Wirraka Maya Health Service embraces digital health
Thursday, 01 April, 2021
, an Aboriginal community health service in Port Hedland, Western Australia, has produced record results in the use of technology to ensure better connected care for local patients.
Throughout 2020, the Wirraka Maya Health Service uploaded the ninth highest number of shared health summaries聽in Western Australia 鈥 a summary of a patient鈥檚 key health information 鈥 to , and the highest number of event summaries in the state. The health service has also viewed more uploaded documents than any other primary care provider in Western Australia.
鈥淲e rely on My Health Record to keep us updated on patient pathology, imaging, medication, dispensing and history records,鈥 Senior Medical Officer Dr Yolande Knight said. 鈥淲e find it helpful because a lot of our patients are transient, moving from one region to another, so it can be difficult to get their comprehensive files.
鈥淲e can see what other doctors have requested and performed, overcoming the delays waiting for records requested from other practices and providers. Equally, we can upload and share what we鈥檝e done, so when the patient attends elsewhere, their record is current and available to other practitioners.
鈥淲e can also see what scripts were dispensed,鈥 Dr Knight said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 invaluable that PathWest results are automatically available. This helped us a lot with recent COVID-19 test results, where at times it was quicker to see the result on the patient鈥檚 record than to join the phone queue to get the result.鈥
Consumer Advocate, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Champion and Co-Chair of the Agency鈥檚 Reconciliation Working Group and National Medicines Safety Program, Steve Renouf, congratulated Wirraka Maya for its commitment to digital health.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see an Aboriginal-controlled health service leading the way in achieving outstanding results in the use of digital technology,鈥 he said.
鈥淭his commitment to digital service delivery will continue to enhance clinical outcomes in local communities and help breach the digital divide that can disadvantage remote patients.鈥
(AHCWA) Public Health Medical Officer Dr Marianne Wood said, 鈥淭he Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) sector in WA has been a leader in the use of My Health Record and we are very proud of the great work by Wirraka Maya.
鈥淢any ACCHS recognised, early on, the enormous potential of the record in improving the care of Aboriginal patients, particularly for those who travel widely and receive care from many different healthcare providers across this enormous state,鈥 she said.
鈥淎HCWA has been very active in supporting both ACCHS and the wider WA health sector in the My Health Record project, recognising that the benefit of the record is far greater when there is a collective effort. The Hedland Community of Excellence Project and the work of Wirraka Maya shows what can be achieved.鈥
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