Medscheme has announced plans to roll out an electronic medical records (EMR) platform that will be made available to all health scheme administrators that fall under it.
An EMR is a digital version of the traditional paper-based medical record for a patient and provides an information portal accessible to multiple administrators where relevant clinical information can be shared with doctors.
The goal is to optimise the quality of care of patients by providing doctors and other healthcare professionals with more complete patient information, improving their ability to make well-informed decisions, Medscheme said.
Medscheme CEO Kevin Aron said the company’s EMR platform has been designed to streamline and improve workflow for family practitioners, not hamper it. “More efficient workflow processes and integrated clinical information cuts down on administration time and enables healthcare providers to make better informed decisions due to accurate and up-to-date information at their disposal.”
According to Medscheme, patients often struggle with medical terminology and doctors often have to rely on information provided by patients, who may not be able to accurately recall dates, medication or procedures when sharing their medical history. “The EMR can therefore assist providers to more effectively diagnose patients, reduce medical errors and provide safer care,” it said.
Medscheme’s EMR is a customised version of the HEALTHone Connect platform. The EMR interfaces with Medscheme directly or through practice management software and is pre-populated with patient demographics, medical history, pathology results, approved chronic medications, care plans and risk stratification. Compliant with interoperability standards set by the department of health in 2014, Medscheme’s EMR will also allow GPs to monitor clinical pathway adherence, motivate for modification of treatment plans and use e-scripting.
The platform does not allow administrator access to the healthcare provider’s medical notes for privacy reasons.
Medscheme’s EMR is currently available to 75 healthcare professionals and service providers through a pilot project that was launched in April. An extensive rollout of the EMR is planned once the pilot phase ends in September. – © 2015 NewsCentral Media
