Late last year, the RFDS embarked on a new era of healthcare accessibility, launching the RFDS Electronic Health Record (EHR) to further enhance patient care.
Designed by the RFDS to be compatible with every state and territory health system, the Electronic Health Record allows doctors, nurses and paramedics to share critical medical information in real-time – regardless of whether the patient is in the air and on the ground.
From a laptop or mobile device, RFDS crews can now digitally record a patient’s vital health stats during a flight and share the data live with the awaiting receiving team on the ground. This means life-saving decisions can be made even before the aircraft lands.
Critically, the EHR works even when offline, making it ideal for emergency health care in the middle of the Australian outback or 10,000 feet above sea level.
RFDS EHR Clinical Lead, Dr Mardi Steere, said the new technology served as an “extra pair of hands” for a doctor or nurse providing sole care in the back of an aircraft.
“When every second counts, the right information at the right time saves lives,” Mardi said.
“The EHR has a live dashboard showing real-time trends and inbuilt safety alerts around allergies and early signs of deterioration as well as guidelines around patient risk factors and medication dosages.”
Mardi said before the EHR, crews were committing all this information on paper, which took more time and was more likely to have errors or be difficult to read.
“Now, our crews can spend more time with the patient rather than with paperwork, building upon the high-quality standard of care the RFDS provides,” Mardi said.
RFDS EHR Digital Lead, Ryan Klose, said the technology was developed using a world-class management platform from global provider Oracle.
“We approached Oracle in the first instance to tap into their data expertise currently used in the defence, banking and elite sport industries,” Ryan said. “The way we are using the technology – in the rural health setting – is truly groundbreaking.”
In another outstanding achievement, just months after launching, the RFDS was honored with the Rural/Remote Health Innovator of the Year award for its groundbreaking Electronic Health Record Project.
The accolade, presented by Rural Health Pro, recognised the Flying Doctor’s commitment to innovation and excellence in advancing healthcare services for rural and remote communities.
