Information is essential for you to be confident and empowered when making choices about your own health care.
Knowledge about health issues is constantly changing. Every year increases the sum of human knowledge through scientific and medical research, and consumers are empowered who are able to access and understand new information, relevant to their health care.
Warning on using the Internet
The Internet can be an invaluable source of up to date information, about medical conditions, illnesses, research findings, services and other issues of importance to you. However, the quality and reliability of health – related sites on the Internet are varied. Accuracy is not guaranteed. Further, each health consumer or patient is an individual, whose condition is unique. Not all advice on the Internet is good. Not all advice will be relevant or safe for you. A good approach to using the Internet is to make notes on the information that interests you and then discuss it with the doctor or other health professional who is treating you.
We have collected or developed the below resources to help newly arrived migrants, people who are unfamiliar with the WA health system, and/or those who do not have English as a first language. Not all resources are available in languages other than English, but where available we have provided links.
Covid-19 multicultural resources – A collection of Covid resources in languages other than English from both government and reputable other organisations. Includes a video about the government’s COVIDsafe app available in 8 different languages and also a link to download a Covid information app in language.
Overview of the WA Health System – This Government of WA, Department of Health page gives a brief overview of the WA public health system and how it is divided up (geographically) into the metropolitan services of North Metropolitan Health Service, The South Metropolitan Health Service and The East Metropolitan Health Service plus the The Child and Adolescent Health Service and WA Country Health Service for regional and remote. Links to each of these services are provided on the page.
Medicare eligibility and enrolling – This Australian Government page explains who is eligible for Medicare and how to enrol for a Medicare number / card.
About Medicare – This Australian Government page explains what is covered by Medicare and how to make claims (for money back or rebates)
Choosing Private Health Insurance – This page by the Commonwealth Ombudsman for Private Health Insurance explains how private health works in Australia and provides information on choosing a policy.
Your healthcare rights – This Health Consumers’ Council page explains your (legal) rights in healthcare around informed consent and the right to competent care. Links also to more detail about mental health rights.
Going to hospital – Easy English Version – This is a Health Consumers’ Council produced brief brochure which explains (in simple English with few words and plenty of images) what to expect if you are going to hospital. Includes what to pack and a bit about what to expect when you get home.
Choosing the right health service – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) explains when it’s appropriate to use an online information resource, consult a telephone or online health help line, consult a pharmacist, consult your GP or go to hospital.
The role of a GP – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) explains the role of a General Practitioner (GP) or local, family doctor. It explains what a GP can do for your and your family and how and when they will pass you over to a specialist doctor. It explains how to find, choose and access a GP.
Paying for Healthcare – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) discusses the cost of various health services and what services are covered by Medicare, the government scheme that helps Australians pay for healthcare.
Maternity Services – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) looks at options for pregnancy care and where to give birth in Australia and the costs associated with the services.
Baby’s First Weeks – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) looks and the services and support you can receive in the weeks post birth of a baby when living in Australia.
Mental Health – Link to the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health portal which is for both community and services providers. For community there is a range of mental health resources in multiple languages as well as some personal stories and a list of community support organisations.
Five Questions To Ask Your Doctor – This is a Choosing Wisely provided resource, available in multiple languages, which provides five (5) questions which it is sensible to ask your doctor before opting for any test or treatment (together with a brief explanation as to why each is important).
Speaking Up and Giving Feedback – Link to the Health Consumers’ Council page of “self-advocacy” resources. It provides key resources and links to websites to support yourself in the health system, and provide feedback to our health services.
The Health Translations Directory – A Victorian Government library of health resources which have been translated into multiple languages. A very well stocked library which you can search via topic / condition or via language.
If you are from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) background or work with people from a CaLD background then please participate in our survey on available health literacy resources for CaLD populations.
WA Health is introducing a new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) across public hospitals and health services in Western Australia.
This is the largest clinical and digital transformation WA Health has ever undertaken, and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve how care is delivered across the state.
An EMR is a secure digital version of your health record. It brings together information about your care in WA public hospitals – such as test results, medicines and treatment plans – so clinicians can access the information they need to support your care, when they need it. It also includes smart clinical features, such as alerts for allergies or medicine interactions, that help support safer care.
The EMR will also include a portal for patients. The intent is to provide a secure online tool that could, over time, offer access to selected health information (such as parts of a health record, appointments and results) and support people to be more involved in their care and in supporting their family members. Final features and timing will be determined as the program progresses.
What this means for consumers and carers
For consumers and carers, the EMR is intended to support care that feels more joined-up and consistent across WA. It can reduce the need to repeat your story, help avoid delays caused by missing information and support safer care by helping clinicians spot important information sooner. It will also make it easier to access your own health information.
Why we’re asking for consumer input now
The EMR Program has been working closely with the Health Consumers’ Council and the EMR Program Consumer Reference Group for some time to establish strong foundations for consumer input into the Program. This work has helped shape how consumers are involved and has informed key principles around safety, equity, privacy and trust, including the development of the EMR Program’s Consumer Charter. As the Program moves into more detailed decision-making, it is now important to broaden consumer involvement and build a large, diverse pool of consumers who can contribute across different areas of care. This helps ensure decisions reflect the experiences of people with different health needs, backgrounds and interactions with the WA health system. The EMR Program is currently working through important decisions about how care is delivered across WA, including where it makes sense for things to be done in the same way everywhere. To support this, the Program is setting up a number of Clinical Advisory Groups, working groups and committees. These are groups of clinicians and other experts who look at specific areas of care and help guide decisions about how the EMR should support safe, high-quality care across the system. Many of the topics these groups consider affect how people experience care in real life – for example, how care teams work together, and what it’s like to move between hospitals and services. Because these decisions will shape how care works for many years to come, it’s important they are informed by the experiences of patients, carers and families. Your input helps ensure decisions are grounded in what actually works well, what’s difficult, and what could be improved, so care can be delivered more consistently and in ways that better support people across WA.
About the Expression of Interest
We are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from individuals who are experienced in representing consumer perspectives to join a pool for the following roles:
Standing member of an EMR Clinical Advisory Group (CAG), or other relevant committee or working group
Participation in short-term or topic-specific meetings, where your lived experience or expertise is particularly relevant.
The Expression of Interest Form highlights the different clinical focus areas we may need input on, and you can nominate up to five.
Who we’re looking to hear from
We are seeking people of different ages, cultural backgrounds and life experiences, people living in metropolitan, regional and remote areas, carers and family members, and people with experience of different health services and conditions. Having a wide range of perspectives helps ensure the EMR works well for the many different people who use WA Health services.
You don’t need any technical knowledge. What matters is your experience of care as a patient, carer or family member, and your willingness to share that experience in a way that helps improve care for others.
Time Commitment: Some people may be invited to join a Clinical Advisory Group with a regular (likely monthly) commitment, while others may be invited to take part in short-term or topic-specific discussions where their experience is particularly relevant. The Program is still evolving, so topics, timing and levels of involvement will vary. Commitment expectations will be discussed in advance of your appointment.
Support: Consumers can elect to receive additional support before, after and between meetings. This may include pre- and post-meeting briefings and cross-committee meetings to access peer support and learning. The Program will consider reasonable adjustments to support accessibility, communication and participation needs, and encourages consumers to discuss any barriers or support needs with the HCC team.
Online/ in-person attendance: Most meetings will be held online and are designed to be accessible using common devices. If access to technology or confidence using online tools may affect your ability to participate, please contact HCC to discuss available support or reasonable adjustments.
Consumer participation payment: Participation is paid in line with agreed consumer payment arrangements ($75/hour for consumer advisory roles and $37.50/hour for consumer representative roles), with details provided before any involvement is confirmed.
What happens after you submit an EOI
Everyone who submits an EOI will receive an acknowledgement. EOIs will be reviewed to identify people whose experience and interests best match current and upcoming opportunities.
Some applicants will be invited to a short, informal conversation so we can better understand their experience, availability and any support needs. These conversations are not formal interviews – they’re about getting to know you and working out how and when involvement might be a good fit.
Not everyone who submits an EOI will be invited to a conversation at this stage. This doesn’t reflect the value of your experience – it simply reflects current Program needs and timing.
There will be further waves of recruitment as the EMR Program continues, and people who are not contacted in this round may be considered for future opportunities.
How to apply
If you would like to submit an EOI, please complete the online form using the link below. Please allow 15-20 minutes to complete the form.
If you need any assistance or support to complete this EOI, please contact HCCWA on 08 9221 3422 or emr@hconc.org.au
Please complete the EOI at your earliest convenience. The first round of committee appointments is expected to occur February and March 2026.
Health Consumers’ Council WA (HCCWA) welcomes today’s announcement by the WA Government of increased investment in hospital capacity, recognising it as an important step in responding to the current demand for hospital care.
HCCWA Executive Director Clare Mullen said the investment would be reassuring for people struggling to access timely care, and emphasised that the ultimate goal must be a healthier population that requires less hospital care in the first place.
“Every Western Australian deserves access to high-quality hospital care when they need it —but a truly sustainable health system keeps people healthy and supported before they reach crisis point,” Ms Mullen said.
“No one wants to need hospital care. Ill-health need not be inevitable. To reduce pressure on hospitals, we need to invest just as strongly in prevention, early intervention, and the social conditions that keep people well.”
Ms Mullen said consumers consistently raise concerns about the difficulty of accessing affordable and timely primary and community care and early intervention with health issues —particularly for people living with or at risk of chronic conditions, or in regional and remote areas.
“When there is a lack of early intervention programs, or people can’t access the right care at the right time, health problems escalate and hospital admissions become inevitable,” she said.
“It’s a relief to see hospital expansion to ease the current pressure on services. But without strong community-based options, as well as targeted investment in preventative health activities, the demand for acute care will keep rising.”
“Western Australians want to see a system that supports health, as well as one that treats illness — one that helps people to stay well, connected and supported in their communities.”
HCCWA is calling for a balanced approach that includes:
Long-term investment in early intervention and preventive health programs,
Better funding for community-based and multidisciplinary care, and
policies that address the social and economic drivers of poor health.
“This is a welcome and necessary investment in hospital capacity. And we look forward to partnering with WA Health to ensure consumers and community members are actively involved in shaping these important infrastructure projects,” Ms Mullen said. “And if we want fewer people needing hospital care, we must also invest in prevention.”
Right now, health services are under pressure around the world. In this LinkedIn post an ED doctor in the UK shares his perspectives on why people might be experiencing long waits in Emergency Departments.
Need healthcare that can’t wait?
If you’re seeking healthcare which is unplanned but is not an emergency or life-threatening – and it can’t wait until you can get an appointment with a GP – there are a few options that don’t require you to sit for a long time in an Emergency Department:
Call HealthDirect or visit the website for advice and information 24/7 – this service has been significantly improved in recent years and includes the option to discuss your symptoms with a registered nurse.
Medicare Urgent Care Centresare free at the point of care – you can find your nearest online at https://www.health.gov.au/find-a-medicare-ucc or by calling HealthDirect on 1800 022 222
You may be able to walk-in, or need to make an appointment – check with the centre closest to you
Other urgent care centres – such as those provided by St John Health – provide urgent care without an appointment with a fee to be paid.
You will need to pay up-front but Medicare Card holders will get a Medicare rebate.
The up-front costs can range from $168 Monday to Friday to $310 on public holidays
The out of pocket costs (after the rebate) range from approx $125 Monday to Friday to $175 on public holidays
Emergency or life-threatening illnesses or injuries require immediate medical attention by an emergency department or hospital. For example, things like chest pain, breathing difficulties, severe burns, poisoning, loss of feeling, and seizures.
The Federal Minister for Health recently encouraged Australians to stay up to date with COVID vaccines – you can find out more, including where to access a vaccine free of charge at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/covid-19-vaccine-faqs
Maintain good health hygiene habits
if you’re unwell, reduce the chance of infecting others by staying home, wearing a mask if out in public, and wash your hands regularly
and in particular, take action to reduce the chance of infecting older people in your community or family
pay attention to air quality in homes and buildings
HCC’s advocacy in this area
At HCCWA we are actively advocating for the interests of health consumers including patients, carers and family members in relation to ensure affordable access to healthcare across primary, community and hospital settings. This includes providing input on the WA Government’s work in relation to virtual care, care for older people, and emergency access.
Today – 17 March 2025 – the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler – is speaking to a range of media outlets about his announcement that, if re-elected, a Federal Labor Government will be publishing the costs of specialist medical fees on the Government’s Medical Costs Finder website.
But wait – isn’t that the website that was set up in 2019 to do exactly that? Well, yes. But it wasn’t mandatory for doctors to add their information. And so only 70 of them did. Out of approximately 11,000 specialists in Australia.
As I highlighted in this blog article last May, it’s important that consumers – in this case patients – have access to cost information in order to make their decision about where to get specialist treatment.
Health Consumers’ Council WA represents the interest of consumers, and WA consumers particularly, on the Federal Government’s Out of Pocket Costs Transparency Reference Group. Through that group, we advocated that any health service provider that receives public funding should be required to publish their pricing information on the Medical Costs Finder website.
We hope that whoever is in Government after the next election will follow through on this commitment to patient and consumer power and ensure people can make informed decisions about specialist healthcare.
Based on our discussions with consumers HCC’s priorities for health are:
Increased access to affordable primary care
Increased investment in things that help us stay healthy (preventative measures)
Continued improvement in the safety, efficiency and capacity of the hospital system
Improved access to health care in the community and closer to home.
Many of our allies in the health consumer and lived experience sector have published their specific requests for election time. Their answers tell an interesting story of a sector where incredible work could be done if there was adequate funding, but also where there are some excellent, innovative ideas that would not be particularly costly to implement.
Incorporate Silver Housing Standards in the WA Building Code
Expand the supply of affordable housing
Introduce a $150 “Fit for Life” voucher for seniors, modelled on the Kidsport initiative
Fund a “Preparing for the Unexpected” program to support seniors who are likely to be hospitalised due to a complex health issue or frailty
Fund a falls prevention program
Provide ongoing $250 000 per annum to Council on the Ageing WA
These priorities have been informed by health consumers, people with lived experience, and input from members of the above organisations. Amplifying and championing the voices of consumers and people with lived experience leads to better outcomes, whether that be in policy development or program delivery.
Including consumer voices goes beyond consultation, it means properly involving people who use the health system to help all of us to understand and address the unfairness in the system.
What we see when we look at this list is a commitment to important preventative health projects, and projects that would make our health system fairer for all.
These ideas would all contribute to healthier, more connected community members, who are receiving the assistance they need in their communities. This in turn improves the patient experience in our health system and reduces the pressure on the public hospital system meaning that those who need healthcare can get it promptly.
If you’ve any thoughts about any of these, please contact Bronwyn Ife at bronwyn.ife@hconc.org.au
At the time of this post, WA Health has been funded for the next three years to write the specifications and choose a vendor to develop an Electronic Medical Record, or EMR. This will be a statewide EMR for WA Health’s public hospitals and health services. From January to June 2024 HCC has been working with our EMR Consumer Reference Group to up-skill ourselves on all things digital, so we are able to provide the consumer voice into this part of the process. In March 2024 we convened a webinar entitled Can the EMR stitch up our health system? This blog has links to the replay, transcripts and summary and provides insights into what consumers need to think about. Consumer involvement in WA’s EMR is being funded by WA Health to ensure a strong consumer voice. WA has been leading the nation in the level of consumer involvement in this important initiative.
This blog series has been written by Pip Brennan who is working for HCC on the project, co-located in the Health Department.
Interoperability is just a fancy word for your health information following you, from GP to hospital, allied provider to pharmacist to specialist and back again. In 2021, HCC co-designed an Electronic Medical Record Consumer Charter which has this to say about interoperability:
Accuracy: My health records are complete, accurate and up to date.
Equitable care: My health records are available to my treating clinicians regardless of where I am being treated.
Transparency, Choice and Control: I have access to my real-time health information at no cost to me or my family.
I’m just pausing for a moment to remind people of the difference between an Electronic Medical Record and My Health Record. The dot points from the Charter above refer to WA’s future Electronic Medical Record. The Electronic Medical Record and My Health Record are different as per the image below. An Electronic Medical Record is based within a hospital or health service. My Health Record contains federally based information such as GP care and immunisation records. We want the two to talk to each other. That is interoperability.
Australia is doing a significant amount of work on interoperability at a national level. We now have a National Healthcare Interoperability Plan, and this potentially offers WA an opportunity to have a more joined-up EMR than other states and territories who developed their EMRs prior to this policy coming into being.
There’s a change in the air that as if to say everyone recognises that we have an opportunity, probably a once in not just a single generation, but multi generation opportunity to fundamentally transform the way our health system works
Harry Iles Mann
Webinar – Can an EMR stitch up our health system?
Because of all the work happening nationally, we invited National Consumer Leader and Digital Health Expert Harry Iles Mann to talk with WA’s Chief Clinical Information Officer Dr Peter Sprivulis about WA’s Electronic Medical Record and how that could connect up our health care.
It’s all about culture. The technology is the easy bit. It’s the culture that is the difficult aspect to digital health transformation.
Get workflows right. Ensure that the words mean the same on each side of the transaction – that GPs and hospital staff mean the same thing. e.g. allergies.
Legal and regulatory levels. There is potential for the My Health Record Act to be broadened to become My Health Information Act. This will provide a safety for health consumers, and puts very clear obligations on health services to share data appropriately. This is a long term reform.
Financial and cultural piece – we need to deal with perverse incentives to make the right thing the easy thing for clinicians. For example, currently if a GP speaks to a specialist about a patient, neither is compensated, even though this could expedite care for a patient and avoid unnecessary, inconvenient, costly consultations. There needs to be a joined-up conversation with private, public, state and federal health to sort this out.
My Health Record is still key – There is ongoing investment in the My Health Record as a platform to facilitate interoperability and consumer access to their information. Yes, My Health Record has its issues – but a key reason for the ongoing investment is that regardless of what states and territories or different vendors do in developing EMRs, there will be something that is sitting within the custodianship of government that is a point of access for you and your health information.
We’ve made a start – WA has digitised parts of the Electronic Medical Records in WA’s hospitals, but this will see us take a bit leap forward. An EMR is all about the bedside workflows – this is where all the risk sits.
Patient portals can really assist with ensuring you have access to your EMR health information and can participate more actively in your own care.
The OpenNotes approach might be possible through WA’s EMR Project. (Google it. It’s very exciting!) This is quite aspirational though and may not be on the table, depending which vendor is chosen. OpenNotes will help clinicians think carefully about what they write about people, and will support the accuracy of information.
Importance of EMR Consumer Involvement
There are three levels of consumer input into training clinicians, and driving culture change:
1. Telling stories about what’s working, and what isn’t – this is effective with policy makers. Consumer stories are much more effective than clinicians providing feedback about what isn’t working for them as clinicians. Consumer stories can drive digital investment.
2. Co-designing solutions – so that the workflows centre around the patient, not the clinician. Information isn’t captured and shared for free. It always takes time and resources to share data.
3. Change management initiatives need consumers present, to make sure the tools are used in the way that helps consumers. Harry’s example of the test results not being available in the ED – it’s likely there is a portal that would allow the clinician access, but they don’t know how to use it. Consumers need to provide motivation for busy clinical staff to learn how to use the packages effectively.
Being a Digital Health Consumer/ Carer Rep:
You know more about digital health than you think you know.
You don’t need to understand every last technical detail – it’s important to ask naïve questions. This can prompt important critical thinking in digital health project.
There are no stupid questions – sharing your experience is more valuable than learning “geek language” “Insist on answers in plain English. If the geeks can’t explain to you what they’re trying to do in plain English, then then you’ve probably got a program that’s not really set up for success anyway.”
We need to think of ourselves as allies with clinicians for change, working collaboratively together. “we’re not two different actors, trying to find common ground from across the chasm, we’re actually allies working towards a common goal.”
Feeling the need to geek out? All the federal initiatives for you to google are listed below:
Council for Connected Care provided strategic advice on interoperability and supporting the implementation of the National Healthcare Interoperability Plan.
There’s a change in the air that as if to say everyone recognises that we have an opportunity, probably a once in not just a single generation, but multi generation opportunity to fundamentally transform the way our health system works
By Pip Brennan, Electronic Medical Record Consumer Reference Group Convenor
The Health Consumers’ Council was funded by the WA Health Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Program to convene three consumer webinars and four Consumer Reference Group meetings between January and June 2024. The purpose of this work is to build on the EMR Consumer Charter that was co-designed developed in 2021.
In this interim period prior to developing a tender for a statewide EMR, HCC aims to upskill a group of supported, networked consumers and empower us to deliberate on key aspects of the EMR. We have also created several videos on key topics. We are sharing the learnings from this work as widely as we can, as WA continues its progress towards obtaining EMR in around three years’ time.
Patient Portals – what do consumers need to know?
The Patient Portal is the part of an Electronic Medical Record that we can see and interact with.
It was the focus of the EMR Consumer Reference Group meeting in February 2024. Prior to the meeting, a list of patient portal resources were provided for the Group to look at:
At the meeting, we interviewed Liz Cashill and Consumer Representative Mary Oti from Royal Melbourne Hospital. They began implementing their patient portal in their EMR in 2020 and share key insights about what a patient portal is, how it works in practice, and what we need to think about as consumer representatives. You can watch the video replay below or read the transcript here.
WA’s Consumer priorities for a Patient Portal
After the presentation, the EMR Consumer Reference Group discussed our priorities for the future WA Health EMR Patient Portal. This is a summary which was provided to the WA Health EMR Program:
Consumer involvement: Consumers are partners throughout all stages of scoping, procurement, development and rollout of a patient portal.
Consumer centred: Base the design around us as consumers, as we move all across the system and want to be able to use one entry point for all our care. It must integrate and connect with adjunct and related systems; it needs to work in harmony with My Health Record. A priority for consumer centred care includes recording of preferred pronouns, name etc as part of the patient portal.
Consumer empowerment: The portal must support partnering with our health care team to achieve the best possible health outcomes. Specifically this includes two-way communication with an ability to view, edit, download and print information about us. We need to be linked to knowledge and resources to navigate our care journey, with easy and intuitive navigation features.
Transparency, Choice and Control: this would look like there being controls for sharing of information need to be in place as they are for My Health Record, and understanding
Equity of access: we need to be supported to use the patient portal if we wish, but to receive the same standard of care if we don’t choose to use it. We would also like to see system flags to support equitable care,. e.g. when someone is travelling from the country. Other examples include a flag if there is a Disability Care Plan so staff are supported to provide safe care to someone who for example isn’t verbal. Flags to support trauma informed care are also key. A key consideration too is a patient portal available in languages other than English.
Proxy access is important with protections and permissions. For example, accessing health care for an adult child with a disability in the absence of guardianship –e.g. NDIS offer “common sense” choices – where people don’t need to get Guardianship to access their adult child’s records. We can sometimes have a bias towards the presumption of abuse e.g. in carers for people with disability, people who are frail aged.
By Pip Brennan, Electronic Medical Record Consumer Reference Group Convenor
I was lucky enough to attend the Digital Health Festival 2024 in Melbourne, with WA consumer and health professional colleagues. The Health Consumers’ Council in WA negotiated to obtain three free consumer passes, and WA Health’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Program Team funded travel for myself and HCC Engagement Coordinator Kieran Bindahneem. We met Ricki Spencer in Melbourne, they are a member of the EMR Consumer Reference Group and split their time between WA and Victoria.
With eight concurrent streams and mostly 30-45 minute presentations, the Digital Health Festival was definitely overwhelming. Some of the concurrent presentations offered headphones, and these were by far the easiest presentations to stay focused in.
At the entrance was the stand where I took the opportunity to include a message about the importance of consumer involvement. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs. It was not a common idea, and presentations mentioning co-design usually meant different health and government professionals collaborating. The wrap up report for the Digital Health Festival doesn’t mention the word “consumer” or “patient” anywhere – we sit somewhere in the “Other” category in the pie charts and tables. I have been approached to speak at the Digital Health Festival in 2025.
What has stayed with me
Dr Wonchul Cha’s keynote presentation about the Samsung Medical Centre in Korea, especially how the Patient Reported Outcomes surveys, which are integrated into their electronic medical record, achieve an 80%-90% response rate. They are a seamless part of the clinical appointment, and keep patient wellbeing right on top of the agenda.
Meeting up with consumer advocates including Mehmet Kavlakoglou, Harry Iles-Mann, and Ricky Spencer. Some quiet times talking outside the hub-bub of the Festival were restorative and insightful.
Talking to Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) staff and filling in a missing piece of the PROMS puzzle in my mind – how they need to be integrated into an EMR and used as part of care to get the return rate that really tracks patient outcomes (see Samsung example above).
Listening to a CSIRO presentation on the work they’re doing regarding consent processes and how to have ongoing consent facilitated when our data is used for research – consumers aren’t actively involved yet, but hoping they will be soon.
Panel discussion on how AI is supporting clinical decision making where one speaker suggested that over time, clinical trials may not be approved unless they have already gone through AI as this will reduce potential harm to patients.
I don’t need to feel total despair that each state and territory is doing its own thing regarding electronic medical records. Interoperability is still going to be technically possible. It is the number one consumer priority! The key challenges we have in relation to digital health are actually cultural – but the interoperability work at the federal level mandating interoperability is helpful.
Some reflections
What would it be like to have a consumer-co-led digital health festival with a focus on research translation, rather than research commercialisation? Some presentations were very sales-y.
Most states and territories have implemented their EMRs without significant or meaningful consultation with consumers, and even in some cases clinicians. Not so in WA! And after the conference the WA Budget announcement confirmed that WA will be funded for the next three years to develop a tender and appoint a supplier for WA’s EMR.
