Miss Jackie O'Connor1, Ms Bronwyn Morris-Donovan1
1Allied Health Professions Australia, Australia
Biography:
Jackie is a Prosthetist Orthotist by clinical professional background with a Master’s in Health Service Management who found her way into policy and advocacy due to a passion for wanting to address practice problems at a systems level. Jackie believes solutions to many system challenges lie within digital initiatives and is therefore determined to provide the allied health sector with the opportunity to easily engage with fit for purpose digital solutions.
Abstract:
The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report identified that critical consumer health information, needs to be shared via digitally secure systems to enable coordinated multidisciplinary team care.
Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) and the Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency) undertook a survey to better understand the current awareness, use and readiness of AHP’s to use three key digital products:
– Provider Connect AustraliaTM (PCATM)
– My Health Record
– Electronic prescribing.
Method:
Currently practicing AHPs self-nominated to participate by utilising a link to the promoted survey between 25 March to 28 April 2024. Data analysis considered responses per question as a total response, per profession (30+ responses only) and by Medicare eligibility where relevant.
Results:
– 2,419 AHPs from 36 of the 39 in scope professions participated.
– Participant demographics demonstrate the breadth and diversity of the sector across all characteristics.
– 92% of participants without a Healthcare Professional Identifier-Individual (HPI-I) don’t know how to register for one.
– Only one conformant Clinical Information System (CIS) appears in top 10 used
– 8% use MHR: Barriers include don’t know how, privacy & security concerns, time
–80% unaware of PCATM.
Discussion:
This is the largest and most diverse cohort to respond to a national survey focused on AHP’s and their use of digital tools.
Three enablers need to be addressed before uptake of key digital products can occur:
– HPI-I’s utilised
– Fit for purpose CIS made available
– Training and education in line with the nuanced and sequenced campaign recommended.