More than 300 clinical, administrative, and executive staff from across the ACT’s public health system attended a “go live readiness assessment” for the new Digital Health Record (DHR) system.

Staff from Canberra Health Services, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, and the ACT Health Directorate attended the day-long event on Thursday to ensure the system will switch over smoothly when the DHR goes live on Saturday 12 November.

Rachel Stephen-Smith, Minister for Health, said the ACT was in a great position as it prepared to make the system live across the ACT public health system.

“Yesterday’s readiness assessment was another important step on our journey to implementing this significant improvement to public health and hospital service delivery in the ACT.

“The Digital Health Record will streamline patient journeys through the public health system by making patient records and medical history instantly available across our hospitals and community-based services.

“This world-class system will replace more than 40 systems currently in use across the ACT public health system, allowing clinical staff to spend less time looking for critical medical records and more time looking after patients.

“The Digital Health Record will make it easier for our dedicated public health care staff to continue providing the high-quality, safe care that Canberrans expect,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

With less than two months until “go live”, the ACT’s Digital Health Record team is ramping up preparations for the new system, including training all staff, testing equipment, and procuring 8,000 new electronic devices.

More than 1,600 super users are also being trained to provide an additional layer of assistance during the change over to the new system.