Page 3690 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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receiving a warning of a duplicate order; and 1,049 pathology collections saved by adding to an existing lab order.
MyDHR, the patient-facing portal, had over 185,000 registered users prior to the launch of the digital health record due to our quick system response as part of our nation-leading COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Now, more features have become available in MyDHR, allowing patients to manage their upcoming appointments, view test results and more. So far we have seen 611 patients submit history questionnaires to allow clinicians to provide better care and more than 1,500 general questionnaires submitted pre-populating information into patients’ charts.
These are just some of the small benefits that we are seeing. From my recent trip to Singapore to see Epic in use at their major hospitals, we know that there are going to be incredible benefits that we continue to realise from this transformation to a digital health record both in direct patient care and in understanding what is going on in our hospitals, so that we can continue to improve patient flow.
Canberra Hospital—Respiratory Medicine Unit
MS CASTLEY: My question is to the Minister for Health. I received a representation from a Canberran trying to access the respiratory clinic after being referred by their GP. The patient was referred to the respiratory medicine unit at the end of October and, six weeks later, still has not had an initial appointment. When the patient called the hospital, they were told that their referral from their GP had been lost, and that the respiratory department has a “logistics problem”. Minister, how many patients are waiting for an initial appointment with the respiratory medicine unit and what is the average wait time?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I am happy to take the detail of Ms Castley’s question on notice, in terms of how many patients are waiting and what the average wait time is. But I would note that the implementation of the digital health record will be one element of helping to assist, to ensure that those referrals are received and triaged appropriately, and it will also help to improve, over time, the feedback that is provided to general practitioners, and, indeed, patients themselves, in relation to the referrals received and what is happening with those.
MS CASTLEY: Minister, this will possibly also need to be taken on notice: can you confirm how many referrals the respiratory medicine unit have lost this year?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I am happy to look at how many they are aware of that have been drawn to their attention and that they have not been able to receive or process.
MR COCKS: Minister, is it acceptable for patients with referrals to the respiratory unit to wait, as I have heard from constituents, for more than six weeks for an initial appointment?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Cocks for the supplementary. Of course, referrals across all of our services are triaged, and people receive support according to the urgency of their need. In some of our services, there are wait times that exceed what we would want them to be. Indeed, sometimes, in some cases, they exceed
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