Welcome to the last edition of eHealth NSW News for 2023. I am pleased to share we have celebrated some key milestones within some of our major transformative programs in recent months. This exciting progress is great news for all NSW Health clinicians, staff, consumers, patients, and carers as we work together in building a better, safer, more digitally enabled health system.
In recent months, the Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) has taken a significant step forward. In August, NSW Health entered into a contract with Epic Systems, a world-leading software company, specialising in the design and delivery of electronic medical systems and associated technologies. As a result, Health Minister Ryan Park announced in October that work is now underway on the design of this next-generation system. Read what’s next for the SDPR.
We’re also progressing the Health Grade Enterprise Network (HGEN) initiative. This will replace ageing, inconsistent local infrastructure at local health districts (LHDs) and specialty health networks (SHNs) to ensure the foundational ICT infrastructure across NSW Health is robust and ready to meet future healthcare needs. Learn about HGEN.
The migration of the Electronic Medical Records (eMR) to the cloud in October was a success for Western Sydney and Nepean Blue Mountains LHDs and one of the first in the world. This move was a big collaborative effort between eHealth NSW, our LHD colleagues and our ICT industry partners. Find out about the transition to the cloud.
Meanwhile, iPharmacy’s new state-based build and cloud migration is set to enhance clinical collaboration and access to information. This statewide digital platform is giving clinicians instant access to comprehensive patient dispensing information – read the iPharmacy article to discover how.
The Radiology Information Systems & Picture Archiving & Communications Systems (RIS-PACS) solution is moving closer to completing its statewide rollout. The system is now live at Western NSW and Far West LHDs where it is providing a patient-centred approach to imaging storage and access. Find out more about RIS PACS.
It was pleasing to see NSW Health become the first jurisdiction to comply with new legislation to upload hospital administered vaccinations to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) in September. It is also great to see how this is now helping staff to meet their vaccine administration reporting obligations and importantly, save them time. Hear what staff had to say about the benefits.
The Health Prototyping Centre (HPC) at Macquarie Park continues to support innovation and collaboration across the NSW Health network. NSW Health and the St Vincent's Alcohol and Drug Information Service recently utilised the HPC to test and design a new chatbot for their ‘Your Room’ website to improve user experience. Read more about this HPC design sprint.
Consumers are always at the core of our digital healthcare solutions. In this edition we share some of the ways we are reaching out to them to make sure they have a vital say in the design and delivery of their health system. Learn more about this important ongoing work with consumers.
As 2023 comes to a close, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you – our NSW Health colleagues, partners and consumers – for your ongoing support and collaboration.
Together with everyone at the LHDs and SHNs, the Ministry of Health, pillars, statewide shared services, as well as our industry stakeholders and vendors – we have achieved so much.
And thank you for taking the time to read our latest news – we hope you enjoy these updates. Click here to read the complete newsletter.
Best wishes,
Dr Zoran Bolevich
Chief Executive, eHealth NSW
Chief Information Officer, NSW Health
The CE message above is included in our eHealth NSW December 2023 newsletter.
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