Auckland Shared Care Plan Proof of Concept launches
Courtesy of the New Zealand National Health Board newsletter.
The Minister of Health, Hon Tony Ryall recently attended the proof of concept launch for a National Shared Care Plan Pilot for Long Term Conditions.
General Practitioner Dr Neil Hefford from Grey Lynn Family Medical Practice is running the concept in partnership with the National Health IT Board and the Northern Region (Auckland, Counties, Waitemata and Northland) DHBs. [The pilot uses HSAGlobal's CCMS software and health system consulting services.]
Dr Hefford was able to enrol his first patient in the share care system in February directly from his Practice Management System. Dr Rob Doughty, of the Auckland DHB Heart Failure service, was able to access the patient's record, schedule an appointment for him, review his medications and notify his GP, Dr Hefford, all through the shared care plan system. In addition to supporting a multidisciplinary approach, the shared care plan was developed with the patient and includes self management activities he will undertake to manage his condition.
Dr Janine Bycroft, co-clinical champion for the pilot with Dr Doughty, recognised the importance of this initiative in coordinating the delivery of healthcare services and has arranged for the project to be presented at the Australasian Long-Term Health Conditions Conference in Auckland this month.
The goal is for shared care plans to be accessible by the patient online and shared with the wider team (across both primary and secondary care) to strengthen decision making. A common record and plan enable integrated multidisciplinary care teams to coordinate care across boundaries with the patient as a central member of the team.
The Auckland proof of concept is expected to continue for 2-4 months while three other pilots are established in other DHB areas. These pilots will expand the use of shared care plans to over 1,000 patients. They will also provide further learning and refinement to ensure future regional rollouts meet sector needs and to improve clinician understanding of shared care planning.
National Health IT Board Director, Graeme Osborne, describes the proof of concept as "the very first step towards a shared care record which is fundamental to the eHealth vision - to have core personal health information available electronically to patients and their healthcare providers regardless of where services are provided."
