Digital Health Record to help deliver COVID-19 vaccines in ACT
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The ACT Government’s investment in the Digital Health Record project is helping the management of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, making a huge difference on the frontline.
The Government committed $151 million to the Digital Health Record project in the 2018-19 Budget. In July 2020, global software company Epic was announced as the ACT Government’s partner in the digital health project.
The company’s world-leading software will be rolled out across Canberra’s public health services. These services include hospitals, community health centres, nurse-led walk-in centres and new walk-in health centres.
Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith said the vaccination capability of the Digital Health Record system was brought forward to help roll out the ACT’s COVID-19 vaccination program to people who are eligible under phases 1a and 1b.
“It’s great that we have been able to leverage Epic’s world-leading Digital Health Record system to support the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for Canberrans,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
“Our hard-working ACT Health team has been able to bring the vaccination capability online early and have it in use from the very start of the ACT’s COVID-19 vaccination program – the fastest implementation of Epic’s vaccination capabilities anywhere in the world.”
The system was fast-tracked to book appointments, guide nurses through pre-vaccine checklists, record vaccination details, report to the Australian Immunisation Register and provide digital confirmation to consumers about their vaccination status.
“Soon, eligible Canberrans will be able to make their own bookings for ACT Government vaccination hubs and access their vaccine-related activity through a secure MyDHR web portal,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
When the Digital Health Record is fully implemented, the MyDHR portal will provide direct patient access to information. It will also help consumers make appointments and manage their interaction with ACT Government health services.
The initial access to MyDHR will only include COVID-19 vaccination activity. The remaining functionality of the system will come online when it is fully implemented in late 2022.
“The fast-tracking of the vaccine capability is a remarkable achievement, and I look forward to sharing more about the Digital Health Record and how it empowers consumers to manage their own health care as the project continues,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
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