The Collaborative Digital Health working group was formed to consider the range of issues associated with electronic health information transfer between health providers, clients and electronic health records. One of the key aims of the group was to increase knowledge and understanding of eHealth initiatives across partner organisations.
Digital Health
Digital Health is one of a number of priorities for The Collaborative.
The eHealth Education Project has delivered the first of a number of planned modules: the design and development of Digital Health web pages and educational audio visuals. The videos show the vision of our organisational leaders and also vignettes from a range of professions who discuss the benefit they will gain from Digital Health initiatives.
eHealth Project Page
What is Digital Health and why is it so important?
Digital Health is the transfer of health resources and health care by electronic means. It encompasses three main areas:
- The delivery of health information, for health professionals and health consumers, through the Internet and telecommunications.
- Using the power of IT and e-commerce to improve public health services, e.g. through the education and training of health workers.
- The use of e-commerce and e-business practices in health systems management
(World Health Organisation)
Digital Health is important because it can deliver better, safer, more efficient care by allowing health providers and consumers to securely and instantly share health information. Digital Health systems aim to improve aspects of care by:
- Supporting individually tailored care based on patient-specific data;
- Improving transparency and accountability of care processes;
- Facilitating shared care across boundaries;
- Improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment appropriateness;
- Improving access to effective healthcare by reducing barriers;
- Facilitating patient empowerment for self-care and health decision making;
- Improving cost-efficiency by streamlining processes and reducing waste.
Watch DR Gareth Goodier discuss the importance of the collaborative and eHealth.
Watch these vignette’s about why eHealth is important to practitioners.
Developing Digital Health foundations across member agencies and health providers provides the building blocks to support a range of Digital Health products and initiatives, which over time will transform the delivery of healthcare.
These initiatives include:
My Health Record
My Health Record (formally known as the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record)) is an electronic record for a patient that contains a summary of their health information. It is a key element of the national health reform agenda. The Collaborative continues to promote My Health Record amongst member organisations.
Sign up to get your My Health Record.
Health informatics
Health informatics is the science and practice around information in health that leads to informed and assisted health care. ‘Informed’ here means ‘that the right information about the subject (consumer, patient or population) together with relevant health knowledge, is available at the right time and in a form that allows it to be used (HISA 2017). The Collaborative through the formation of a health informatics working group, is seeking to support existing priority areas and projects.
National Health Service Directory:
The National Health Services Directory enables health professionals and consumers to access reliable and consistent information about a wide range of health services including allied health, hospital and community services that support health professionals to coordinate ongoing care for patients.
A bulk upload of service data for 3000+ health services across the North West catchment was undertaken to ensure that the directory has good coverage of services.
Visit the National Health Service Directory
Secure Messaging:
Developing secure messaging capabilities across The Collaborative member organisations will allow for the secure exchange of clinical information and documents such as eReferrals, notifications and discharge summaries, preventing unauthorised interception of the message content. This remains an area of continuing focus of The Collaborative including piloting initiatives such as the Advance Care Planning pilot secure messaging project.
HealthPathways
The Collaborative seeks to reduce variation in healthcare delivery via embedding HealthPathways in projects.
HealthPathways Melbourne is a collaborative approach to integrating primary and hospital-based care. It a website that is written by clinicians, for clinicians and aims to guide best-practice assessment and management of health conditions, including when and where to refer patients. HealthPathways Melbourne is available for use by health professionals, for use within their scope of practice, in the north, west and east Melbourne regions.
For more information:
Visit HealthPathways Melbourne
