Hon Peter Dunne

Associate Minister of Health

19 July 2016 Media Statement

Patients benefit from new electronic reporting by ambulance officers

A new electronic Patient Report Form (ePRF) used by ambulance officers has been successfully rolled out around most of the country. The new technology, which is part of a joint initiative between St John, the Ministry of Health and ACC, gives ambulance officers access to better patient details, including their NHI information and any previous ambulance call outs.

The ePRF has replaced St John's hand-written clinical records with an electronic version written on a tablet. The ePRF is installed on 600 dedicated tablets. So far, more than 223,000 ePRFs have been completed.

"This system means a detailed patient assessment by an ambulance officer can be accessed electronically at the relevant hospital emergency department.

“At the moment the information is transferred when the ambulance reaches the hospital, but the next phase of development will see information sent from the incident scene and regularly updated until the patient arrives,” Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said today.

“ePRF enables better connectivity and sharing of clinical information between the ambulance service and the wider health system, significantly benefiting patients.

“For example, we know older people who have suffered trauma as the result of a fall have an increased risk of further falls. Having clinical information electronically available through ePRF means we now have the option to notify a multidisciplinary healthcare team when a patient has had a fall.

“The referral is done with the consent of the patient, so that together steps can be taken to reduce the risk of further falls-related trauma. Ambulance officers can also search the ePRF database to see if the patient has had previous ambulance visits. Used in conjunction with the ambulance officers’ assessment, this information provides a more detailed clinical picture to assist better decision making.

“This was not possible prior to ePRF and is just one example of the way the new technology is improving the health and wellbeing of patients.”

Work is underway to eventually enable the information to be securely transferred to a patient's GP, improving continuity of care.

Between October 2015 and the end of June this year, 223,241 ePRFs were created. In that time St John treated and/or transported 326,523 patients, including 29,670 patients with heart problems and 14,762 patients from road traffic accidents.

St John began rolling out the ePRF in October last year after a successful pilot in Auckland and Canterbury, and completed implementation in all its districts in March this year. Wellington Free Ambulance has worked closely with St John on the project and expects to implement the ePRF in the near future.

"The Government's focus is ensuring New Zealanders have an integrated health system that delivers quality care to patients where they need it. The ePRF is a key part of achieving that," Mr Dunne said.

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