A computer system GPs have been "calling out for'' is finally on its way, a sector leader says.
HealthOne would let southern GPs see discharge summaries and hospital test results in electronic form, WellSouth primary health network chief executive Ian Macara said.
"This is really good for the sector. It's a move towards real-time information in lots of different places.
"The sector's been calling out for a while.
"The classic is when a patient's discharged, often GPs don't get access to the discharge letters and [prescriptions] until they see the letter.''
South Dunedin GP Dr Jill McIlraith, who spoke out last year about delays receiving discharge letters from Dunedin Hospital, is happy about the system change.
"Fragmented medical records made good patient care difficult, and we have long since wanted access to discharge letters and to emergency department notes.
"At present we get some discharge letters electronically but not all, and we don't have access to emergency department notes until the hard copy arrives - often days after we have seen the patient for follow-up,'' Dr McIlraith said.
HealthOne will be introduced gradually from late next month.
A second programme, Health Connect South, will launch late next month, to share Southern District Health Board records with those of other South Island health boards.
Health board chief medical officer Dr Nigel Millar said patients could opt out of the shared records system, but in his experience, few did.
The former Canterbury District Health Board CMO said when shared records were implemented in Canterbury, South Canterbury, and the West Coast, only 0.1% of patients opted out.
"Most people say ‘we thought you were doing it already'.''
As well as helping GPs and pharmacists, the IT upgrade would benefit hospital doctors.
"Being able to access this information will be particularly important if the person is unconscious or unable to communicate effectively.
"At present, unless a clinician can get hold of the patient's GP quickly, they have to make decisions only on the basis of what they can see, which is just part of the story,'' Dr Millar said..
If a health practitioner inappropriately accessed information, they were likely to be caught.
"If you misuse it, it could be quite a severe consequence for your career.''
"It has this continual audit system running in the background to pick up unusual access,'' Dr Millar said.
