GPs now don’t need to leave their PMS to send and receive specialist referrals.
Telstra Health and digital referral company Consultmed have partnered up for another integration which allows GPs to send fast, secure eReferrals from within MedicalDirector Clinical via TH’s in-platform widget Smartbar.
Unlike other systems that require GPs to navigate outside their practice management software, Consultmed is embedded directly into the referral workflow, enabling seamless adoption with minimal disruption to clinical routines.
A 2016 study in the Medical Journal of Australia showed that referral workflows remained a pain point for GPs, accounting for 8% of non-billable time, with an additional 12% spent discussing patient care with specialists. Additionally, fax remains the dominant method of communication despite nearly all GPs being connected to My Health Record.
Consultmed, according to the partnership announcement, addresses those challenges by enabling GPs to create and send secure, track eReferrals without leaving the software, receive communications directly from specialists, request missing information or offer pre-appointment advice and guidance, enable more coordinated care, and receive referral acknowledgements, letters, reports and discharge summaries straight into the MedicalDirector inbox.
“We’ve been looking forward to launching Consultmed in Medical Directors’ Smart Marketplace,” said Associate Professor Vikram Palit, CEO of Consultmed.
“This is a major milestone.
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“While we’ve had an existing MedicalDirector integration, this enhanced version is significantly more advanced, a fully embedded sidebar widget that integrates directly into the GP workflow.
“It improves usability, reduces clicks, and makes it even easier for clinicians to send digital referrals and access Advice & Guidance without leaving the patient record.
“It also strengthens our interoperability with Telstra Health’s broader network of hospital and community services.
“This integration connects thousands of new GP users nationally to Consultmed and our participating specialists, hospitals and healthcare services.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Telstra Health’s team and to streamline referral management for GPs,” he told HSD today.
The new partnership with Telstra Health is the latest in a good run for Consultmed, which currently supports 55,000 users and is deployed across more than 15 major public and private health networks — including Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, South Western Sydney LHD, Alfred Health, Medibank’s Amplar Health, five PHNs in NSW and Silverchain.
“Our integration with Consultmed is part of our broader strategy to modernise healthcare delivery and improve patient and provider experiences through value-based care,” said Telstra Health’s clinical director, Dr Chris Tan.
“With over 20,000 MedicalDirector Clinical users now able to send and track referrals digitally, we’re transforming how care is coordinated across Australia.”
