RACGP urges Government to re-think suggested ePIP model
17 November 2015
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has urged the Federal Government to drop changes to the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) eHealth Incentive (ePIP) that would establish mandatory requirements for the uploading of clinical documents to My Health Record.
In a letter to Health Minister Sussan Ley, RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones said the suggested changes were “misaligned, ill-timed, superficial, will not support meaningful use, and – as a result – will not improve patient care and safety”.
The likely changes, released as a discussion document by the Federal Government in October, come at time when the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has released a report highlighting many general practices are failing the stringent privacy requirements set for the use of the My Health Record, exposing practices to the risk of significant fines.
“The Government has not done enough to support practices to prepare for the My Health Record and is exposing them and patients to risk as it moves to an opt-out model and drives participation through a reformed ePIP with mandatory participation targets,” Dr Jones said.
“We urge the Government to fix the usability problems first before pushing ahead with the proposal and exposing GPs to risk and patients to possible safety issues.”
Dr Jones said there were still a number of usability issues with the system.
“For the Government to attempt to drive GP use of the My Health Record in this environment, with so many issues still to be addressed, is likely to be counterproductive,” he said.
The Federal Government released a discussion document in October suggesting the ePIP Incentive be linked to a requirement for all healthcare providers to upload Shared Health Summaries (SHS) to the My Health Record to demonstrate active and meaningful use of the system.
“GPs have expressed serious concerns to the RACGP regarding the Department of Health’s proposal that uploading a SHS is considered the sole measure of ‘active and meaningful use’ of the My Health Record,” Dr Jones said.
“Meaningful use is not just uploading information to My Health Record, and nor is uploading information an acceptable starting point for meaningful use. Meaningful use relates to safety, quality, communication and healthcare outcomes – not merely numbers.”
Dr Jones said the RACGP recommended a broader strategy to engage and encourage other healthcare providers to use My Health Record, which would provide better clinical and healthcare benefits.
“Mandatory ePIP requirements to engage in the My Health Record put general practice and their patients at risk and the Government should not be considering these measures as a way to create use of the system,” Dr Jones said.