eHealthNT

eHealthNT implementation is a joint initiative of the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing and the Northern Territory Government's Department of Health and Community Services

The Origins of eHealthNT

eHealthNT grew out of the former HealthConnect program, a joint Australian and State/Territory government initiative that has been endorsed by Australian Health Ministers. The Australian Government holds responsibility for national coordination and policy direction of key components to ensure a level of consistency across all eHealth implementations.

The Australian and Northern Territory Governments have endorsed an approach to implement e-Health initiatives in the Territory, in identified major teaching hospitals in South Australia and in remote communities in cross border regions of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.

• eHealthNT is progressively implementing:
• the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health Record across the whole of the Northern Territory targeting rural and and Indigenous urban populations.
• the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health record into major Urban Private GP Practices.
• the eHealthNT Secure Electronic Messaging Service.
• the eHealthNT Health Provider Service Directory.
• the integration of the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health Record and Secure Electronic Messaging Service in conjunction with the progressive implementation of the Primary Care Information System Patient recall and Chronic Disease Management System to all Territory government operated remote community health centres.
• the integration of the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health Record and Secure Electronic Messaging Service in conjunction with the progressive implementation of Medchart Advanced Medication Management into Northern Territory Public Hospitals.
• the Immunisations Webb Service.

HealthConnect Trial

The HealthConnect NT research and development trial commenced in Katherine in the Northern Territory in June 2002. The trial was established to help determine whether a HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health Record could improve continuity of care in remote and rural areas of Australia by enabling health care providers timely access to vital health information.

The trial centred on the development and utilisation of a secure HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health Record Repository.

With a registered consumer's consent, health service providers participating in the trial were able to send event summaries of health events including medical summaries and hospital discharge summaries via a secure network to the repository. Once in secure storage, other authorised health care providers involved in the trial were able to access consumer medical summaries with consumer consent.

Consumers and providers embraced the concept of a HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health Record in the Territory and 1,800 consumers, mostly from remote areas were registered to participate in the trial by March 2005.

There were 49 registered Providers involved in the trial. Users of the HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health Record included hospital medical officers and district medical officers, accident & emergency clinical staff, remote clinic doctors, remote clinic nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers.

Evaluation

The phase 2 evaluation conducted during 2004 found that the HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health Record concept was unanimously supported by providers, health care managers and consumers involved in the Trial and that providers and consumers strongly supported the implementation of the HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health record across the Katherine Region and the Northern Territory. There was a strong belief among providers and consumers that the HealthConnect NT Shared Electronic Health Record would provide major benefits in the delivery of coordinated health care across the Territory. There were also a number of lessons learnt from the evaluation, which are included in the "Lessons Learned from the MediConnect and HealthConnect Field Test and Trials" Report.

Implementation

Following the success of the trial and the enthusiastic support of consumers, providers and other major stakeholders, the Territory decided to progressively implement the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health Record and entered into a partnership with the Top End Division of General Practice to develop and implement the new eHealthNT Secure Electronic Messaging and Electronic Transfer of Prescription Services across the Territory and to investigate the possibility of expanding the SEHR to cross border regions in South Australia and Western Australia.

Planning for the phased implementation of the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health Record and Secure Electronic Messaging services commenced in the latter part of 2004/2005 and initial implementation of the eHealthNT Shared Electronic Health Record across the Katherine Region and the eHealthNT Secure Electronic Messaging Service in Darwin commenced on 1 July 2005.

Implementation Objective

The eHealthNT project is guided by a range of principles including:

• Improved safety and quality in healthcare
• Provider participation
• Industry participation
• Meaningful consultation and communication with stakeholder groups
• Cooperation between Australian and State/Territory Governments
• National consistency and interoperability
• Leveraged solutions
• Incremental implementation
• Continuous improvement
• Enhanced health care provider clinical information systems
• Incentives for uptake
• Standards
• Privacy framework
• Governance
• Shared investment and effort
• Evaluation.

Implementation of eHealthNT Projects are undertaken in partnership with the Top End Division of General Practice (TEDGP) and the Central Australian Division of Primary Health Care (CADPHC), the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT) and Katherine Regional Aboriginal Health & Related Services (KRAHRS).

eHealthNT e-Health initiatives, coupled with e-Health initiatives being implemented by DHCS will provide significant benefits in the provision of health care to Territorians and cross border communities and to clinicians who are coordinating their health care.