Modernising health records
The Victorian Government is reducing paperwork for doctors and nurses to deliver better and faster care with the modernisation of medical records now underway in Gippsland.
Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas has announced $12 million in funding will be invested over the next four years to support Gippsland health services to upgrade their systems and delivering safer and more patient-centred care for the region.
Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) streamline tasks, reduce the manual writing of reports and prescriptions, and give healthcare workers easy and fast access to vital patient information, improving care coordination and increasing efficiency and productivity.
The Gippsland Health Alliance will complete the digitisation of the remaining public hospitals in the region by extending its Altera Sunrise digital system to:
Yarram and District Health Service and other Gippsland Health Services Gippsland Southern Health Service, Kooweerup Regional Health Service, Omeo District Health, Orbost Regional Health and South Gippsland Hospital.
This will be a significant step towards digitising health care in the region, which will support home-based and virtual care programs – keeping patients connected and able to access quality care no matter where they live.
Victoria’s Digital Health Roadmap prioritises the replacement of paper-based records at all Victorian public health services. Digitisation removes the risk of staff misinterpreting poorly written or deteriorating physical records while also providing a place for patient information to be securely stored.
“Our state’s digital health roadmap is a blueprint for building a health system that can deliver world-class care for all Victorians no matter where they live in the state.” Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas said.
Digitising medical records is also a priority of the State Government’s Health 2040: Advancing Health, Access, and Care plan, which highlights the importance of using technology to improve outcomes for patients.
