Multimedia Victoria - Ballarat Sets the Standard with Hi-Tech Health

Ballarat Sets the Standard with Hi-Tech Health Media release - 10 January 2008 Ballarat is at the forefront of ensuring national standards are met in the way vital medical information is being captured and handled across all levels of the healthcare sector, Information and Communication Minister, Theo Theophanous, announced today. The Collaborative Centre for eHealth (CCeH), based at the Ballarat Technology Park, is now exclusively responsible for testing and certifying healthcare information systems nationwide against the Health Level 7 (HL7) standard through its Australian Healthcare Messaging Laboratory. They are also responsible for ensuring operational staff are trained in the standard's effective use. "The HL7 standard allows for effective and efficient sharing of clinical data, streamlining a once-manual process," Mr Theophanous said. "Imagine a patient visiting a GP for an ailment. Instead of receiving a hand-written note, the prescription is entered directly into the GP's electronic records, which is then sent to the pharmacist. The patient simply enters a pharmacy to collect the medication. There is no need to decipher handwriting or risk losing the note, leaving minimal room for error. "This is one of many benefits Australian patients will receive, if their local healthcare information systems conform to the HL7 standard. While many facilities have the capability, HL7 is often used incorrectly. "I congratulate the CCeH for securing the accreditation to test and certify Australia’s healthcare systems." From their base at the Ballarat Technology Park, CCeH is helping healthcare systems create efficient data exchange through testing and certifying various software systems to ensure data is accurately and seamlessly shared. The HL7 standard defines the data to be exchanged, the timing of the exchanges, and the communication of certain application-specific errors between the applications. "Victoria is truly leading the way in health informatics, with CCeH currently servicing 380 registered users in 31 countries, including India, UK, America and Germany," Mr Theophanous said. Australia has taken HL7 standards further, by creating additional national standards in response to the health sector's need for a consolidated approach to health information in areas such as pathology, diagnostic imaging and prescriptions. CCeH Manager, Chris Lynton-Moll, said that his focus was on both current and future applications of informatics and communications technologies. "Our structured approach ensures Australia's messaging and communication standards are being met," Chris Lynton-Moll said. "This is incredibly important, as HL7 standards are essential to efficient electronic interchange of healthcare data. This is already prevalent in the pathology field, where laboratories will need to meet additional accreditation requirements in the next two years with respect to HL7 messaging." "The Brumby Government is proud to have a local, innovative organisation such as CCeH helping the health sector provide better support for individual patient care and community health locally, nationally and internationally," Mr Theophanous said. The Victorian Government supports CCeH through business and trade facilitation activities, underpinned by the Victorian Government ICT Industry Plan 2005-2010.