eHealth Program Officer

Michele Breed Ph: 5229 1922

Program summary

A recurring theme from GP surveys has been to reduce the increasing volumes of paper correspondence coming into General Practice. Specialist to GP communication is high volume so the GP Association of Geelong set out to look for a modern solution to address this need. An e-health needs assessment was conducted on Specialists’ requirements for electronically communicating with GPs in the Geelong region. Whilst the response was positive, the Division was conscious that we were looking at more than just a messaging system, we were looking at a change management approach that would maximise the uptake of e-communication.  Read more....

What is ReferralNet?

ReferralNet is a secure messaging system from Global Health.
Follow this link to learn more.

ReferralNet Participants (updated regulary)

Over 350 GP addresses are now receiving electronic correspondence  from many different Specialists and Allied Health Professionals within the Geelong Region using ReferralNet electronic messaging.
For a comprehensive list of who is sending  please click on the  list directly below

Specialists and Allied health Professionals that are currently sending to GP’s

REFERRALNET UPDATE, 11th August 
We have now started to implement sending functionality for General Practitioners to send electronically to several recipients using Referralnet.

We commenced installation of the sending agent in a scheduled rollout process, with most Best Practice sites now sending fully interactive from referralnet .  We are aiming to complete installations at  all practices using other Clinical systems  within the next  2 months.

List of Addressee's  ready to receive

Message Stats:

25,404 messages in total sent as of 31st July.

Busiest day so far was 4th August 2010, with 344 messages sent on that day.

 Medicare announcement on electronic referrals

Medicare recently announced that they have adjusted (relaxed) their requirements for electronic referral. The new guidelines simply require that a “stored electronic transmission is unaltered and unalterable”. This means an electronic referral doesn’t need to be digitally signed but can simply be encrypted and sent using ReferralNet and your location certificate.  More information available at the Medicare site or contact our eHealth team at GPAG. 

For more information, please contact Michele Breed Ph: 5229 1922