Australian gov't urged to raise My Health Record funding

An organisation of general practitioners in Australia has called on the federal government to upgrade the country's digital health record system.

"We’re calling for the federal government to overhaul My Health Record to improve its useability for Australians, GPs, and other health professionals," said Dr Nicole Higgins, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, in a statement.

This comes as RACGP found from the initial result of its annual survey that nearly a third of Australian GPs are rarely or not using My Health Record. More than 2,000 GPs are polled yearly in RACGP's Health of the Nation survey. 

"My Health Record can’t fulfil its potential to be the one-stop store for Australians’ health records without investment to improve its useability," Dr Higgins stressed. 

She insisted that My Health Record must capture more patient information and make it easier for GPs to search them, as well as ensure data interoperability and timely notification when patient records are updated. Dr Higgins also recommended implementing automation tools to make the system "more usable," particularly in capturing data from GP records.

Recently, the country's Productivity Commission found My Health Record "plagued by incomplete records and poor usability." Last year, the Strengthening Medicare Task Force also called for the modernisation of the "clunky" digital health records system. 

National AET programme in NZ to go digital

Valentia Technologies has been chosen to provide a digital platform supporting Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand in delivering its upcoming nationwide programme. 

Set to launch early next year, the said programme aims to improve breast cancer patients' adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET). 

It will utilise Valentia's Nurse Support System platform to manage patient data, coordinate care pathways, and facilitate communications among the organisation, healthcare providers, and patients. The platform will also support risk stratification to better identify and assist high-risk patients. 

Magentus unveils AI-powered psoriasis dashboard 

Magentus has recently introduced a new large language model-based dashboard to support dermatology practices in providing care for psoriasis patients.

According to a media release, the Psoriasis Patient Dashboard on the Genie practice management system uses AI to analyse volumes of health records. It exports detailed psoriasis patient lists, which are categorised by severity and treatment type. 

The dashboard is also informed by the updated Australian consensus on treating moderate to severe psoriasis. Biotechnology company Amgen Australia has backed its development.

CALHN digitises breast cancer treatment pathway

As part of its ongoing initiatives to digitise cancer treatment pathways, the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) has introduced digital pathways for breast cancer patients.

Powered by Personify Care, the dedicated patient pathway features remote symptom monitoring and detection of early clinical risks, aiming to reduce unplanned hospital visits. 

This digital project is part of CALHN's CAN Connect virtual nursing service. CALHN first adopted digital pathways in 2021 by trialling Personify Care's platform across 20 specialties.