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National Health IT Board Director - Graeme Osborne
Digital solutions are driving increased team work and greater interdependency across the sector.
We have already started to think about health IT solutions for 2020 and beyond. This year we can be encouraged by the progress we have all made in the health and disability sector to implement foundation information systems to support the digital eco-system.
Too much health information is collected by professionals working for different organisations in many locations using hundreds of separate IT systems. Each of these systems has been set up by well-meaning professionals to solve a ‘then current problem’ in their part of the sector. However, continued use of these systems in relative isolation is counter-productive and ultimately unsafe for consumers. |
When we look at health information from the consumer's/patient's perspective, or from a multi-disciplinary care team, too much information is invisible or does not link to tell a coherent story. In many cases this leads to duplication of effort, wasted time and confusion for consumers and/or health professionals, and the potential for a poor health outcome.
This is the challenge the National Health IT Board (NHITB), in partnership with consumers and health professionals, is addressing. We agree with consumers when they simply state the expectation that all their health professionals – their GP and nurses in general practice, community nurses, hospital specialists and the people that treat them in an emergency department – will have access to a coherent set of health information, so they can be treated appropriately and safety.
The NHITB is focused on key initiatives and systems that bring information together for consumers and health professionals, for example, Patient Portals, Health Provider Portals, and other health information systems.
An initiative we are directly involved with is supporting the uptake of Patient Portals by general practice in New Zealand. We are investing $2.1m across general practice via PHOs to support the uptake of Patient Portals throughout New Zealand. There are 40,000 active users of Patient Portals and we want to multiply that number many times over in the next 12 months.
Read more. |
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New South Island hospital patient IT system
A new hospital patient information system will be rolled out across South Island DHBs to streamline services.
“The South Island Patient Information Care System (SI PICS) will be phased in over the next two to five years, replacing seven existing patient administration systems,” says Minister of Health Dr Coleman in a recent media release.
“The IT system will make the electronic transfer of patient information safer and more efficient. The programme will also manage patient appointments, admissions, discharges, and transfers across all DHBs. Hospital staff will be able to reduce duplication, share resources, and spend less time on administration.
- Read the full media release and view Stella Ward, Canterbury DHB Executive Director of Allied Health, talking about the benefits of the South Island PICS.
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PHOs submit patient portal strategies
More than 40,000 patients from over 132 practices around New Zealand now have access to a patient portal, with the nationwide rollout of portals fast gaining pace.
Of $3 million allocated by the Minister of Health for portal implementation, $2.1 million will be given to PHOs to provide technical and practical support to GPs.
Funding has been calculated based on enrolled population above the age of 18, with a minimum of $20,000 allocated to smaller PHOs.
PHOs have submitted their patient portal strategies to the National Health IT Board and will be working with practices on portal implementation.
The remainder of the $3 million will fund a consumer awareness campaign later this year. It will also be used to provide implementation guides, videos and other resources to support general practices as they introduce portals and meet the challenges of this new way of working.
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Smartphones changing the face of mobile health
Using smart phones to provide healthcare services to patients is a largely untapped area in the health sector. In New Zealand, mobile phones are one area where there is little digital divide between ‘the have and have nots’ as opposed to computers, the internet, landlines and the telephone, says Dr Robyn Whittaker Programme Leader, Health Informatics and Technology Research at the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI).
“There is a rapid uptake of mobile phones globally and in New Zealand. We are told that about two- thirds of new Zealanders have a smartphone, and less than 5% of adults don’t have a cellphone at all”, says Robyn.
Robyn says, “Never has there been a technology with such rapid uptake globally as that seen with the spread of mobile phones. In New Zealand we have had more mobile phone subscriptions than people since around 2008. While that may not mean every single person has a mobile phone, there is certainly very high penetration. And there is some evidence of a lack of a digital divide - that is, access to mobile phones is not affected by socio-economic status, unlike access to the internet. Smartphones are the cheapest and most transportable computer you can have."
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Telehealth improves access to care
New Zealand Telehealth Forum Chair Dr John Garrett has welcomed a statement from the Medical Council about the growth in telemedicine.
Medical Council Chairman Andrew Connolly said the concept of telemedicine was fantastic, and potentially offered benefits to patients and doctors alike.
He said the challenges as telemedicine became increasingly mainstream were to ensure there were appropriate standards to protect patients and that doctors practising telemedicine were competent.
Dr Garrett said there are many ways telehealth can be used to improve access to quality care for patients.
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ISO Telehealth Quality Guidelines to be reviewed for use in NZ
The NZ Telehealth Forum welcomes the ISO Telehealth Quality Planning Guidelines, published in December 2014.
The guidelines (ISO/TS 13131:2014) provide advice and recommendations on how to develop quality objectives and guidelines for telehealth services that use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to deliver healthcare over both long and short distances by using a risk management process.
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Updates to HISO Standards
In March 2015, the National Health IT Board approved significant updates to the following three HISO standards:
HISO 10049.2:2015 Video conferencing Endpoint Naming Scheme is the published standard for videoconferencing interoperability, supporting telehealth services and interoffice communication. This new part of the standard, developed by the New Zealand Telehealth Forum’s videoconferencing working group, provides a naming and addressing scheme for videoconferencing endpoints on the Connected Health network.
HISO 10037.3:2015 Connected Health User to Network Interface Specifications is the published network connectivity standard for the Connected Health telecommunications network of networks. The standard has been updated to add the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) Bitstream 2 service as an option for connecting health providers to the network. Read more...
HISO 10004: 2015 New Zealand Pathology Observation Code Set (NZPOCS) is the standard that laboratory and clinical information systems implement in order to properly code laboratory test orders and results. Based on the international LOINC code system, NZPOCS has been extended to cover all publicly funded tests for haematology, immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, serology/virology, toxicology and the New Zealand Blood Service. The National Health IT Board and the National Laboratory Roundtable will be promoting the adoption of NZPOCS by all laboratories and their users.
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Clinician’s Corner |
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Dr Sadhana Maraj |
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Working with our key stakeholder groups this year, I sense the continuing buildup for key initiative that support an integrated healthcare environment.
We are engaging strongly on the key themes that will form the strategic direction and focus of the National Health IT Plan for the next five years. Personalised healthcare and focussing on consumer need and demand are at the core of all conversations at present. However, most conversations converge on the need for strong IT foundational platforms that will enable implementation of several clinical IT initiatives. Our focus on getting our foundations right is critical to ensure that IT as a strong change enabler can be effective in driving newer models of care and transformational change.
A number of clinical groups I have met with recently, have been very vocal about their core need from an IT strategy i.e. quality information securely and easily accessible at ‘point of care’. This is the benefit that will drive tremendous efficiencies and effectiveness for clinicians. Having information available across the continuum of care in a manner that supports clinical workflows and enhances decision support is the top of the pyramid benefit for most clinicians.
As an eHealth Group, we have to be cognisant that not all regions or DHBs have the basic capability to support clinicians always having a timely view of information that impacts on decision-making.
Health (clinical) informatics is a buzzword across the sector. For clinicians, this means moving the boundaries of being technically savvy and comfortable with technology to becoming more proactively involved in health system design and delivery. It’s about clinicians leading IT change.
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Nurse Practitioners can do Special Authority applications online |
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Special Authority is an application process in which a prescriber requests government subsidy on a Community Pharmaceutical for a particular person.
As part of the Medtech32 Version 20.12 release in late March 2015, the patient management system (PMS) has been updated to enable nurse prescribers to apply for Special Authority through their PMS. Medtech will provide detailed technical release notes to each of their practices to support this change.
Read more. |
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National Patient Flow |
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The National Patient Flow programme is about measuring the patient journey through secondary care services and the timeliness of access to elective services. Establishing this national collection is challenging for the DHBs due to the amount and complexity of the information required and the constraints for DHBs using legacy Patient Administration Systems.
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Events |
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2015 HINZ Seminars Series - 25 June 2015.
A full day seminar organised by Health Informatics NZ, featuring expert local and international speakers. This is designed for clinicians and managers who want to know more about health informatics. Come along to find out how informatics is reshaping health care globally, what is happening locally and how you can contribute. For more information please email: admin@hinz.org.nz.
HiNZ Primer Series.
A two hour FREE workshop for clinicians who want an introduction to the field of health informatics and how it intersects with their roles. If you would like to host a HiNZ Primer in your area please email admin@hinz.org.nz to find out more.
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