BENDIGO health professionals are embracing the eHealth record initiative.
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The federal government initiative is a secure online summary of your health information designed to enable doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers to view and share your health information to provide patients with the best possible care.
Loddon Mallee Murray Medicare Local has teamed up with St John of God Hospital Bendigo to help people register their eHealth records.
LMMML trained 11 of the hospital’s volunteers to help staff, patients and visitors register for an eHealth record.
LMMML eHealth co-ordinator Katrina Law commended St John of God Hospital Bendigo for embracing the eHealth initiative.
“We have been working closely with the hospital to develop a whole of hospital approach to the eHealth program - volunteer eHealth assistants are vital to this vision," she said.
“As more people register and organisations join the eHealth record system, the better connected our health system with become.
"Being a volunteer eHealth assistant allows the St John of God volunteers to become involved in various capacities across the hospital.
"This keeps role of volunteering meaningful interesting and fulfilling."
Ms Law said the partnership was in its infancy but had already been well-received.
"We are hoping that registrations will increase once information has been sent out in a pre-admission kit," she said.
"The eHealth record is a Commonwealth program, completely free of charge and completely voluntary.
"What the project is aiming to achieve is that it will provide a secure, personally controlled area online that holds a summary of a person's health information.
"This will lead to better health outcomes.
"If you could imagine an elderly person, for example, they don't have to keep remembering what medications they're on.
"People who are travelling, around Australia perhaps, they don't have to worry about dragging all their doctor's records with them.
"For children it will help parents keep track of immunisations..
"There are all sorts of benefits."
Ms Law said health professionals in the Loddon Mallee had been receptive to the program.
"We're currently doing a lot of training with GPs to make sure they're eHealth ready," she said.
"We need to get GPs on board and we need to get consumers on board at the same time.
"We've also got pharmacies on board as well."