Digital Medical Record for Bendigo Health

Bendigo Health in Victoria has signed up to implement a customised Digital Medical Record using the Vitro platform from Ireland’s Sláinte Healthcare.  The Digital Medical Record system will deliver images and patient information electronically and will work with other, existing, Bendigo Health systems such as the patient administration system, and will be able to generate reports.

"This means clinicians will be able to view any paper forms or patient medical records via an electronic device anywhere in the new hospital via a single clinical portal,” said Bendigo Health Executive Director Information Services, Bruce Winzar.

Sláinte Healthcare says this will reduce duplication of information and is the beginning of a journey to eliminate paper medical records.

The technology will be implemented in less than 12 months as part of the $A630m Bendigo Hospital Project. Bendigo Health runs a 653-bed teaching hospital in Regional Victoria that conducts more than 300,000 treatments a year.

Jeff Smoot, Commercial Director from Sláinte Healthcare said, “Sláinte Healthcare is thrilled to be the chosen provider working with Bendigo Health to provide a Digital Medical Record. 

“Our experience working in this area means we understand the needs of the health service and we are looking forward to providing a system which delivers a range of benefits for both patients and clinicians including increasing security of information, financial efficiencies and data security.”

“The new hospital has been designed to be paper light upon opening and in order to achieve this we must implement an EMR, of which the digital medical record is a key part,” said Winzar.

“This means clinicians will be able to view any paper forms or patient medical records via an electronic device anywhere in the new hospital via a single clinical portal.”

Other Australian implementations of Vitro include at Calvary's Bethlehem Hospital in Melbourne and 11 other hospitals in the group. It is also used as a paperless chart at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse Cancer Centre in Sydney.