

For GPs in private practice wanting to start using the service, please register here for a free licence.
For GPs in ACCHOs wanting to start using the service, please register here for a free licence.
For all other eligible services, please register here for a free licence.

Please share these developments with your peers and colleagues who may benefit from the use of Healthdirect Video Call.

The Australian Department of Health is currently reviewing the eligibility criteria for this program and if there are any changes to the program eligibility, we will communicate these changes to you.

02 October 2020

ePrescribing is now being rolled out across Australia, including South Western Sydney, and we’ve compiled some information to help healthcare providers better understand the new electronic prescribing arrangements.

Electronic prescribing allows prescribers and their patients to issue/use an electronic Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescription. Electronic prescribing will not fundamentally change existing prescribing and dispensing processes. Patients can still choose which pharmacy they attend to fill their prescription.

Prescribers and patients can choose an electronic prescription instead of a paper prescription. Paper prescriptions will still exist. However, choosing an electronic prescription helps with telehealth consultations, helps protect the community and healthcare workers from exposure to infectious diseases, may reduce dispensing errors and makes the prescribing/dispensing process more efficient.

Please note, if your practice would like to start using electronic prescriptions, contact your local pharmacies and make sure they are activated to be able to dispense the electronic prescriptions.

To activate ePrescribing in your clinical software, visit the Australian Digital Health Agency website and/or contact your SWSPHN Practice Support Officer.

02 October 2020

An assessment of My Health Record security governance at 22 healthcare organisations has reported areas of good privacy practice and identified areas for improvement.

The Australian Digital Health Agency operates the My Health Record system and the Office of the Information Commissioner (OAIC) oversees the privacy aspects of the system.

The OAIC has reported areas of good privacy practice, with most organisations having My Health Record security policies, suitable access controls and training. They report broad compliance with processes for suspending or deactivating user accounts, and for identifying and responding to My Health Record-related security and privacy risks. The OAIC found that most of the assessment targets provided appropriate levels of initial and refresher training to their staff.

The OAIC also identified areas for improvement. They concluded that some providers did not have a written access security policy in place, had not implemented sufficient processes to deactivate accounts, had not provided appropriate initial or refresher training, or had not required sufficiently strong passwords with regard to the sensitive health information being accessed.

The agency encourages healthcare organisations to consider OAIC guidance which sets out better practice on how healthcare organisations can comply with their obligations regarding security and access.

The agency also publishes guidance to assist healthcare organisations to comply with their obligations, including guidance on security and account management, and training modules on cyber and security awareness for healthcare organisations. Healthcare providers can contact the Agency at education@digitalhealth.gov.au if they would like assistance in meeting their obligations and implementing security and access controls.

31 August 2020

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has been working closely with clinical software suppliers and clinical peak bodies to deliver paperless prescription known as ePrescription functionality for GPs and pharmacies.

At this stage, paperless prescriptions are only actively utilised if GPs and pharmacies in your region are part of an electronic prescribing ‘Community of Interest’ (COI). COI sites, including Moss Vale, are listed on the Digital Health Agency website.

Communities of Interest are testing the technology and clinical workflows to identify any issues or areas for improvement prior to broader use. This is to ensure any emerging issues are limited to these sites and remediated quickly. There is a real risk that if community pharmacies don’t have electronic prescriptions capability, patients will not be able to get their medicines dispensed and this will create additional work for practices when the patient has to return for a paper script.

The ADHA is working with pharmacies and their software suppliers to ensure they are ready as soon as possible and will advise GPs when there is broader pharmacy readiness. In the meantime, GPs are asked to encourage pharmacies to contact their dispensing software providers to activate electronic prescription dispensing functionality.

To find more information email help@digitalhealth.gov.au or call 1300 901 001.