Digital health records for rural hospitals

Every hospital within the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has now been converted  from paper to digital health records in a significant improvement to health services across the region. 

Mareeba Hospital became the last of nine rural facilities to implement the integrated electronic Medical  Record (ieMR) system last week as part of an 18-month project. 

The other centres included Gordonvale, Innisfail, Tully, Atherton, Herberton, Mossman, Yarrabah, and  Babinda. Cairns Hospital also underwent an upgrade to its existing ieMR system in November. 

CHHHS rural and remote services director Terry Johnson said every patient who attends one of  these centres will now receive a digital record. 

“This is going to have such a positive impact on our rural and remote patients as it means their digital  record can be securely accessed by clinicians across the state,” she said. 

“It can be so overwhelming for patients who need to be transported to other facilities for care where  they have previously had to repeat their stories to unfamiliar clinicians. 

“Having a digital system is also going to allow our clinicians to spend more time with their patients and potentially reduce the need for unnecessary tests and travel.”

Ms Johnson said as part of the upgrade, more than 4700 staff across CHHHS had received dedicated training and at-elbow support, and more than 110 new devices had been installed at each of the centres. 

She said significant infrastructure upgrades were required at each site, including Babinda and  Mossman Hospitals which are 101 and 95 years old respectively.

CHHHS is one of five Hospital and Health Services which have been part of this phase of the digital rollout. 

CHHHS joins seven other health services in Queensland that have a fully integrated electronic medical system across all hospitals. CHHHS rural medical services director Dr Tjaart Grobbelaar said  ieMR was going to improve patient care. 

“The system allows clinicians to access and update patient information simultaneously,” he said.

“Their vital signs can be automatically uploaded to their record which can trigger early warning alerts if a patient's condition deteriorates. 

“We have fantastic clinicians working across our health service and this is only going to enhance the care we provide to our patients every day.”