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Better Sooner More Convenient Primary Care - New Zealand Doctor

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Community pharmacy<br />

Community pharmacies face problems at times when dispensing prescriptions for newly<br />

discharged patients, as they try to reconcile the information on the prescription with previous<br />

medications dispensed, and without the benefit of a discharge summary providing information on<br />

what changes to regular medication have been made and why.<br />

Given the importance of a strong retail trade for the viability of pharmacy businesses, it may be<br />

that there is no pharmacy within some IFHCs. Developing the ability to send electronic<br />

prescriptions from primary care, with the ability to home deliver to frail elderly and those with<br />

transport issues, would provide more convenient care.<br />

Communications Technologies<br />

With its vast distances, small population and geographic isolation, the West Coast is ideally<br />

placed to benefit from investment in improved telecommunications technologies. The availability<br />

of telecommunications network capability (bandwidth) along the West Coast has historically<br />

limited the ability to benefit from some technologies, however this has recently been overcome<br />

with the availability of a direct fibre optic link between Hokitika, Greymouth and Westport and<br />

potentially Reefton in the future (one of the first business to business uses of this service is an<br />

upgrade of West Coast DHBs wide area network, interconnecting Buller Health with Grey Base<br />

Hospital from December 2009).<br />

The current Telepaeds network links videoconferencing between Greymouth, Westport,<br />

Hokitika, Reefton, Christchurch and over 100 other locations in <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>. It is currently<br />

mainly used for clinical conferences, educational sessions, and management meetings and to a<br />

lesser extent for remote patient consultations, eg. methadone clinics, surgical follow-up clinics.<br />

The new fibre optic link will enhance its usefulness, particularly in regards to linking into<br />

aspects of the hospital IT system such as PACS to review radiology images.<br />

Medical telemetry can support remote clinical support, remote consultations and remote<br />

diagnosis, potentially integrated with videoconferencing. An example of this is the CISCO<br />

Health Presence System, which is being trialed as a standalone medical telemetry and video<br />

conferencing unit linking Buller Health (ED and Outpatients) with Grey Base Hospital for remote<br />

diagnosis and outpatient consultations. This system is large, fixed, not well linked in with other<br />

DHB IT and telemedicine systems.<br />

As part of the Canterbury initiative, Dr Mike Sullivan and Bronwyn Petrie are reviewing the<br />

current clinical telemedicine capability on the West Coast, the range of potential clinical<br />

applications, and potential linkages with Canterbury. Of particular interest will be the ability to<br />

„store and forward‟ patient information, (eg. photos, ECG, spirometry etc) so that this can be<br />

reviewed at a later time by both the original clinician and a remote specialist. Their report is<br />

due in March 2010 and will inform development of the Telemedicine aspects of this plan.<br />

Business case appendices V12 AC 25Feb2010 Page 132

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