Need an Electronic Medical Record fix? Call our Band of Builders

In two years, they have delivered over 20 EMR optimisations and over 550 new records to enhance timely access, secure communication and efficiency.

What started off as “white board of ideas from our Allied Health workforce”, says Deputy Director of Allied Health Jane Jolley, has now developed into a project team that builds EMR solutions for clinicians by clinicians, advancing RMH’s digital health vision.

“We design, build and implement EMR solutions that directly address care challenges such as documentation loads, workflow inefficiencies and data gaps,” says Allied Health informatics lead, Meaghan Maher.

One of their major projects was the development of 10 dedicated Allied Health dashboards, which provides real-time service demand data, supporting workforce planning and more responsive care. 

These dashboards have now been viewed over 11,000 times, providing key information in one place such as, how many patients need to be seen links to key resources.

“It’s been really helpful for team leaders to plan the day and respond to changing demand” says Meaghan.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is also at the heart of the Band of Builders, with the cohort comprising of allied health clinicians from 7 difference disciplines. BoB clinicians also develop EMR content for professions outside of their own, an approach which develops digital leadership.

Psychology Manager Leonie Simpson reflects that “working with people from different clinical areas is super useful because we could provide different solutions and talk through roadblocks.”

Social Worker Laura Pinto says, “it is rewarding to see everyone’s individual contributions come together into a cohesive final product”.

The BoB program has been designed to be a scalable model, so the team are looking forward to working with other staff groups and Allied Health departments across the Parkville Precinct and other hospitals across Australia to continue growing clinician capabilities.