South Island paramedics given best tool for the job

SECTOR UPDATE - Canterbury DHB

St John paramedics across the South Island have been given direct access to key patient information via HealthOne’s Shared Care Record View.

This is a secure record that stores patient health information, including general practice records, prescribed medications and test results.

From this month, paramedics are now able to use their portable electronic devices to access key information, such as advance care plans, acute plans and hospital discharge summaries, at the point of care.

St John Right Care Advisor and Paramedic Orla Fowden says paramedic access to HealthOne was something she had wanted to make happen for some time.

“I was ecstatic when I was approached by the South Island Alliance Palliative Care Workstream, who identified us as a vital partner in their patient’s journey and that our paramedics have been under-resourced with regards to our patient’s health information.

“They agreed this left us ill-equipped to provide the best possible care to this cohort of patients, with limited access to their acute plans and advance care plans.”

The South Island Alliance connected St John with the HealthOne/Health Connect South team, and an initial working group was formed.

“The Alliance were vital in instigating the initial working group and have demonstrated immense advocacy for us. Throughout the project, I was made to feel welcome and supported, I couldn’t have done it without their encouragement.

Although HealthOne has been providing access to St John’s clinical desk staff since 2017, enabling paramedics to have remote access is an exciting extension of this work, says HealthOne Senior Project Manager Grant Wells.

South Island Alliance Regional Programme Facilitator, Palliative Care Workstream, Joanna Hathaway says improving information sharing between health services in the South Island is one of their key goals.

“Patients nearing the end of their life are often cared for by multiple health services in many different settings, all with their own patient management systems. This can make it difficult for clinicians to access and/or share patient information and can lead to inefficiencies and inconsistencies in patient care.

“With this in mind, the Palliative Care Workstream has been bringing together key stakeholders to look at ways to improve information sharing so all of our patients can get the best care possible, regardless of which service is currently caring for them.

“From early on in the discussions, it was clear that greater access to patient information via HealthOne would assist St John paramedics with their assessment and treatment plans when called out to see palliative patients in the community, as their symptoms were often due to underlying illnesses that could be managed differently, thereby achieving better results for patients and potentially avoiding unnecessary trips to hospital.”

“We are thrilled to see the result of everyone’s efforts with St John paramedics now being able to directly access patient information via HealthOne from their portable devices.”

The Palliative Care Workstream would especially like to acknowledge the hard work of everyone who was instrumental in bringing this complex project to fruition, Joanna says.

St John Extended Care Paramedic Saxon Ross is grateful for the “endless benefits” of accessing HealthOne as it allows him to gain thorough medical histories for all his patients. He now finds himself utilising HealthOne on a daily basis.

Source: South Island Alliance Programme Office

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