Patient-reported measures (PRMs) are now being integrated into the NSW Health Electronic Medical Record (eMR). Kate Norman, PRMs Program Lead at Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD), discusses how valuable this will be for patients and clinicians; especially as it drives a shared care approach.
Having worked as a clinician in busy inpatient and outpatient services at Nepean Hospital, I understand how important it is to have all the information about your patient in one place.
Integrating the Health Outcomes and Patient Experience (HOPE) platform with the patient’s eMR means the Patient Reported Measures survey results sit alongside the patient’s medical notes and other information within the same system. The integration of HOPE with the eMR is a vital step in placing health outcomes at the forefront of healthcare.
The value of integration
Integration of the HOPE platform with our local eMR means that staff using PRMs surveys via HOPE can now access these surveys directly within the patient’s eMR. This includes reviewing survey results, assigning new surveys, completing surveys during clinical care and additional HOPE functionality. This saves valuable clinician time that was previously required to login, review information and complete actions across two separate systems.
Prior to the integration, the PRM survey results were only available to staff using HOPE, or staff using HOPE were required to document the survey results in the patient’s eMR for other staff to view. This generated extra work and double handling of information. Now that HOPE is integrated, all staff involved in the patient’s care can access the survey results via the patient’s eMR. This allows all staff access to valuable information about the patient’s quality of life and how their condition, treatment or symptoms may be affecting them. This will further enhance patient care across services.
“I felt the staff really knew me and what was going on for me, rather than just the fact that I had a fall and broke my wrist.”
Outcomes that matter
At NBMLHD, there are several services across inpatient, outpatient and community-based settings that use PRMs and HOPE as part of their clinical care, with numbers continuing to grow. The PRMs program gives patients and carers the opportunity to provide direct, timely feedback through routine surveys about their health-related experiences and outcomes.
The HOPE platform enables surveys to be completed electronically on the patient’s own device in their own home; on an iPad in the clinic waiting room or on a home visit; or with the support of staff during their consultation.
The program allows clinicians to better understand what is important to the patient. It enables clinicians to address the holistic needs of patients beyond the reason they have presented or been referred to the service. Since implementing the program in our LHD in March 2021, feedback from both consumers and staff has highlighted the impact that PRMs have had on clinical care.
Services collecting PRMs via HOPE are also reviewing and using the data collected on a quarterly basis, to identify opportunities for improving clinical care and service delivery to meet their patients’ needs.
“I completed the surveys with my patient today and I was surprised by the results. I would have assumed because the patient presented quite well that they didn’t have any issues or concerns, but they did and I was able to help them.”
Journey to integration
While integration of systems, services and processes is important in healthcare, it can be challenging to achieve. The integration of HOPE and the eMR is an exception. eHealth NSW and the ACI’s PRMs team supported and worked closely with NBMLHD to establish the requirements needed to integrate HOPE with the local eMR.
From early information sessions, through to weekly change and adoption meetings, the integration process was pain-free. The local Information Communication Technology team did the heavy lifting in the background that was required locally to ensure the two systems worked seamlessly. They should be applauded for their efforts and contribution to this achievement.
At NBM LHD, we’re looking forward to the ongoing improvements that PRMs will bring to our staff, consumers and delivery of care.
Read more about Patient Reported Measures.
About Kate Norman
Kate Norman has been the Patient Reported Measures Program Lead at Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District since October 2020. Kate has a special interest in using Patient Reported Measures data to inform co-design, service delivery and enable change. Prior to this role, Kate worked clinically as a physiotherapist at Nepean Hospital, which included working across a variety of different roles and clinical settings. This is where her passion for PRMs and patient-centred care originated.