SYNOPSIS
It is less than a year until the RCH Epic EMR “goes live”. The transition to a proper electronic record with an extensive suite of functionality will mean many changes in the way we work. These changes will be bigger than those we experienced in the move to the new hospital. The EMR represents a great opportunity to improve the care we deliver and our ability to support research. It is a major investment and obviously we want to use it well.
Among the many new functions in the Epic EMR is the patient and family portal – it will provide access to the Epic system for patients and families through the web and via mobile apps. We will be the first major hospital in Australia to have an EMR portal and we believe it will be one of the more transformational aspects of the project. It will significantly increase family/patient access to their own information compared to what is available today and provide many other possibilities. Used well it can genuinely support great patient- and family-centred care.
Portals have sometimes been a source of concern, anxiety, and resistance amongst clinicians as they have the potential to radically change the patient/provider relationship. They raise issues like “Whose data is it?” and “Will it mean more work for me?”.
EMR portals have raised much debate internationally around the confidentiality of information disclosed to healthcare providers and appropriate access to the patient and family.
In partnership with families and young people, we are making decisions around what will be offered via the RCH portal. Options include the ability to – reschedule an appointment; request a repeat prescription; upload a symptom diary; fill in a research questionnaire; see their own test results; read parts of their medical record (and maybe update it); communicate directly with their RCH care team members; and much more.
The Patient & Family Portal Working Group will be considering these issues over the coming months and will be consulting widely to develop an approach that works well for consumers and staff. At this Grand Round we want to raise awareness of the portal, explain how it might function for young people, families and RCH staff, and present experience from hospitals that have travelled down this path before us.
The session will be open to patients, families, and staff. Plenty of time will be allocated for discussion.
SPEAKERS
Professor Mike South is a paediatrician and the RCH Chief Medical Information Officer. Mike will present on the functions of the portal and experience from elsewhere.
Professor Lynn Gillam is a clinical ethicist. She is the Academic Director of the Children’s Bioethics Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Professor in Health Ethics at the University of Melbourne. Lynn will lead the discussions.