Getting ready for the PIP eHealth incentive and PCEHR
The Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record System (the PCEHR) is an Australian Government program to provide Australians with a system of access to health information relating to consumers of healthcare.The AMA Guide to Using the PCEHR is available to assist medical practitioners to consider if they want to participate in the PCEHR system and if so, how they might use the PCEHR in their day-to-day practice.
The AMA has developed a PIP eHealth and PCEHR checklist to assist members and their practices to prepare for the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) eHealth incentives and the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR).
The new PIP eHealth incentives for general practice are:
- Integrating Healthcare Identifiers into Electronic Practice Records
- Secure Messaging Capability
- Data Records and Clinical Coding
- Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions
- Personally Controlled Electronic Health (eHealth) Record System
The checklist provides links to application forms and information on what needs to be done to meet these requirements.
Other specialist practices that are contemplating using the PCEHR need complete only those steps under that part of the checklist.
PIP Requirement: R1 Integrating HI’s
What you need to do to get ready for PCEHR and the ePIP | Where to find information |
Check if your clinical software system is or will be HI (HIPI-0, HPI-I and IHI) compliant. | Contact your software providerConfirm if/when your current software is/will be compliant. Check the NeHTA product register:https://epipregister.nehta.gov.au/registers/healthcare-identifiers |
Install Individual Healthcare Identifier enabled software and put in place administrative protocols to conform with the Healthcare Identifiers legislation | Refer to the Implementation Overview for Integrating Healthcare Identifiers into Electronic Practice Records available from NeHTA. |
Get a Healthcare Provider Identifier - Organisation (HPI-O) and record it in your compliant software system | Health Provider Organisation Application Forms - see Application to register a seed organisation for the Healthcare identifiers Service and/or for PCEHR Refer to the Implementation Overview for Integrating Healthcare Identifiers into Electronic Practice Records available from NeHTA before applying for a HPI-O. |
Update your existing PKI to include HI access or apply for a new PKI | You will need a DHS HI authentication credentialed PKI to access the HI Service. |
Obtain the HPI-I for each GP in the practice | AHPRA wrote to each GP advising them of the HPI-I or they can obtain it from www.ahpra.gov.au or call 1300 361 457 |
Link the HPI-Is with the Health Provider Directory and practice HPI-O (will need practitioner consent for this) Record it in your compliant software system. | Via the Health Provider Online Service (HPOS) or by completing form available at: www.humanservices.gov.au > For Health Professionals > Healthcare Identifiers Service Or call 1300 361 457 to authorise publication in HPD For an understanding of the purpose and use of the IHI refer to the eHealth Clinician’s Desktop User Guide. |
PIP Requirement: R2 Secure Messaging Capability
What you need to do to get ready for PCEHR and the ePIP | Where to find information |
Check if you already have a compliant SMD system installed; if not, install a compliant system. | (Update) NeHTA Product Register for Secure Message Delivery Within four weeks of having received the practice’s NASH digital certificate:
By 1 August 2013 practices must be able to verifiy that their compliant secure messaging product has been installed and configured so as to be interoperable with other standards products, consistent with the NeHTA commissioning requirements, which are available at http://pip.nehta.gov.au/pip-implementation-overviews. |
Apply for the appropriate digital certificate for secure messaging.
Write a policy for the practice to encourage the use of standards-compliant secure messaging. | The National Authentication for Health (NASH) digital certificate has been extended to enable usage for Secure Message Delivery (SMD) via compliant SMD products – to enquire or register for the ePIP NASH digital certificate apply go to http://www.humanservices.gov.au/pki. For the PCEHR NASH digital certificate apply here for healthcare provider organisations, or here for individual healthcare providers (to access the PCEHR provider portal). Refer to the Implementation Overview for Secure Messaging Capability. |
PIP Requirement: R3 Data records and Clinical Coding
What you need to do to get ready for PCEHR and the ePIP | Where to find information |
Data Records and Clinical Coding |
There are no software conformance requirements for this Requirement. The Requirement is: Practices must ensure that where clinically relevant, they are working towards recording the majority of diagnoses for active patients electronically, using a medical vocabulary that can be mapped against a nationally recognised disease classification or terminology system. Practices must provide a written policy to this effect to all GPs within the practice.Refer to the Implementation Overview for Data Records and Clinical Coding |
PIP Requirement: R4 Electronic Transfer of Prescription
What you need to do to get ready for PCEHR and the ePIP | Where to find information |
Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions | (Updated)
The requirement is: The practice must ensure that the majority of their prescriptions are sent electronically to a Prescription Exchange Service (PES). Refer to the Implementation Overview for Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions. Practices must use a product that is listed on the NeHTA Product Register for Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions, to send prescriptions to a Prescription Exchange Service (PES). |
PIP Requirement: R5 PCEHR
What you need to do to get ready for PCEHR and the ePIP | Where to find information |
Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) | Practices may wish to contact their Medicare Local to identify what support it will provide to practices implementing the PCEHR. Medicare Locals are funded to support adoption of the eHealth record system and support primary care providers to ‘get ready’ for the eHealth record system. |
Check if your software is PCEHR compliant; if not, install compliant software ensuring it is configured according to your software provider’s implementation guidelines for accessing the eHealth record system | NeHTA product register for Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records. |
Understand legal obligations and regulatory compliance framework. | (Updated) |
Complete the application to register as a healthcare provider organisation in the ehealth record system. | (Updated) |
Complete the Participation Agreement for healthcare provider organisation | Participation Agreement |
If you want individual healthcare professionals to access eHealth records via the provider portal complete the application to establish list of authorised healthcare provider individuals form. | Application to Establish a List of Authorised Individual Providers |
Submit the completed application to register as a healthcare provider organisation, the Participation Agreement and, if relevant, the application to establish a list of authorised individual providers | |
Review costs of implementation, and cost of handling patient enquiries about the PCEHR | |
Implement new fees to cover costs | See |
Understand obligations and requirements under the PCEHR compliance framework | Information about obligations and requirements under the PCEHR compliance framework is available below: |
(Updated)
In addition to the specific links included at each step of the AMA checklist above, the following internet sites provide additional information and guidance on the PIP eHealth and PCEHR requirements:
- eHealth website
- Department of Health and Ageing: http://www.health.gov.au/ehealth
- National E-Health Transition Authority: www.nehta.gov.au.
- Department of Human Services: www.humanservices.gov.au >For Health Professionals (and go to Healthcare Identifiers Service &/or to PIP)
Feedback on your experience relating to the PIP eHealth incentive and PCEHR requirements is welcome, you can either post a comment on this page or send written feedback to ama@ama.com.au.
