What This Might Look Like

The Digital Health vision is best understood through the eyes of our stakeholders.

Personas provide a creative mechanism to step into the shoes of key stakeholders and understand what their journey may look like in the future once the ACT Health Directorate’s Digital Health vision has been realised. Through the following personas it is possible to explore how the future digital technology environment outlined in this Digital Health Strategy will support the needs of key stakeholders.

Personas

Thijs De Jong

Thijs De Jong Patient, 72

“I’m just here to have my stomach fixed, but there is nothing really wrong with me. I feel fine.”

Thijs lives in Canberra with his wife. They come from a non-English speaking background so they rely on their daughter-in-law, Rachael, for help with reading and writing English. Thijs’ comfort with technology is limited to his TV. He does not own a computer or smartphone.

Thijs has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and stable coronary artery disease. He regularly sees his Dutch speaking GP with whom he has a good relationship and who helps him manage all his chronic health conditions. He has recently been diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer.

Primary Care

arrow
  • Thijs visits his GP, Dr Mei Lin with Rachael, blood tests reveal anaemia, leading to a diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
  • Dr Lin accesses the Provider Portal to determine the best pathway to manage Thijs’ condition.
  • Through the Portal Dr Lin sees that the waitlist for surgery and Dr Lin electronically sends his referral to Canberra Hospital from the GP Practice Management System.

Outpatient Clinic

arrow
  • Rachael makes an appointment with Dr Phillis at Canberra Hospital using the Consumer Portal.
  • Thijs and Rachael travel to the hospital and use the electronic way finding app to find their way to the clinic.
  • At the clinic they check-in using the patient kiosk then go to the café to wait for the appointment.
     

Inpatient Care

  • With Rachael’s help, Thijs accesses the Consumer Portal and provides necessary pre-admission information.
  • He is admitted to the hospital for his surgery and while waiting Rachel helps him access the Consumer Portal.
  • When the anaesthetist and interpreter come to see Thijs before the surgery, he recognises them from their pictures in the portal.
     

Dicharge

arrow
  • After the surgery, Thijs is notified by his nurse Joelle and by the Consumer Portal when Dr Phillis will come and see him.
  • Dr Phillis and an interpreter meet with Thijs and his family to discuss the surgery and leave them with information they can access through the Portal to help them understand what has happened.
  • Thijs is discharged 5 days later with care instructions written in Dutch.

Care in the Community

arrow
  • After discharge, Rachael accesses the Portal to review Thijs’ care plan which includes information about pain management and what problems might occur.
  • A few days later, Thijs is contacted by a care coordinator from the University of Canberra Hospital as he hasn’t booked in for his physiotherapy appointments.
  • Thijs makes the required appointments over the phone.

Care at Home

  • A few days after seeing Dr Lin Rachel takes Thijs to the University of Canberra Hospital for his first session with Luan Jones a rehabilitation physiotherapist.
  • Luan completes a physical assessment of Thijs and then explains the exercises she wants Thijs to do every day.
patient centred icon
Patient-centred
  • Ability for patients to access their own information and manage their appointments online.
  • Reduced need to repeat information to different clinicians across care episodes and settings
  • Receive higher quality and safe care resulting in shorter length of stay.
Health services enabled by contemporary technology icon
Health services enabled by contemporary technology
  • Faster ability for clinical staff to access information wherever they are on any device and provide support to patients
  • Reduced wait time for treatment
  • Support for the completion of post-acute care through appointment follow-up triggers.
Research, discovery and collaboration icon
Research, discovery and collaboration
  • Efficient, responsive, and proactive communication with care team both when in and out of the hospital
  • Visibility of patient schedule and care team, so that patients and carers can plan around these consultations
  • Leveraging growth and availability of data to improve care plans and outcomes.
Dr Mei Lin

Dr Mei Lin General Practitioner, 52

“I love looking after my patients, some of them have been coming to see me for 15 years. I like finding ways to help my patients better manage their own health and appreciate being able to collaborate with clinicians at Canberra Health Services to make this a reality.”

Dr Mei Lin is a General Practitioner who has a practice in Canberra. She completed her speciality training in General Practice 25 years ago and has undertaken further complementary study in mental health and chronic disease management. She speaks fluent Dutch as a result of her PhD study in the Netherlands and is a board member of the local Primary Healthcare Network. Dr Lin is very committed to making the health system work effectively.

Referring A Patient to an ACT Public Health Service

arrow
  • Dr Lin has a visit from a regular patient, Thijs, who has symptoms that lead her to diagnose that Thijs has colorectal cancer.
  • Dr Lin accesses the Provider Portal to determine the care pathway and waiting time for the specialist services that Thijs needs.

Patient Connection with an ACT Public Health Service

arrow
  • Dr Lin recognises that there will be numerous tests and appointments that Thijs needs to prepare for his treatment so she tells him and his carer Rachel about the Consumer Portal.
  • She explains that the Consumer Portal enables them to contact for assistance, personalised educational and support materials, and access to his medical information arising from the appointments and tests that he will have.

Multi-Disciplinary Care

  • Dr Lin is invited to join a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting run by Dr Phillis to develop a post-surgical care plan for Thijs. Given her patient commitments Dr Lin attends the MDT remotely.
  • On joining the MDT meeting Dr Lin views the clinical information for her patient and participates in the discussion about ongoing care, including her role as part of Thijs’ care team.

Inpatient Care

arrow
  • The team at Canberra Hospital keeps Dr Lin informed about his progress through electronic notifications.
  • Thijs is discharged with some alterations to his usual medications. Dr Lin is alerted of Thijs’ discharge through a discharge notification sent to her by the Canberra Hospital and an electronic copy is sent directly to her practice management system.

Care in the Community

  • When Thijs next comes to see Dr Lin, they discuss the surgery, his care in Canberra Hospital and the changes in his medication.
  • Dr Lin discusses with Thijs the physiotherapy he needs to have at the University of Canberra Hospital to assist with his recovery and checks through the GP Portal to make sure that his physiotherapy appointments have been scheduled.
patient centred icon
Patient-centred
  • A consolidated view of a patient’s clinical information from ACT public health services spanning both inpatient and outpatient clinical care
  • Generation of alerts and notifications to external care partners to provide updates on inpatient and outpatient care.
Health services enabled by contemporary technology icon
Health services enabled by contemporary technology
  • Access to information about what has happened to patients.
  • Ability to record and share patient information with other care partners
  • Reduced reliance on patients and carers to provide clinical information and details on appointments
  • Improved support for transfer of patients between acute and non-acute care settings.
Research, discovery and collaboration icon
Research, discovery and collaboration
  • Better communication and collaboration with care teams
  • Participation in care planning meetings and joint patient appointments
  • Simple access to information regarding clinical services and referral pathways
  • Access to information on professional development and courses being offered.
Dr Annette Phillis

Dr Annette Phillis Colorectal Surgeon, 38

“I’m busy but still want to give my best for my patients. Being able to work wherever I am is really important to me.”

Dr Annette Phillis is a Colorectal Surgeon at Canberra Health Services. Dr Phillis completed her medical training at Harvard University, and after several years of working in the US, decided to return to Canberra when she and her partner moved back to Australia.

She likes to work with her own technology, and prefers to use her own phone and tablet PC.

 

Ward Round

arrow
  • Dr Phillis starts her day with a ward round utilising wayfinding technology to optimise her time.
  • On the round she talks to her patients about their care using the Computers on Wheels in the wards to show patients their clinical record, recent test results, and their care schedule.
  • Dr Phillis changes the medication of several of her patients in the patient’s Digital Health Record that she accesses on her tablet.

Outpatient Clinic

arrow
  • Dr Phillis spends the afternoon seeing patients in the outpatient clinic using her personal tablet to access the hospital’s wireless network.
  • She has an appointment with Thijs De Jong, a new patient that has been referred to her by a local GP.
  • The Digital Health Record has all the clinical information about Thijs from his previous visits to the Canberra Hospital and from private pathology and radiology providers.

Inpatient Care

  • Dr Phillis performs Thijs’ surgery. During the operation the theatre nurses and anaesthetist complete their surgical and anaesthetic documentation directly into Thijs’ Digital Health Record.
  • The physiological monitors in the theatre also populate their readings directly into Thijs’ record via device integration.
  • Following the surgery Dr Phillis dictates her surgical notes into the digital record system.

Consultation Over the Phone

arrow
  • After Thijs is discharged Dr Phillis joins a call with Thijs and his GP Dr Lin to discuss his ongoing care.
  • Dr Lin is able to access Thijs’ surgery record via the ACT Health Provider Portal so that Dr Phillis can explain changes in Thijs’ medication.

Research

  • Dr Phillis is conducting research to improve the outcomes of her patients.
  • Using the online researcher workbench Dr Phillis identifies a de-identified cohort of patients and the information needed for her research.
  • Using analytic capabilities, Dr Phillis analyses the data and uses these results to commence a drafting a funding application for research.
patient centred icon
Patient-centred
  • Single view of a patient’s clinical information across care settings
  • Reduced need to gather information from patients
  • Reduced time spent on clinical documentation
  • Reduction in inappropriate and/or duplication diagnostic tests
  • Improvement in patient length of stay due to better real-time alerts.
Health services enabled by contemporary technology icon
Health services enabled by contemporary technology
  • Holistic patient view across Canberra Health Services, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce and surrounding health services on any device and accessible anywhere.
  • Sharing of patient record across care settings and specialties to support multi-disciplinary care.
  • Reduced reliance on patients and carers to carry clinical documents as a result of electronic information flows.
  • Remote monitoring of patients and automatic alerts.
Research, discovery and collaboration icon
Research, discovery and collaboration
  • Improved communication and collaboration across a mobile clinical workforce
  • Better communication with patients and their carers to their support self-care
  • Better support for multi-disciplinary team-based care across craft groups, departments and external care partners.
Joel Foster

Joel Foster Nurse, 32

“I love looking after my patients and seeing them recover after surgery. The ward gets really busy so sometimes it is hard to keep track of everything.”

Joel Foster is a nurse in the surgical recovery ward at Canberra Hospital. He originally trained in Australia but spent a number of years working overseas in the UK before moving back to Canberra to be closer to his aging parents.

He loves working with his patients knowing that he is making a difference to their lives and helping them recover from surgery.

Ward Round

arrow
  • Joel starts his day accompanying Dr Phillis on her ward round.
  • Joel records his own notes on patient status and changes in treatment as he discusses the patients with Dr Phillis.

New Patient Received From PACU

arrow
  • Joel receives a new patient, Thijs De Jong onto the ward who has just had colorectal surgery
  • Thijs is still groggy from the anaesthetic so he settles him into his room and lets him sleep.
  • Joel reviews the handover notes from the post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU) in Thijs’ Digital Health Record as well as the medication orders  from the anaesthetist.

Medication Administration

  • Joel receives a notification on his nurse-phone that it is time for Thijs to receive his second course of antibiotics.
  • He retrieves them from the medication dispensing cabinet which is integrated to the Digital Health Record.
  • The medication cabinet checks the medication order in Thijs’ Digital Health Record and then dispenses the correct medication and dosage.

Urgent Results

arrow
  • Joel receives a notification that Thijs is showing signs of deterioration.
  • As he is checking him he receives a call from Dr Phillis who has received the same notification.
  • Joel discusses Thijs’ condition with Dr Phillis who electronically orders a pathology test to check for infection.
  • Joel and Dr Phillis both receive a notification from Pathology advising that the test results are available. The test indicates that no infection was detected.

Preparation for Discharge

  • A few days later Thijs is showing strong signs of recovery so Dr Phillis schedules his discharge.
  • Joel receives a notification of Thijs’ impending discharge and checks to make sure his discharge medications and final blood tests have been  ordered.
  • Joel informs Thijs that he will soon be discharged and that his carers will automatically be informed of the discharge appointment.
patient centred icon
Patient-centred
  • Single view of a patient’s clinical information across care settings
  • Reduced need to gather information from patients multiple times
  • Reduced time spent on clinical documentation
  • Improvement in patient length of stay due to better real-time alerts and patient alarms
Health services enabled by contemporary technology icon
Health services enabled by contemporary technology
  • Direct recording of patient measurements into the patient’s Digital Health Record from integrated devices
  • Electronic recording of observations, notes, medication and test orders so that papers doesn’t get lost
  • Positive identification of patient and medication during administration to avoid errors.
Research, discovery and collaboration icon
Research, discovery and collaboration
  • Improved communication and collaboration across a mobile clinical workforce
  • Improved communication between patients, their carers and care teams
  • Better communication with patients and their carers to their support self-care.
Luan Jones

Luan Jones Physiotherapist , 28

“I’m really enjoying working in the new hospital. So many patients come through that I have the chance to work with and see them progress through their rehabilitation.”

Luan Jones is a physiotherapist in the rehabilitation unit at the newly opened University of Canberra Hospital. She completed her training at the University of Canberra and has worked with Canberra Health Services since graduating.

She really enjoys working with patients and seeing the progress that they make as they go through their recovery process.

New Patient Consultation

arrow
  • Luan receives an electronic referral from Dr Phillis for a new patient Thijs De Jong who has just had colorectal surgery.
  • While reviewing Thijs’ Digital Health Record Luan notes that an appointment has been made for Thijs by the post-discharge care coordinator. Thijs and his daughter-in-law Rachel come for his first rehabilitation session.
  • Luan completes a physical assessment of Thijs and then explains the exercises.

Ambulatory Care

arrow
  • A few days after seeing Thijs Luan receives a notification from the Digital Health Record system advising that the results from the remote monitor that Thijs is wearing indicate that he is not doing his exercises.
  • Luan calls Rachel and Rachel explains that the exercises are causing Thijs discomfort so Luan schedules a virtual appointment with Dr Phillis.
  • Luan revises Thijs’ exercise plan in his Digital Health Record and sends him a notification.

Patient Treatment

  • Luan continues to have regular rehabilitation sessions with Thijs and records her observations and his progress electronically so his care team can monitor his progress.
  • After a couple of weeks Luan receives an alert from Thijs’ remote monitor advising that he is exercising more vigorously than expected.
  • At their next session Luan adjusts the alert thresholds in the remote monitoring program as Thijs is feeling stronger and no pain.

Administration

  • Luan and the other members of the rehabilitation team are required to record their activity each day to help the team manager track their workloads and activity levels.
  • Luan uses the reporting capabilities in the Digital Health Record to report all of her patient appointments and patient notes to provide a record of her activities so she doesn’t have to manually fill in a timesheet.
patient centred icon
Patient-centred
  • Single view of a patient’s clinical information across care settings
  • Reduced need to gather information from patients
  • Reduced time spent on clinical documentation.
Health services enabled by contemporary technology icon
Health services enabled by contemporary technology
  • Patient referrals received and managed electronically
  • Remote monitoring of patients and automatic alerts generation
  • Flexible working location through remote access to clinical information
  • Virtual appointments with patients at home, work and other locations outside the hospital
  • Electronic communications between staff and with patients to improve timeliness and efficiency.
Research, discovery and collaboration icon
Research, discovery and collaboration
  • Improved communication and collaboration across a mobile clinical workforce
  • Improved communication between patients, their carers and care teams
  • Better communication with patients and their carers to their support self-care.
Page last updated on: 6 May 2019