Argus secure cOnnectivity project update

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Argus secure cOnnectivity project update
Sue Cummins Manly Warringah Division of
General Practice
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What is Argus and Why Argus?

• Argus is computer software that provides safe,
  simple and secure transfer of clinical and pt
  data via encrypted email.
• Enables secure exchange of info via email
• Runs alongside existing software
• PKI encryption
• Access to pathology imaging results, reports,
  admission/ discharge summaries
• Imports documents into patient notes (HL7
  message structure)
• They have market share in NSW - NSCCAHS have not
  chosen Argus

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Problems with Paper-based Documents

• High staff and resource costs for organisations
• Printing, faxing, logging, handling, scanning,
  shredding, filing, storage retrieval, risk
  management
• Vulnerable to security, confidentiality and
  privacy breaches - who sees unencrypted email,
  faxes, postal mail?
• Fax rendering poor, open to misunderstanding or
  misinterpretation, poor scanning
• Slower inefficient
• Delivery assurance?
• Audit trail?

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Short Term Goal

• Secure connectivity between health providers
  including
• General Practice
• Specialists
• Allied Health Providers

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Long Term Goals

• Include
• Pharmacists
• Residential Aged Care Facilities
• Discharge Summaries to GPs from Hospital
• Electronic Admission Summaries
• Patient clinical information from surgery into
  hospital on receiving notice of pt admission

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Benefits for Everyone

• Confidentiality
• Non repudiation
• Quicker and cheaper
• Guaranteed delivery drops into patient notes
• Timeliness
• Patient cant forget paperwork
• NO MORE SCANNING

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Barriers

• Youre not putting that on my network!
• Cost of installation/support
• Why should I whats in it for me?
• Nobody wants to be first who will I send the
• emails to?
• Few computerised specialist practices
• Local Area Health Service
• Still waiting for electronic signature (from
  Argus)

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The Start of the Journey

• Sep-Nov 08
• December 08
• January 09
• Jan April 09
• May 09
• June Aug 09

Evaluated products, chose Argus Installed 10
local GP practices Wrote to high volume
specialists Northern Sydney DGP signed
up Recruited large local gen practices Targetted
GP-specialist recruitment Collaborative approach
with NSGPN and Network Northside
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WHAT WORKED / WHAT DIDNT

• Writing letters, sending emails
• Division staff contacting specialists
• Group Education events
• Personal approaches to specialists by GPs
• PIP e-Health incentive
• Targetting large practices first
• First establishing GP critical mass
• Face-to-face visits where appropriate

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Where we are now..

• 24 Out of 67 practices registered or actually
  using ARGUS (118 of 232 local GPs or 51)
• 20 Specialists
• 15 Allied Health Providers
• 0 Pharmacists
• 0 RACFs
• 0 Hospitals

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What We Want NOW

• Increase number of Specialists using Argus
• 100 of GPs using ARGUS