John Mackenzie wrote:
NEHTA have just released the General Practitioner and
Specialist/Critical Care Referral Data Content Specifications v1.0.
Its a small document of some almost 500 pages. You can find it here.
https://www.nehta.gov.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=176&Itemid=139
<https://www.nehta.gov.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=176&Itemid=139>
I am curious to know from the technical experts among this group.
1. Just how practical, implementable and workable is this specification?
2. How likely is it that any system developer will implement it in the
forseeable future?
3. Do people think this project is adding anything that will make a
difference to health service quality and safety anytime soon?
OMG :-o
I have perused the 500 pages, and am agog ...
- NeHTA state that there is an increase in patients with
chronic disease requiring multidisciplinary management [agree].
- NeHTA's vision (I think) is for there to be an EHR which
can be standardised/formatted so that a referral template will
contain information for communication to the various health
care providers [good vision].
- The problem is that the amount of information (number of fields)
that NeHTA is proposing is soooo large that the whole schema
becomes unworkable. A bit like an episode of Maxwell Smart
(agent 86) where Smart obtains some information from agent 13
who is hiding in a cigarette machine, then -
86: Thanks. While your there,13, can I have a pack of cigarettes.
13: Filtered or non-filtered.
86: Filtered.
13: Menthol or non-menthol.
86: Non-menthol.
13: King-size or regular.
86: Forget it. I just broke the habit :-)
My answers to David's 3 specific questions would be:
1. I don't think the HeHTA schema is practical/ implementable/ workable.
2. I don't think that a system developer would be able to implement an
EHR with this level of complexity in the foreseeable future.
3. I don't think this project adds anything that will make a difference to
health service quality and safety anytime soon.
Horst (if he has a moment to just skim the 500 pages) would provide
a much better opinion. (I would be better at just pruning the NeHTA
extravaganza down to workable size).
John Mac
John,
All good points. I'm glad you read it, I just skimmed it. I impression
is that it is thinking about hospital information systems, not general
practice.
I suspect that NEHTA, with all the health ministers' reps on the board
inevitably will have this focus, and everyone knows GPs are a minor
consideration to state health ministers, unless they want GP after-hours
clinics to divert patients from A&E. Pity you all have day jobs,
families and small businesses to run besides.
I know our local AHS efforts with 'electronic' discharge summaries -
faxed from Cerner Powerchart - were tomes initially because selecting
key information needed clinical judgement, and that like an
old-fashioned D/C summary takes clinician time.
Greg
--
Greg Twyford
Information Management & Technology Program Officer
Canterbury Division of General Practice
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ph.: 02 9787 9033
Fax: 02 9787 9200
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