The use of My Aged Care e-Referral forms is continuing to increase across Australia with more than 2,000 general practices now using them to refer patients.

In total, over 20,000 My Aged Care e-Referral forms have been submitted since the national service launched in September 2019. More than 90 new practices are signing up each month to use the solution.

My Aged Care is the entry point for older Australians to access government-funded aged care. My Aged Care e-Referral forms use HealthLink technology developed by health IT solutions company, Clanwilliam Health.

My Aged Care e-Referral forms are integrated into practice management systems, allowing patient information to be pre-populated, which saves time and reduces the risk of data input errors.

This integration means the forms take only a few minutes to complete and are processed instantly once submitted to My Aged Care. This is the fastest, easiest, and most secure way to refer patients to My Aged Care.

Clanwilliam Health’s My Aged Care account manager Jean-Christophe Meunier says feedback from GPs and the My Aged Care online service team has been overwhelmingly positive.

“GPs have commended being able to pre-populate data from the patient’s record. This makes the referral process much faster, especially when compared to sending referrals by fax or via the My Aged Care website.”

He says the My Aged Care team can process e-Referrals quickly and efficiently at their end.

“e-Referrals remove additional manual processing of patient referrals meaning a large reduction in waiting time for patients to be referred for an assessment,” Mr Meunier says.

Glowing feedback from users

Chandlers Hill Surgery in South Australia was part of the 2019 pilot programme trialling My Aged Care e-Referral forms and has continued using them ever since.

Nurse manager Casey Franchi says she would recommend the forms to any general practice.

“Life is so much easier now… the time saved means I can focus on the important stuff like caring for patients and not filling out forms.”

Dr William Poh from Malvern Road Medical Centre in New South Wales says the forms mean it’s “quick and easy to complete a complex referral”.

Practice manager Kay Stragalinos works at Station Square Medical Centre in Victoria and says My Aged Care e-Referral forms reduce a lot of doubling up.

“It makes referrals to My Aged Care so seamless, being integrated into our medical software. We love how it auto-populates patient information and that we can attach relevant documents.”

My Aged Care e-Referral forms are easily accessed from the four main practice management systems used in Australia – Best Practice, Medical Director, Genie and Medtech.

Thinking outside the box

Thinking outside the box is nothing new for health IT company, Clanwilliam Health. But its latest software development is literally doing just that.

Clanwilliam Health has developed HealthLink SecureIT Cloud, which enables health professionals in New Zealand to access the private Connected Health network from the Cloud.

Health professionals have traditionally needed a HealthLink SecureIT Gateway black box physically installed on their premises to access Connected Health.

Connected Health is a standards-based, commercial model for the delivery of universal connectivity across the New Zealand health sector.

It operates over a network delivered by a number of private service providers and allows health professionals to safely share patients’ health information without using the internet.

New Zealand is the only country in the world that has a private network for transferring health information.

Busting the myth

Clanwilliam Health Chief Technology Officer John Carter says there is a myth that accessing Connected Health from the Cloud is impossible.

“That’s simply not true. We’ve developed the technology to connect to Connected Health from the Cloud in an affordable, secure and easy way,” he says.

Mr Carter says many organisations and businesses are moving to the Cloud and there’s been a lot of frustration with not being able to modernise the ability to connect to Connected Health.

“So, we came up with a solution with our Cloud-friendly deployment that’s the same cost as the black box. Plus, we will manage it for customers,” he explains.

He says health organisations and businesses wanting to move to the Cloud don’t have to worry now about not having access to Connected Health.

“It’s affordable, easy to do and you’ll still have the ability to do exactly the same things.”

He says the entire health sector will benefit from this development.

Nandish Chiropractic in East Auckland has come a long way since it opened its doors in 2015.

It’s now one of the city’s largest chiropractic clinics with six chiropractors specialising in different fields.

E-Referrals to Nandish Chiropractic can be made using CareSelect.

Nandish Chiropractic has five departments: the Spinal Clinic, Headache and Migraine Clinic, Concussion Clinic, Pregnancy Clinic, and Paediatric Clinic.

Nandish Chiropractic founder and principal chiropractor Karen Singh says she loves helping people thrive by encouraging a proactive, holistic approach to healthcare.

Dr Singh has a keen interest in complex and chronic pain, spinal disc compression and stress. She also runs wellness classes teaching patients how to manage stress effectively.

“Chiropractic care is a proven and effective way to align the spine and nervous system to operate at its optimum potential,” she says.

Three-step process

Each new patient goes through a three-step process.

“They have an extensive health history check, physical assessment (postural, range of motion, orthopaedic, neurologic and spinal), and a report of findings with clinical diagnosis and a care plan tailored to the patient’s needs. We believe education and empowerment is key in the healing and recovery process,” says Dr Singh.

“We like to help people understand why things are happening and what they can do to help themselves. We also focus on stress and the effects it has on the body and functionality. The body is like a car – it won’t function as well as one that gets regularly serviced.”

Dr Singh says a common issue is device use and changes in the spinal curve due to an increased load on the neck and spinal nerves causing poor posture, headaches and premature degeneration.

“We help realign their posture, educate them about spinal ergonomics and where their screens should be to be proactive and avoid future problems.”

She says people sometimes confuse chiropractors with physiotherapists.

“Physiotherapists focus on injury rehabilitation, whereas chiropractors focus on the underlying issues with the neck, back and nervous system.”

Dr Singh says her team regularly holds workshops with health practitioners to explain what chiropractors do.

How to refer to Nandish Chiropractic:

• open the patient record
• select the HealthLink icon
• use the CareSelect search bar, type “Nandish Chiropractic”
• click “Compose Referral”.

E-Referrals for Freedom Medical Alarms can now be made for patients living outside of Wellington.

Previously, e-Referrals could only be made for patients living in the capital, but they can now be made nationwide.

Freedom Medical Alarms national manager Debbie Booth says it’s exciting for the service to be expanding.

“It means we can provide support and reassurance to a much larger number of people,” she says.

Peace of mind for everybody

Freedom Medical Alarms is a joint venture with HealthCare NZ and Wellington Free Ambulance. It’s the only medical alarm directly connected to the Central Emergency Ambulance Communication Centre.

“That means patients are directly connected to trained emergency call-takers at the push of a button.”

Debbie says it’s reassuring for patients and their family members to know that medical help is readily available.

“It provides peace of mind for everybody and freedom from worry.”

Funding available

Freedom Medical Alarms is a Work and Income accredited supplier.

“If a patient qualifies, an alarm can be funded through the Disability Allowance.”

The cost of an ambulance call out is covered for all patients, Debbie says.

Freedom Medical Alarms also has a GO pendant that can be worn out in the community but isn’t currently funded.

Landline or cellular network

Patients can choose either a neck or wrist pendant, which they press in an emergency. The alarms work via a landline or the cellular network.

A key safe can be installed as part of the set up so paramedics can easily access a patient’s home in the case of an emergency.

“The patient’s next of kin is also contacted if an ambulance is called.”

Debbie says the demand for Freedom Medical Alarms is increasing.

“We’ve seen a surge in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic because people are living alone and isolated. We also have an ageing population and people want to be able to live in their own home for longer.”

How to refer to Freedom Medical Alarms:

• open the patient record
• select the HealthLink icon
• scroll to the “Referred Services” heading
• select Freedom Medical Alarms.