DHA and Pharmacy Guild promote 'digital health'

The Australian Digital Health Agency (DHA) and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have entered into a partnership aimed at driving adoption and use of the My Health Record system by community pharmacies.

Each year 230,000 people are admitted to hospital, and many more experience reduced quality of life, as a result of unintended side effects of their medicines. This comes at a cost to the system of more than $1.2 billion.

“The Agency and the Guild have a mutual interest in continuing to develop and deliver community pharmacy digital health capability that will lead to significant improvements in the quality and delivery of care provided to consumers,” said the DHA’s chief executive, Tim Kelsey.

“Specifically, the Agency and Guild will be working on optimising connectivity to the My Health Record system through dedicated community pharmacy support, including continuing professional development and pursuing meaningful use facilitators in areas such as shared care planning, transitional care, telehealth and interoperability with pharmacy clinical service IT platforms.”

The My Health Record system has the potential to empower community pharmacies in delivering safer and more efficient care by providing real-time access to useable, useful, reliable and up-to-date medicines information and broader health information.

“The Guild welcomes this collaboration with the Agency as a step towards optimised integration of community pharmacies in the My Health Record system,” added Guild Executive Director David Quilty.

“Community pharmacists have long been early adopters and innovators in digital health, and this will spur the sector on to make an even bigger contribution.”

Image (left to right): David Quilty, pharmacists Brad Butt and Thanh Le, and Tim Kelsey.

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