A new integration between a virtual specialist provider and an eReferral vendor will have the capability of generating both eReferrals and electronic scripts virtually for clinicians and while mobile.
Web-based eReferral vendor Consultmed is developing an integration with virtual specialist services provider Telecare which it says will enable clinicians to send both eReferrals and eScripts through a single, integrated process.
The integration will bring together Consultmed’s digital referral platform, increasingly being used across hospitals, GP and specialist practices, with Telecare’s RxPad, Australia’s first mobile eScript solution.
This should mean that hospital-based clinicians will now be able to generate and send both eReferrals and prescriptions using one mobile web-based application, eliminating the need to switch between multiple legacy and paper-based systems.
The integration is ideally suited to specialists conducting virtual consultations on behalf of a hospital, which makes up a component of the services that Telecare provides.
General practices around Australia have had access to eScripts since mid-2020, but many hospital clinicians are still without access to eScripts in their day-to-day work.
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Dr Raymond Wen, Telecare’s chief growth officer and a practising GP said that “the partnership between Telecare and Consultmed will empower hospital clinicians to provide quick and efficient prescriptions and referrals to their patients, particularly when conducting telehealth consultations”.
He said that the integration was designed to cut administrative time, reduce manual data entry, and streamline communication between healthcare providers.
“This is one of those clinical toolboxes I wish I had when I was a junior doctor,” said Associate Professor Vikram Palit, CEO of Consultmed and a consultant paediatrician.
“Discharging patients from hospitals and transferring their care, safely, back to the community, is one of key interactions between primary and secondary care. However, when poorly managed, it becomes a significant bottleneck to patient flow,” he said.
“The ability for clinicians to easily send digital referrals, transfer of care summaries, and now eScripts via one integrated platform, with automatic upload to My Health Record, will be a game-changer for quality, safety and continuity of care.”
Professor Palit said that his company was looking to work with with progressive hospital networks to enable the technology for their patients and staff.
According to Telecare the integration is likely to lead to reduced delays in patient treatment and reduce the incidence of medication errors.