Sharing image reports with the Australian MHR will be made standard and more instructions will be provided
The Australian government does not want pathology and diagnostic reports to be shared with MHR as standard
The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care will require both public and private pathology and diagnostic imaging providers to share their reports with My Health Record as standard.
Prior to this, patients are reportedly wait seven days before accessing their image reports on My Health Record. “We will eliminate this delay for all pathology and diagnostic imaging reports,” the department said in a statement.
Healthcare providers will be assisted by the Australian Digital Health Agency to comply with this new requirement. That’s what the department has claimed change, which follows the recommendations of the Strengthening the Medicare Taskforce will make it easier for healthcare providers to coordinate care, access information, and enable patients to participate in their health care.
Mater’s eConsultant service expands the range of specialties
More specializations have been added to the eConsultant service at Mater.
The service, which connects GPs in regional and rural Queensland with Mater’s specialists in Brisbane, will initially provide access to experts in dermatology, endocrinology and cardiology. It has now been expanded to include specialists in respiratory and sleep medicine, renal medicine, neurology, infectious diseases and obstetric medicine.
This comes in response to the “growing need of the community,” Mater noted in a statement.
WACHS is looking for a digital solution for managing elderly care
The WA Country Health Service (WACHS) is seeking a provider of a SaaS-based digital care management solution for the aged care sector.
It recently put out to tender for the solution, which it says will be used to manage clients within both residential and community aged care. It will also “streamline and standardize processes, improve data collection, support clinical and business operations, improve client and resident care, improve job scheduling and scheduling, and produce informative reports.”
WACHS requires the solution to be “easily scalable and enable the expansion” of additional community and residential aged care clients over time.
WA is expanding virtual emergency care to include mental health care
The WA Virtual Emergency Department will add a new mental health co-response model to support more people in crisis at home.
The model, a combination of virtual care and a mobile crisis response team, aims to reduce avoidable emergency room visits and hospital admissions.
From the 2024-2025 state budget, the Western Australian government has allocated US$7.9 million ($5.2 million) to establish this model. “This year’s Budget builds on the work we have already started, including expanding WA Virtual ED to support more patients to get the care they need in the community,” said WA Premier Roger Cook.