Pathfinder PCEHR project provides key to aged care uptake

The success of the PCEHR in the aged care sector depends heavily on getting service and facility providers aboard, according to the national Aged Care IT Council (ACIITC) chair, Suri Ramanathan.

Speaking with eHealthspace.org, Mr Ramanathan explained that NEHTA’s establishment of the vendor panel was a recognition of the importance of their role in a like manner to the panels already in operation for other key groups such as general practice and pharmacy.

He said that while the software vendors have an important role in making their products compliant to NEHTA specifications, this work alone will not guarantee PCEHR uptake.

This explains the importance of the ACIITC led Pathfinder Project announced last week by Aged Care Association Australia’s chief executive Rod Young. Mr Ramanathan said the project will see three aged care providers work with three of the five software panel vendors so that the latter receive feedback about what does and does not work in the practical setting of aged care staff working with consumers.

“The project is all about harmonising the supply chain of consumer, provider and vendor. Doing this right is important considering there are one million people receiving aged care,” he said.

Mr Ramanathan explained the deliverables the Project include an evaluation of the workflow and business process changes required for providers to successfully integrate the PCEHR into their organisations, along with an evaluation for vendors across the sector to prepare them in a similar way for deployment of their software.

Mr Ramanthan said the purpose of this work is to ensure that the lessons learned from the those involved in the project are shared equitably across all providers and vendors in aged care so that there are “no haves and have nots”.

Mr Ramanathan said the Providers nominated for the project are due to be announced in the next week, and that the results of the project will be made available via software vendor and aged care provider associations in coming months.