Hospitals take next step down tech path

The HealthSMART Program has reached a major milestone with Box Hill Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital becoming the first agencies to fully implement Release 1 of the program’s clinical system.

HealthSMART is the Victorian whole-of-health information and communication technology strategy to modernise and replace ICT systems throughout the Victorian public health sector. Its clinical system supports the activities of clinicians at the bed-side.

It will replace a paper drug chart with an electronic version to help clinicians with instant reminders about patient allergies and drug interactions.

It will also allow clinicians to order tests and view results at the patient bed-side – eliminating the need for handwriting associated with patient care.

The HealthSMART clinical system is the product of extensive health sector consultation and system tailoring to meet Victorian clinical practice and workflow requirements.

Release 1 has been implemented in two phases. The first release (Release 1a) was introduced at Eastern Health in November last year and provided clinicians with electronic discharge summaries and access to test results in a single system.

Release 1b has added medication management – allowing clinicians to electronically generate a script for discharge, emergency and outpatient medications and will automatically populate a list of medications to the discharge summary. Additional features will be available in later releases.

The system has been enthusiastically received by clinicians and its implementation is the result of the combined efforts of the Department of Health, Eastern Health and Eye and Ear Hospital.

The next release of the HealthSMART Clinical System is currently being finalised and will be rolled out at Austin Health and Peninsula Health in early 2011.

Further information

For more information, visit the HealthSMART website.