Digital health in aged care

In response to recommendations made in the final report from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Primary Health Networks (PHNs) were provided funding to work with participating RACHs to improve their capacity to utilise telehealth to enhance access to primary care services for aged residents.

Following an extensive survey of digital capability among northern Queensland’s RACH service providers and exhaustive consultation on remediation strategies, NQPHN is proud to have rolled out 39 Visionflex telehealth carts to participating RACHs in our area in 2024.

The Visionflex carts feature accessibility options for older persons, including high-definition cameras and audio equipment, large display monitors, and live captioning for the hearing impaired. Advanced clinical devices present on these carts expand the range of services which can be provided by telehealth, and these RACHs can now enhance or implement telehealth workflows allowing their residents to access healthcare services in a more timely and convenient manner.

With our commitment to improving equity of access to healthcare for all older persons, NQPHN is offering bespoke support to homes regardless of size, funding model, or location to implement this equipment meaningfully.

Resources are available below, with further implementation support available from the NQPHN Older Persons Health and Palliative Care team’s Senior Capability Officer at ophapc@nqphn.com.au

To drive the organisational change required for meaningful implementation of telehealth, and other digital health initiatives, NQPHN is working with nominated Digital Champions at each RACH. 

Digital Champions are clinical, management, and operational staff who are keenly motivated by the potential outcomes of optimally using technology to enhance healthcare and will advocate for ongoing development in their workplace. NQPHN maintains a community to promote problem-solving and the sharing of experiences between peers.

To this end, NQPHN publishes a monthly community newsletter full of announcements, updates, tips and tricks, new technologies, success stories, upcoming education opportunities, FAQs, and other news.

NQPHN also hosts a monthly online workshop for the Digital Champions Network, sharing presentations by educational speakers' virtual services which enrich care through the telehealth program and provide a platform for peers to share their successes and troubleshoot their challenges.  

When digital health services are connected, healthcare providers and authorised residential aged care staff have immediate access to a resident’s key health information. Electronic health records have been shown to: 

• reduce time spent accessing health history 

• streamline information into one secure location 

• improve continuity of care 

• save time in an emergency. 

NQPHN is supporting RACHs in registering for Australia’s national electronic medical record system, My Health Record. Tailored one-on-one support is available for all residential aged care homes wishing to connect to the system.

If you’re interested in connecting your residential aged care home, email mhr.registration.RAC@digitalhealth.gov.au or ophapc@nqphn.com.au  

For registered nurses in RACHs that have not yet completed the My Health Record registration process, Queensland Health’s “The Viewer” may provide interim access to test results, medication history, discharge summaries, and other relevant information about your residents’ encounters with Queensland Health operated services.   

eNRMCs are electronic medication management systems utilised in RACH that support the electronic prescribing, supply, and claiming of medicines. eNRMC systems benefit RACHs by:  

• removing the need for paper-based prescriptions and charts 

• decreasing medication safety risks, such as transcription errors 

• increasing visibility of medication records for prescribers, suppliers, and staff 

• providing point of care alerts on allergies and interactions 

• providing real-time electronic collaboration and communication tools 

• reducing administrative burden 

• reducing the number of regular medications taken by an individual 

• facilitating electronic medications audits within a RACH.

Government incentives and grants have been made available to uptake eNRMC in RACH. If your RACH has not yet transitioned to an eNRMC, and you are interested, reach out to NQPHN for further information at ophapc@nqphn.com.au  

Electronic prescribing is an alternative to paper prescriptions, providing patients with convenient access to their medicines, and improving safety. 

Electronic scripts may be issued to community-based patients, and may benefit older persons by:  

• providing a convenient alternative to paper prescriptions 

• supplementing the delivery of telehealth services 

• reducing infections disease transmission through contactless prescribing 

• maintaining privacy through token encryption and data protection 

• minimising risk of lost paper prescriptions 

• reducing administrative burden 

• allowing the superseding of old prescriptions with current records 

• providing safeguards against dispensing at multiple pharmacies.

An Active Script List (ASL) is a token management solution that contains a consolidated list of a patient’s active prescriptions. Patients will need to register for an Active Script List by visiting a pharmacy that is enabled to offer this service. With an Active Script List, patients no longer need to keep track of SMS or email tokens, which may be more convenient for patients who take multiple medicines. 

The My Health App allows users to manage their My Health Record and view saved Electronic Prescription Tokens and their Active Script List on demand.