Digital Health (eHealth)

TeamViewer Remote Support

Digital Health refers to a range of digital processes, services and systems that can be used to manage health information and deliver safer, efficient and better quality healthcare.

Team Leader Digital Health and Quality
Alex Dolezal - 1300 986 991 | a.dolezal@cesphn.com.au

Program overview

We support the following aspects of digital health (eHealth) and information management:

Digital Health Incentive (digital health (eHealth)) PIP support - assistance with forms and requirements and training. However, this now excludes hardware and software installations, such as NASH certificates and SMD Commissioning. We can provide you with a list of IT support technicians for such installations and configurations
MyHealth Record adoption by health professionals and their patients
Secure Messaging Delivery including guidance on expanding with referral pathways
Facilitating adoption of eDischarges from Sydney and South Eastern Sydney Local Health Districts
Data Quality Activities using POLAR (Population Level Analysis and Reporting) tool and PEN Clinical Audit Tool
Clinical software training on using digital health (eHealth) and template development (MedicalDirector & Best Practice)
Assistance with information security
Assistance with paperless practice implementation
Assistance with computerisation

Digital health (eHealth)

What is digital health (eHealth)?

Digital health (eHealth) is about electronically connecting up the points of care so that health information can be shared securely. digital health (eHealth) refers to a range of processes, services and systems related to information technology and information management.

Secure messaging

Secure messaging is the secure electronic transfer of information between health professionals within the healthcare sector, including general practitioners, allied health professionals, hospitals, specialists etc. Secure messaging allows you to exchange reports, discharge summaries and other documents between other health professionals.

The benefits include:

reducing the time waiting for documents to be delivered
receiving the documents electronically into your software, removing the need for scanning
no more illegible and faxed documents
cost saving on staff time, stationery and postage
being environmentally friendly

My Health Record

My Health Record (formerly Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record) enables better access to important health information which are currently held in silos across the health sector. My Health Record provides an active online record that follows your patients as they move through the healthcare system, capturing important clinical information at different points in time. Australians who are registered for My Health Record can access their health information when and where they need it and share this information with their health providers.

Currently My Health Record provides information on medications, allergies and adverse reactions, medical history and immunisation history, MBS and PBS history, imaging and pathology reports.

Click here for further information on My Health Record

Data quality improvement

Data quality is an integral part of your practice. At CESPHN, we aim to improve the practice and patient outcomes by enhancing the quality of your data through the use of Outcome Health POLAR (Population Level Analysis and Reporting) Tool and PCS Clinical Audit Tool (PENCAT).

Both POLAR and PENCAT are software that collects and then translates data from GP clinical systems into statistical and graphical format which can be used for reporting, data cleaning and providing better patient care.

Click here for information on Quality Improvement and the Practice Incentive Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI).

Digital health (eHealth) PIP

In 2016, the following requirements were introduced for practices to be eligible for the Digital health (eHealth) Incentives:

Integrating Healthcare identifiers into Electronic Practice Records
Secure Messaging Capability
Data Records and Clinical Coding
Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions
MyHealth (digital health (eHealth)) Record System

Find the detailed description of Digital health (eHealth) PIP requirements in the Practice Incentives Program Digital health (eHealth) Incentives guidelines

Please note: Accredited general practices registered for the Digital Health (eHealth) PIP will be required to upload shared heatlh summaries for 0.5% of practice's SWPE to receive the ePIP payment. The new changes commenced in May 2016.

Practices that have withdrawn or withdraw from the digital health (eHealth) Incentive can re-apply for the digital health (eHealth) Incentive online through HPOS at any time. For assistance and further information on the Digital Health Incentive including eligibility, please contact your local PHN.

General practices seeking to return the ePIP payment of previous quarters for not meeting their Shared Health Summaries (SHS) upload target can send an email to pip@humanservices.gov.au and the Department will arrange for a debt advice notice to be raised for the repayment of funds.

Please ensure that you include the following information in your correspondence:

practice details (practice name, practice ID, postal address)
reason for the correspondence - 'repayment of PIP digital health (eHealth) Incentive payment, as the SHS upload target for the practice was not met by <date>'
contact name and number

Please also note, that any correspondence sent to DHS on this matter, must come from either the owner of the practice or an authorised contact. More information can be found here.

Electronic Referrals

Sending patient referrals electronically

Save time and improve efficiency by sending your patient referrals electronically by using either Best Practice, Medical Director or Genie.

An e-referral is an electronic document that can be sent electronically from one healthcare service to another, opposed to the current process of faxing or posting.

Healthlink Smartforms

Healthlink Smartforms e-referral solution is integrated within Medical Director, Best Practice and Genie and streamlines the completion and submission of electronic referrals. Users benefit from capabilities such as pre-population, field validation and consistency checks, conditional visibility, intuitive layout, support for attachments, and ability to save and return to the draft referral at a later time (parking).

From your software programs, you can select a form, have it pre-populated automatically with data from the electronic patient record, have it validated and sent securely to the intended recipient, and receive an acknowledgement of receipt electronically. A copy of the form will automatically be stored securely in the patient’s record.

Healthlink Smartforms for services in CESPHN Catchment

Sydney Local Health District

Sydney Local Health District and Central and Eastern Sydney PHN is delighted to partner with HealthLink to enable electronic referrals directly from your GP medical records systems.

This will allow you to efficiently send secure e-referrals to Clinics and Ambulatory Care Services at Concord and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals. Over the coming months more services will have the ability to receive referrals using the HealthLink system.

The link below will provide a how to guide for using HealthLink to send e-referrals to the following clinics:

- Concord Hospital Haematology Clinics

- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Haematology Clinics

- Concord Hospital Osteoporosis and Bone Mineral Density Studies

- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Osteoporosis and Bone Mineral Density Studies

- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Rheumatology Clinics

- Community Paediatrics

User Guides

pdf Best Practice 1.9.1 and above (634 KB)

pdf Medical Director 3.17 and above (519 KB)

pdf Gene Solutions 9.0 and above (566 KB)

Chris O'Brien's Lifehouse

The link below will provide a how to guide for using HealthLink SmarFroms to send e-referrals to the following clinics:

Rapid Access Endoscopy Clinic
Medical Oncology
Radiation Oncology
Breast Clinic
Head & Neck Clinic
Gynaecological Clinic
Rapid Access Hysteroscopy Clinic
Gestational Trophoblastic Disease Clinic
Rapid Access Prostate Cancer Screening
Various Living Room Services (Integrative Care)

User Guides

Best Practice 1.85 (Lava) and above

Medical Director 3.16 and above

Genie Solutions 8.8 and above

Other Healthlink Smartforms

Roads and Maritime Services Fitness to Drive Medical Assessment
RMS Logo

To learn how to use the NSW Digital Fitness to Drive Medical Assessment Form using the Healthlink SmartForm, please view the video guide or download the PDF QuickStart Guide from the User Guide Pages Below.

Best Practice Software User Guides

Medical Director User Guides

Genie Solutions User Guides

MyHealthLink Portal User Guides

The Australian Hearing Medical Certificate

The Australian Hearing Medical Certificate

Oculo Optometrist Referral

Oculo Logo

Oculo Optometrist SmartForm referral allows the GP to easily locate and refer to an optometrist within close proximity to patient to enhance your patient’s access to eye care for regular vision check-ups. The SmartForm has been specifically designed to help those patients with diabetes or other potential eye conditions get their recommended eye examinations, and help doctors improve the diagnosis rates of glaucoma across Australia.

pdf Best Practice Software User Guides (311 KB)

pdf Medical Director User Guides (288 KB)

pdf Genie Solutions User Guides (266 KB)

Allied Health Professionals

Allied Health Professionals can benefit from being involved in various aspects of digital health (eHealth) and information management.

We can assist you with the following:

Assistance with computerising your practice
Assistance with information security
Assistance with electronic referral pathways
Secure messaging delivery using Healthlink Connect which can streamline your communication process with general practices and other healthcare professionals
Digital health (eHealth) record system participation

Resources - Digital Health (EHealth)