HealthConnect
Encyclopedia
HealthConnect has been Australia
’s change management strategy to transition from paper-based and legacy digital health records towards electronic health record
s planned system of electronic
health records
.
The long term goal of the HealthConnect strategy is to deliver better health outcomes through standardised, sharable clinical information. The "better health outcomes" would translate to improved quality and safety in health care
and disease prevention. These would be achieved by ensuring important clinic
al information is available and of high quality, when and where it is needed.
Trials were carried out as part of the HealthConnect strategy in various parts of Australia during 2004. These included an EHR pilot in Brisbane South
and a surgical patient information sharing trial at Townsville Hospital. In 2005 trials were conducted in Tasmania
at the Launceston General Hospital
and across the Northern Territory
. Defunct research consortium Distributed Systems Technology Centre (DSTC) was awarded a A$2.9 million contract to develop technology for HealthConnect. After the first round of trials the vision for HeathConnect was greatly altered. In 2007 a second phase of testing began.
The NT Health Connect Trial was largely successful and is "the most advanced eHealth implementations of their kind in Australia in terms of range of services, service coverage and consumer and health professional participation", according to their website. The project was upgraded and re-name "Shared Electronic Health Record". A 2008 review of SEHR found it to be rated very highly among end users, accelerated rollouts and upgrades continued through 2009 and 2010. Of particular note was the ability for SEHR to achieve an estimated 90% uptake of of residents from participating remote indigenous communities. (In such communities, it is difficult to maintain accurate records. The 2011 Census, for example, had focused action towards remote communities in an attempt to identify the extent of this problem )
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
’s change management strategy to transition from paper-based and legacy digital health records towards electronic health record
Electronic Health Record
An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
s planned system of electronic
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
health records
Medical record
The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction....
.
The long term goal of the HealthConnect strategy is to deliver better health outcomes through standardised, sharable clinical information. The "better health outcomes" would translate to improved quality and safety in health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
and disease prevention. These would be achieved by ensuring important clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
al information is available and of high quality, when and where it is needed.
Trials were carried out as part of the HealthConnect strategy in various parts of Australia during 2004. These included an EHR pilot in Brisbane South
South Brisbane, Queensland
South Brisbane is an inner city suburb of Brisbane, Australia located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, directly connected to the central business district by the Kurilpa, Victoria and Goodwill bridges....
and a surgical patient information sharing trial at Townsville Hospital. In 2005 trials were conducted in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
at the Launceston General Hospital
Launceston General Hospital
The Launceston General Hospital is one of the three main public hospitals in Tasmania, Australia. It is located in Launceston and serves the north of the state...
and across the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. Defunct research consortium Distributed Systems Technology Centre (DSTC) was awarded a A$2.9 million contract to develop technology for HealthConnect. After the first round of trials the vision for HeathConnect was greatly altered. In 2007 a second phase of testing began.
The NT Health Connect Trial was largely successful and is "the most advanced eHealth implementations of their kind in Australia in terms of range of services, service coverage and consumer and health professional participation", according to their website. The project was upgraded and re-name "Shared Electronic Health Record". A 2008 review of SEHR found it to be rated very highly among end users, accelerated rollouts and upgrades continued through 2009 and 2010. Of particular note was the ability for SEHR to achieve an estimated 90% uptake of of residents from participating remote indigenous communities. (In such communities, it is difficult to maintain accurate records. The 2011 Census, for example, had focused action towards remote communities in an attempt to identify the extent of this problem )