The future of healthcare: medical records digitised for better patient care
The DMR team
Over the past year, Health Support Services (HSS) has been working in collaboration with the Department of Health and Health Service Providers to implement the Digital Medical Record (DMR) solution at a number of new sites across the state.
A DMR will enable clinicians to have real-time access to a digital medical record for each patient regardless of the public health site the patient visits, enabling them to work more efficiently and effectively without the delays and risks associated with copying, storing and retrieving paper records.
Since February, twenty health sites across regional WA have successfully switched from paper to digital medical records.
On 3 May 2023, the first of the metropolitan sites successfully went live as Rockingham Peel Group facilities transitioned to the DMR, joining metropolitan sites Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals and a number of regional sites, who have pioneered the use of the DMR in WA.
Across May and June, more health care sites will begin using the DMR, including a number of regional sites and King Edward Memorial Hospital, the first site from North Metropolitan Health Service to transition to digital medical records.
This initiative forms part of the global Electronic Medical Record (EMR) program and is linked to the Sustainable Health Review Recommendation 22.
Implementation of the DMR requires a system-wide collaboration and is a precursor step toward implementing an integrated EMR, which will further increase the electronic capturing of information at the point of care, reducing paper forms to a minimum.
In other jurisdictions, it has been demonstrated that an EMR can diminish avoidable patient deaths, amplify staff efficiency and retention, enhance patient flow within emergency departments, and curtail unplanned readmissions.
HSS acknowledges the dedication and hard work of the project teams and users involved in the deployment of the DMR at the new sites for their efforts in enabling a successful implementation.
We are excited to continue to work on the roll out of the DMR thanks to the recent $99.4 million funding secured for the program as announced by the Premier in early May.