DEVELOPING closer working relationships between Orange’s health professionals was high on the agenda at last week’s health forum.
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The Western NSW Medicare Local (WML) Region sought information from Orange allied health professionals to identify gaps in health services and offer the community more streamlined services.
Central West Division of General Practice chief executive officer Sandra Christensen said the WML was a new concept and will involve health professionals from across the Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo regions.
The establishment of Medicare Locals is a federal government initiative to provide the community with a broader range of health services that respond to local needs.
She said the WML was began on January 1, 2012 and this week’s forum was the start of involving health professionals at all levels.
“We’ll engage with a broad range of stakeholders to help us establish how we’re going to develop better allied health.”
In many cases health professionals often don’t know what other services exist in their own area according to Ms Christensen.
“You could find there aren’t gaps it’s just that people [health professionals] aren’t communicating with each other,” she said.
She said two of WML’s biggest tasks will be to develop after hours GP services and establish personally controlled electronic health records.
Once it is launched on July 1, 2012, patients will be able to manage their own electronic health records and add information they choose.
“They can’t change what the GP has put in but you can decide what to add,” she said.
Being able to control your own health records will be a huge benefit for patients according to Ms Christensen.
“Patients often have to tell their story over again, it will be sharing information between health professionals,” she said.
Ms Christensen said establishing the WML will take some time with various health forums planned across the region to get allied health experts communicating with each other.
nadine.morton@ruralpress.com