Streamlining communication between health professionals(application in pharmacy)

Anish Shah Hemal Ruparelia

Pharmacy Communication TodayPhone:● Prescription changes required - E.g.

Medication change, dosage etc.● S8 prescription confirmation

Fax:● Medication histories - E.g. Patient in

hospital● Nursing home requests - E.g. GP

makes a change in drug chart

>95% of present-day communication can be classified as ‘urgent’. I.e. - Information or medication change required ASAP

Why collaboration is limitedBarriers to communication:● Phone tennis - Catching a doctor in

between patients is difficult● Having to look up phone/fax

numbers● Pharmacists don’t want to ‘bother’

doctors unless situation is ‘urgent’

Outcome of the above? A lot of missed opportunities to collaborate and apply pharmacy expertise

Missed opportunities● Working together for routine/non-urgent patient care. E.

g. Sending GPs B.P./Blood glucose readings (as opposed to asking the patient to relay this).

● Suggest medication improvements that are not deemed urgent enough for a phone call (currently, pharmacists do not bother beyond using the patient to relay this info)

● Make pharmacists accessible so that we are consulted prior to a change in drug therapy

Mediref as a solution

● Address correspondence via just a name

● Universal directory - No need to look up phone/fax numbers. Any contact added by anyone in the network is available to everyone in the network

● No printing, no faxing, no phone-tennis● Practitioners can respond at their own

time

Encouraging and increasing communication by completely removing the difficulty barrier

Recipients addressed using their name. Mediref also makes suggestions

Mediref - Encouraging Pharmacy Triage● Multiple health practitioners can be

a part of a patient management case.

● Current problem: When individual updates are sent out, the pharmacist usually gets overlooked in all matters other than a medication change

● All updates sent out to everyone simultaneously

Multi-disciplinary collaboration allows better integration of pharmacists in patient care

Mediref Role in Continued Dispensing● Low uptake so far (<2400 total in 10 months)● Reason - Doing an owing prescription is easier● Solution - Overcome the limiting step (communicating

with GPs)Mediref allows easy communication to a patient’s GP of Continued Dispensing (will get even faster after dispensing software integration)

Source - http://www.pbs.gov.au/info/publication/reports/continued-dispensing/report-to-parliament

Mediref - Upcoming Vaccination● A top concern for GP’s regarding pharmacist

vaccinations is reduced awareness about their patient’s care.

● Communication between pharmacists and GP’s will be vital in allaying these fears.

● From the Continued Dispensing lesson, making this easy for pharmacists is the key.

● Mediref will allow a secure message to be sent easily, using just the GP’s name.

Mediref Role in HMR’s● Easily transmit HMR referral, reports and follow up

updates - legal, abides by privacy laws, digitally signed, instantaneous

● Ability to simultaneously update GP, HMR pharmacist, pharmacy (as a separate entity) and any other party. Other parties can be added retrospectively and will have access to entire history

Mediref Role in Primary Care● Big complaint of docs about lack of communication of

non-prescription medications/treatment given to patients.

● Without the barrier of difficult communication, primary care can be relayed easily and instantly

Example comment (one of many). Sources:http://doctorsbag.net/2015/01/29/5-little-known-reasons-why-pharmacists-should-not-be-playing-doctor/http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/33/6/191/3

Mediref- Streamlining current workflows● Keep all written communication within the one portal. Owing prescription

requests, medication change recommendations, test results etc.● Integrated fax (also reduces fax costs). E.g. Medical histories can be faxed

from within Mediref (if recipient party is not on Mediref)● Electronic, backed up, archived copies of all correspondence (allows for

recall if ever needed)● Providing easy follow up/written confirmation of phone conversations

(legally very important, currently overlooked). E.g. ‘Hi Dr Smith, as per your prescription for Mrs Jones digoxin dose, and confirmed on the phone with you earlier, I have dispensed as requested. I have also warned her of warning signs of toxicity to watch out for.’

Mediref In A Nutshell

Mediref will make communication between pharmacists and their health professional colleagues easier than sending email.

The resulting increase in communication and collaboration will allow pharmacists to get much more involved in patient care.