Pulse+IT

An IT approach to GP care in residential aged care facilities

Written by Henry Konopnicki on .

This story first appeared in the May 2014 issue of Pulse+IT Magazine.
Paper-based systems are no longer enough when it comes to the collaborative care required when caring for patients in residential aged care. GPs working in these settings should take a strategic view of their IT requirements – whether using remote access, cloud services or interacting with the facility’s clinical systems.

Contemporary primary healthcare in residential aged care facility (RACF) settings needs to be collaborative. For GP involvement to be effective, it needs to address the holistic biopsychosocial model.

The ageing process involves multiple pathological pathways needing a range of health professional inputs. Therefore, rather than a reactive process, a more proactive approach is needed to support and manage physical and psychological decline.

This requires multiple modalities of medical interaction resulting in a range of outputs, from consultation notes to comprehensive assessments incorporating a multitude of inputs and observations. This is further compounded by the setting being at a distant point of contact from the classic consulting room.

In order to address such an approach, the GP needs to stand aside and take a strategic view in formulating an appropriate solution to address these needs and information flows.

To read the full story, click here for the May 2014 issue of Pulse+IT Magazine.

Posted in Australian eHealth

You need to log in to post comments. If you don't have a Pulse+IT website account, click here to subscribe.

Sign up for Pulse+IT eNewsletters

Sign up for Pulse+IT website access

For more information, click here.

Copyright © 2017 Pulse+IT Magazine
No content published on this website can be reproduced by any person for any reason without the prior written permission of the publisher.