SA Health to roll out EMR in regional hospitals

South Australia is set to roll out an electronic medical record (EMR) system to all regional hospitals and Local Health Networks.

The system is already in place in most metropolitan hospitals and now the state government has approved an additional $31.1 million for a statewide regional rollout expected to be complete by late 2024.

Regional hospitals are currently using an outdated software system that is no longer supported or fit for purpose.

The EMR system, developed by global clinical software vendor Altera Digital Health, will deliver integrated, patient-centred care across the SA Health system and will also streamline processes for healthcare workers.

SA Health Chief Digital Health Officer Bret Morris said, “This integrated program has proven to be invaluable in the hospitals where it is already implemented and the move to statewide deployment is when we will see the full benefits come to the fore due to the ability to share information across our health system. Broad consultation was undertaken, with strong support from all regional LHNs to adopt the EMR into their networks.”

Collectively, regional LHNs are responsible for about a third of acute hospital beds across the state and the delivery of the EMR will improve patient flow and support the clinical and administrative workforce to deliver improved care to people living in regional and rural areas.

The program will improve the experience of patients by reducing the need for them to provide their health information at every stage of their treatment journey and will also reduce the need for repeat pathology and X-ray imaging, with information readily available to clinicians at other locations.

Altera Digital Health Australia and New Zealand General Manager Todd Haebich said the company has renewed its Master Service Agreement with SA Health for another four years. SA Health is one of Altera’s largest global Sunrise clients using solutions including Sunrise PAS Sched, SFM, Sunrise EMR, Patient Flow and Opal. In addition, SA Health has continued to value and use the company’s professional services team to support the implementation and optimisation of SA Health’s PAS & EMR across the state, he said.

“The Sunrise platform in South Australia now has more than 6000 concurrent users managing close to 3 million registered patients and over 20 million patient visits,” Haebich said.

The EMR is already in place at Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service and Port Augusta Hospital, as well as at all metropolitan hospitals, except for Modbury Hospital, and Women’s and Children’s Health Network, where implementation is due for completion by mid-2023.

Its implementation at regional LHNs will take place in partnership with Digital Health SA over a 24-month period starting early in 2023. Limestone Coast Local Health Network, Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network and Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network will be activated first, followed by Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (RMCLHN), Yorke and Northern Local Health Network then Eyre and Far North Local Health Network.

RMCLHN CEO Wayne Champion said the move will bring with it a vast range of benefits to patients living in country areas and will support clinicians and administration staff across SA Health to provide seamless, integrated care.

“The system will significantly benefit those patients whose health journeys involve care across different health services and in different health settings, including Adelaide residents who might access health services when holidaying or working in regional South Australia,” Champion said.

Key benefits of a single statewide EMR include: improved access to patient information in a timely manner; improved virtual care capacity for metropolitan-based clinicians; improved care for people with complex needs who often receive support from different services across more than one LHN; direct admission of patients transferred from regional to metropolitan services; ability to transfer patients to and from metropolitan hospitals in a more timely manner to reduce hospital demand; and the ability to see where beds are available across the system in real time.

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