MIL OSI – Source: Waikato District Health Board – Release/Statement
Headline: Waikato DHB and Hauraki PHO champion care integration in the Waikato
Hospital doctors will now have one click access to some GP patient records thanks to a new partnership initiative with Hauraki PHO and Waikato District Health Board.
The new system provides a direct link to the patient management systems at most practice partners who belong to Hauraki PHO (38% of all GP practices in the Waikato). It will mean hospital clinicians can access their patient’s primary care information including medications, diagnoses, consultation notes and immunisation status.
The new system utilises Medtech’s ManageMyHealth platform and is available 24/7.
Waikato DHB’s clinical director of primary and integrated care, and Hamilton GP, Dr Damian Tomic said: “Having easy access to GP records lets hospital doctors and nurses make more informed decisions and avoids things like duplicating tests.
“Often patients turn up at hospital in an ambulance without any notes, or self- present without any indication of what medication they might be taking, so for patient safety it’s important that hospital healthcare professionals can go straight online and see the patient’s GP records where all that detail will be available.”
He said the initiative follows the one click access to hospital patient records given to all GPs in the Waikato earlier this year. That means that GPs can see blood test results, letters, x-rays, hospital discharge summaries and future appointments.
Hauraki PHO Deputy CEO Lindsey Webber said: “This initiative gets us one step closer to a more seamless joined up system, where patients can be reassured that hospital clinicians will have access to up to date information to inform their care decisions. It takes away the need for guess work and having to rely on patients to recall sometimes complex medical history and treatment plans.”