Supporting digital health
Country SA PHN in association with the Australian Digital Health Agency, provides support for a number of digital health technologies.
Learn more about Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy.
Supporting your practice
On Thursday the 18th of June South Australia passed the required amendments to legislation which will allow electronic prescriptions as tender for writing and dispensing a script. We are excited to join the other states with this amendment and are ready to support your organisation as we adapt to change.
Currently the Australian Digital Health Agency is rolling out electronic prescriptions using a controlled testing approach to ensure the end-to-end process is successful amongst all combinations of GP and Pharmacy software.
Participation will occur in a Community of Interest which will require at least one general practice and one pharmacy in proximal location. There are other requirements that will need to be met and we are keen to hear from your organisation if you would like to forge the path for electronic prescribing in Country South Australia. Please contact us at support@countrysaphn.com.au to register your interest in participating in a Community of Interest or for further information.
Readiness Item: Software Vendors
Software developers are working on their conformance. Those who have successfully met the requirements of electronic prescriptions are listed here. Please contact your software vendor for more information.
Readiness Item: Healthcare Identifiers Maintenance and Registration
Electronic prescriptions will require your organisation to:
Readiness Item: Hardware Requirements for Dispensers
To dispense from an electronic prescription, your barcode scanners will need to be able to read a QR Code. And depending on your pharmacy workflow, you may need to print a QR Code.
Your software vendor is best placed to tell you if your existing hardware is capable of doing this. Contact your software vendor to see if they have an approved list of hardware items or check your vendors website to see if they have a recommended hardware list. If you are purchasing new hardware, ensure the model you are buying is capable of performing the necessary scanning and printing functions.
Readiness Item: Prescribers – Issuing an electronic prescription
To issue an electronic prescription to a Patient, you will need to know their mobile number or email address.
Readiness Item: Staff Education and Awareness
The Australian Digital Health Agency have released separate Education Modules for Prescriber and Dispensers. The Modules can be accessed by going to https://training.digitalhealth.gov.au/
Software developers are working on their conformance. Those who have successfully met the requirements of electronic prescriptions are listed here. Please contact your software vendor for more information.
Secure online patient information
Keep up to date with the latest in digital health
If you would like support with any of our Digital programs please contact our primary care team.
Need support? Contact our Digital Health Team
Digital Health Security Health Awareness
The Australian Digital Health Agency has developed an eLearning course on Digital Health Security Awareness containing 5 modules which will enable participants on completion to -
Resources
The Healthcare Identifiers (HI) Service is a national system for uniquely identifying healthcare providers and individuals. Healthcare identifiers help ensure individuals and providers have confidence the right information is associated with the right individual at the point of care. It has been created to be used by healthcare providers to improve the security and efficient management of your personal health information.
The HI Service allocates three types of healthcare identifiers:
Penalties are in place for the misuse of healthcare identifiers. We recommend you read the following documentation to get a sound understanding of the HI Service, including things you need to be aware when accessing, using and disclosing healthcare identifiers: Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010.
Resources