Auckland GPs First to Access Booking System Information

Some Auckland GPs are to be given access to South Auckland Health's surgery Booking System Priority Queue in a pilot project launched today by Health Minister Bill English.

"This is an exciting project and I can see real benefits in it for patients," said Mr English.

The arrangement between South Auckland Health and EastHealth is one of two pilot projects giving GPs and hospitals secure access to the National Health Index (NHI) by the Health Intranet.

"This will be the first time GPs have been given access to a hospital's booking system. By being able to access this information, GPs at EastHealth will be able to give their patients up-to-date information during a consultation. This will have real benefits for patients because it will mean decisions about their care can be made on the spot.

"These kinds of partnerships between GPs and hospitals will be needed all over the country to make the booking systems work well and deliver real benefits for the patients.

"In addition, the secure e-mail communication between South Auckland Health and the GPs means they can share clinical details such as referral and discharge information. Middlemore Hospital has also placed a map of its campus on its website," said Mr English.

The Health Intranet is being trialled as a way of providing the NHI for all health care providers so they have access to the right information for the right patient at the right time.

At the moment GPs can get information from the NHI, but it has to be done in person over the telephone and that is slow and inefficient for the GP. The Health Intranet, which uses internet technology with added security provisions, allows much faster access to information and that means better care and better service.

This pilot is one of two. The other was launched in Wellington last week. They will be evaluated after two months. When the pilot phase has been successfully completed and evaluated, the full Health Intranet will be progressively rolled out over an expected 18 months to be completed in the year 2000.

The NHI was set up in 1977 through the Ministry of Health 's New Zealand Health Information Service as a unique identifier for hospital patients. Since 1991 all babies have been given a number and numbers have now been allocated to 90 percent of New Zealanders.