18 September 2018
For the past two and a half years, clinical staff at Whanganui Hospital and Whanganui Accident & Medical have been able to view a summary of the health information held by a patient’s GP, through a Shared Care Record. A year ago this extended to a joint Shared Care Record with MidCentral DHB, allowing patient information to be shared between the two regions.
Online access to the Shared Care Record allows health providers to safely and easily obtain a summary of patient information through a secure and confidential connection. This has meant that the doctors treating a patient are better placed to make safe and sound clinical decisions, based on knowledge of a patient’s known allergies and health conditions, as well as their current medication.
The patient information currently shared between health providers, includes medications, allergies, immunisations, diagnoses, lab results and recalls. There is also the option to share the doctor’s consultation notes, but to date this has been withheld nationally, due to the conservative and cautious approach to privacy in the initial stages of the roll-out. As consultation notes will add context and depth to the information already provided, some of the participating practices in our district have decided to allow these on the Shared Care Record.
All eleven general practices under Whanganui Regional Health Network have implemented a Shared Care Record, which means over 57,000 enrolled patients in our district are participating. From 17th September 2018, Aramoho Health Centre, Bulls Medical Centre and Gonville Health will include consultation notes in the Shared Care Record (notes commencing from 1st September 2018), and Taihape Health will add this at a later date.
“Sharing patient consultation notes with the hospital and after-hours medical centres will provide additional clinical information to support diagnosis and treatment,” says Whanganui Regional Health Network Clinical Director and Bulls Medical Centre GP, Dr Ken Young.
If patients do not want their health information shared in this way, they can opt out at any time by calling the freephone 0800 727 664. More information is available on the Shared Care Record website www.sharedcarerecord.org.nz or by obtaining a pamphlet from your general practice or by contacting the project leader, Karen Veldhoen at Whanganui Regional Health Network on (06) 348 0109.
For further comment please contact WRHN Communications & Technology Coordinator, Karen Veldhoen on (06) 348 0109 extn 708