A small digital change can make a big difference: Improving documentation compliance and accuracy required for funding a tertiary Mental Health service in Victoria.
Julie Louie1, Mai Vu1, Adam Boulton1, Penny Hendricksen2, Simon Russell2 1Melbourne Health, EMR Team, Parkville, VIC , Australia2Melbourne Health, Inner West Area Mental Health Service, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Abstract
Project Background
The Victorian Department of Health requires publicly funded Mental Health services to submit service contact data for clients that receive ambulatory health care. The Royal Melbourne Hospital introduced an electronic medical record that led to increased error rates and reduced clinician compliance (allied health, nursing and medical) in recording this data. This resulted in administrators having to investigate missing/erroneous data and clinicians needing to retrospectively correct/record data. A scripting change requiring mandatory fields and the completion of appropriate values was introduced.
Method
Monthly service contact data error rates and number of contacts recorded were reviewed pre and post implementation. Clinicians and administrators were invited to provide pre and post feedback, and subjective time spent via a RedCap survey. Additionally, the System Usability Scale (SUS) was distributed to the clinicians only.
Results
From August 2020 to mid-July 2022 there was a reduction in the service contact data error rate from 20.1% to 0.22%, and a subsequent increase in monthly contacts recorded from 3757 to 8058. Forty survey responses were returned (34 clinicians and six administration staff). Clinicians rated the SUS highly, average total score 82.3 (13.6). Post-implementation, 62% of clinicians reported they spent ‘No Time’ per week completing this task compared with 9% pre-implementation. The change received positive feedback from respondents. The key themes were increased efficiency and ease of use.
Conclusion
This evaluation demonstrates the change in digital health system met the clinicians’ needs. Contemporary healthcare is always evolving, and digital health solutions need to respond appropriately.
Biography
Julie Louie is currently working as a Clinical Informatics Officer (Outpatients and Mental Health) at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as part of the EMR (electronic medical record) Team. Prior to this she was a Senior Neurological Physiotherapist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and had been actively involved in neurological rehabilitation research within that role. Her presentation will focus on the evaluation of a change within the EMR and the positive impact that had on clinical (allied health, nursing, medical) and administrative staff.