Northeast Health Wangaratta midway through digital upgrade

Victorian health service Northeast Health Wangaratta (NHW) is midway through upgrading its digital care record (DCR) in partnership with Orion Health. The service provides care to more than 90,000 people across North East Victoria and the upgrade aims to improve patient safety, clinical outcomes and overall satisfaction for both patients and staff.

Since 2003, NHW has been relying on Orion Health’s DCR to streamline healthcare operations and enhance patient care. However, the organisations identified the need for a modern, future-proofed solution that aligns with their core goals. The decision to upgrade was further reinforced by the challenges posed by major health events such as COVID-19 and natural disasters, which put considerable strain on the local healthcare system in the Hume region.

The upgrade will introduce extensive new functionality, including improved workflows, faster access to information, greater user experience and enhanced integration capabilities. The refreshed user interface will provide clinicians with personalisation options, enabling them to tailor their view and improve productivity.

Cam Saunders, Chief Technology and Information Manager at NHW, said, “This modern solution will empower our clinicians with better tools to improve patient outcomes, provide seamless care and enhance overall efficiency.”

The discovery exercise conducted by Orion Health revealed areas in need of improvement, including a significant reliance on handwritten clinical notes and observations on paper graph forms. The new solution can enable manual processes to be digitised, leading to enhanced data accuracy and efficiency.

Key features of the upgraded DCR include: dashboards and configurable cards — the solution will offer a curated summary display of patient information, allowing clinicians to access relevant data at a glance, leading to faster decision-making; an enhanced user interface — a refreshed user interface to enable faster navigation and information access, tailored to individual clinician preferences; medication management — the DCR will allow reconciliation of patient medications and prescribe upon discharge to ensure a smooth transition back home; a roadmap to mobility on devices, eReferrals and progress notes — the future roadmap includes the seamless integration of eReferrals and progress notes, further streamlining patient care processes.

It also includes the introduction of mobile device capabilities, empowering clinicians with access to patient information on the go, enhancing the quality of care and communication.

The go-live for the upgraded DCR is scheduled for mid-2024, with a roadmap of continuous enhancements planned for the future.

Image credit: iStock.com/SOMKID THONGDEE