The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) have collaborated to develop a new online education activity that provides information and resources on the integration of a range of e-health technologies within general practice.
The Making e-health work for your general practice online learning module is created for general practitioners (GPs) and general practice registrars to assist the understanding of the key role e-health plays in healthcare delivery.
The learning activity is available from today and aims to assist GPs in adopting appropriate e-health systems to their practice setting, build e-health awareness, help GPs understand the principles and benefits of a national eHealth record system (also referred to as the Personally Controlled eHealth Record System) and simplify the implementation of e-health tools in general practice.
The new activity explores how changes in gathering, storing, using and sharing patient information can create better individual and population health outcomes and explores how the shift towards e-health can affect the business of general practice and the patient-doctor relationship.
Dr Liz Marles, RACGP President, said as the capability of the government’s national eHealth record system develops over time, genuine engagement from GPs is urgently required to shape the evolution of the system to ensure it is a success.
“E-health is the future of healthcare. It has tremendous promise to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, quality and safety of healthcare delivery.
“With the fast emergence and change in e-health applications and equipment, it can be challenging for GPs to choose the right technology for their general practice setting and to successfully implement it.
“If we as GPs align our expectations, goals and needs with those of our patients and choose e-health options that are simple, usable and flexible, we can expect some great results.
“This new learning module gives GPs the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in the optimal applications of e-health technologies and processes such as the national eHealth record system, telehealth, clinical softwares, secure messaging and social media,” Dr Marles said.
Prof Richard Murray, ACRRM President, highlighted the need for engaging, relevant and interactive education and resources for doctors to improve patient outcomes.
"The bush is a breeding ground for innovation in healthcare. Rural doctors have had no choice but to find smart ways to get things done for their patients," Prof Murray said.
"Rural doctors have been early adopters of technology to meet their often unique health challenges. Before government incentives and programs, we embraced electronic health records, electronic population health, point-of-care testing, portable imaging and many other innovations. Rural doctors have been at the forefront of development and uptake of telehealth opportunities facilitate by the MBS telehealth initiative.
"ACRRM and the RACGP recognised the lack of objective information about the Personally Controlled eHealth Record System (PCEHR) in general practice – the technology, functionality, privacy, security and, most importantly, usefulness. With the support of the Commonwealth Government, the Colleges have now developed this first-of-a-kind learning activity. We hope it is a catalyst for more rural doctors to be actively involved in discussions regarding shared records and contribute to the evolution of the system," he said.
Participants undertaking the learning module will learn more about topics including:
- The context of e-health – focuses on the specific context within which e-health technologies and processes (such as telehealth, national eHealth record system, secure messaging, social media) are implemented. Also explores how patients interact with e-health today and how this affects management of them
- Principles of e-health technologies – explores the principles of e-health technology in the general practice setting by following a general practice as it goes through exploring, choosing and adopting e-health technologies
- Clinical aspects of e-health – guides participant through interactive scenarios exploring the clinical aspects relevant of e-health such as: the doctor–patient relationship and e-health; clinical, financial, legal and safety aspects of electronic records; using e-health as a source of information and patient education
To enrol or for more information on this module, visit the RACGP educational portal gplearning at www.gplearning.com.au or the ACRRM learning platform – Rural and Remote Medical Education Online (RRMEO) via the e-health website at www.ehealth.acrrm.org.au. The module is also available on regional training provider learning platforms.
The program is accredited for 40 Category 1 points (RACGP) and 30 Professional Development Points (ACRRM) for completion of the entire module and is available free of cost to RACGP and ACRRM members.
This program was made possible through funding by the Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA).