SA pumps $17m in e-health

By: Jennifer Foreshew

THE South Australian government will provide nurses and midwives with instant access to patient records under a new $17 million web-based information system.

SA Health Department chief information officer David Johnston said the technology would provide faster access to patient information and lead to more responsive and informed treatment.

"All major public hospitals will be linked which will help improve areas such as patient care planning, care quality management and patient acuity, as well as workforce utilisation of our nurses and midwives,'' Mr Johnston said.

The project is part of the State's electronic health records system, careconnect.sa, which will link all clinicians and patient information within the next 10 years.

Developed by Sydney-based Emerging Systems, the technology will be introduced at Lyell McEwen Hospital in Adelaide first and progressively rolled out to 17 public hospitals across the State by the end of next year.

The system includes a risk assessment profiler for each patient and a variance tracking tool that uses a patient care guide to monitor treatment.