SA Health Secure Messaging Project

Country SA PHN and Adelaide PHN are working with SA Health to establish Interoperable Secure Messaging to support the exchange of discharge summaries, referrals, Pathology and imaging reports.

Project Overview

SA Health recently went out to tender for a state-wide secure messaging system which will function from all locations.

The system will enable the sending of discharge summaries from both the OACIS and Sunrise systems. It will be used as the delivery mechanism for Outpatient Specialist letters, Allied Health reports, Pharmacist information, Communicable Disease Notifications and Public Health Alerts.

The system will also enable the secure sending of referrals to both Specialists and Allied Health professionals working within SA Health.

It will be supported by a National Directory Framework to support both providers and organisations to be correctly listed and linked.

What is Interoperable Secure Messaging

Interoperable means that the Secure Messaging products can exchange information while safeguarding the encryption and security of the document and retaining data fields for information transfer.

In short, it means that the product you have will not need to be replaced; but you may need to update it to use the NASH certificate.

Benefits

Benefits of the SA Health Secure Messaging project:

• Discharge Summaries sent complete to your providers
• Specialist letters sent to your providers electronically
• Electronic referrals to SA Health Specialists and Allied Health Providers
• Pathology and Imaging requests to be electronic to SA Health
• Pathology and Imaging results to be sent electronically

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How will the project be implemented?

While we have been engaged to assist with the implementation, SA Health remain the primary owners and managers of the project. SA Health will roll out the project in stages which are loosely represented in the Life Cycle graphic to the right.

The current focus for SA Health is the integration of the new system with their existing systems and workflows while we in the PHN’s are assisting you to get ready for go-live.

Future stages include:

• Proof of concept testing with General Practice in a variety of locations and clinical management systems

• Rollout of discharge summaries, specialist letters, and pathology results to General Practice

• Rollout of e-referral functionality

• Expansion of secure communication to allied health, pharmacy, and aged care

Our focus has primarily been on assessing where you are at with the necessary Healthcare Identifier requirements needed to participate in Secure Messaging. This has been done through the survey that many of you have completed and some are yet to do. If you have not completed the survey, we ask you to do so by June 30. The survey can be found by clicking here. {insert survey link}

What can you do to get ready?

1. NASH PKI Certificate: Interoperable Secure Messaging requires the use of a NASH PKI certificate issued by the Department of Health. To obtain a certificate, the organisation must be registered with the Healthcare Identifier service. Seek assistance from your SMD provider to get the certificate implemented on your system properly.

2. PRODA accounts: ensure your provider and organisation details are up to date on the Healthcare Identifier service. This includes your business details such as exact business name, ABN, Registered Authority (RA), Organisational Maintenance Officer (OMO) and linking your Providers to your HPI-O. All of this can be done through PRODA. {insert link to PRODA}

3. Self-Assessment Tool: A survey will be provided by your PHN to assist you in identification of any changes or support needed to enable your participation in Secure Messaging with SA Health. If you are within the Country SA PHN region, you can complete the survey by clicking here. {insert survey link}

SA Health Secure Messaging Self Assessment survey