MyHealth1st transforming the broken GP to Specialist patient referral process

When I co-founded 1st Group Ltd, (now ASX listed code 1ST) and we launched our platform www.myhealth1st.com.au in 2012 we wanted to improve access to healthcare services and drive better healthcare outcomes as a result. Fast-forward 8 years and we now support over 10,000 sites/practices across Australia and New Zealand, have taken over 10m appointments online and service a broad range of healthcare businesses from pharmacies, optometrists, GP's, allied services, dental, government agencies, corporate healthcare service providers, hospitals and now specialists. We also now offer multiple add on products delivering strong digital patient engagement for our clients such as PMS integrated MyHealth1st Online Appointments, MyHealth1st Search Directory to bring new patients to our clients, EasyRecalls, EasyReferrals, EasyCheck-in Kiosks, EasyFeedback, smart SMS reminders, Search Engine Marketing services (highly successful Google/Facebook ad management) and a comprehensive business intelligence reporting platform called 1stInsights.

The one area I have always wanted to transform the most is the broken GP to Specialist referral process. There would not be a GP in the country I think that isn't frustrated by the current "system" which everyone has simply had to accept - up until now. The way the current system works is that GP's look up in an address book (typically found in their practice management software system) a specialist either by name (if they already know them), or by category eg Orthopaedic Surgeon. Then they print out a referral letter, hand it to the patient and typically leave the patient to go away and contact the specialist practice to make the appointment by telephone and some might have the practice front desk staff try and find an appointment for them. A system that hasn't changed in a century!

But here is the thing. The current system fails to deliver a smooth experience for patients, doctors and indeed specialists. Here are some of the problems faced by the current system:

• GP's have no visibility of when a specialist is available to see their patient without first calling the specialist, or calling a number of specialists to find a suitable available appointment that meets their patients needs.
• GP's cannot current easily search for a specialist based on their specific sub-specialty. That is, "I'm looking for an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in shoulder work" for example. Instead, they often resort to doing a google search and reading up about the specialist to see of they offer the specific skills that are needed.
• All too often, when patients leave the GP practice and call the specialist they discover the first available appointment may be 3 months away which may not suitable. The patient then has to return to the GP to seek another referral. This can occur several times before a suitable availability and specialist can be found. Meanwhile a week or two or more has lapsed.
• Specialists sometimes find they have been referred a patient with a condition that is not suited to their skills. This wastes everyones time, money and requires a new referral to be provided.
• When a GP hands a referral to a patient, the GP often does not know if the patient has acted on the referral. Some referrals are never acted on by a patient with possible with terrible consequences.
• New specialists in an area find it hard to become known by GP's in their referral catchment area which means GP's are missing out on accessing these new specialists in their area.
• Patients sometimes forget to bring their referral documentation to their specialist appointment. This then requires the specialist to contact the referring GP practice to have the referral faxed to them.
• All of the above issues can result in delays to healthcare for patients, and sometimes with terrible consequences.

In a world where healthcare is wanting to move to a more patient centred service model, the current GP to specialist referral process is simply not capable of meeting that new and important shift that is occurring across the healthcare system.

Earlier this year our company entered into an agreement with St Vincents Health Australia to build and bring to their specialist network across their private hospitals in QLD, NSW and VIC a new referral platform in what is an Australian first, and possibly even a worlds first! The new service is called StVincentsPriority.com.au (enter your location as "Sydney" to see how it works) and enables GP's and patients to find and book specialists that are associated with St Vincent's private hospitals. The new service is powered by our MyHealh1st.com.au platform and our new add on product, EasyReferrals.

As one GP said to me recently when I showed her the new service, "I would probably issue around 10-15 referrals a day to specialists. I face the problem of writing replacement referrals and finding suitable availability every single day. It is incredibly frustrating. There is not much that gets me excited about technology, but this new service you have created is truly amazing. In fact, I think I would probably book most of the referrals myself through this platform as its so easy and gives me exactly what I want."

The new StVincentsPriority service delivers the following key benefits for GPs and patients:

• A directory listing of real-time appointment availability for a broad range of Specialists, and if preferred, to find one associated with a preferred hospital.
• The ability to search by “sub-speciality”, that is, the unique areas of specific expertise of each Specialist. This has never been available to GPs before which has also sometimes resulted in patients being referred to the wrong Specialist.
• The option for a GP or their front desk staff to book an appointment on behalf of their patient in just a few seconds.
• The option of securely “attaching” the referral documentation to the online appointment, including the option of taking a photo using either the patient’s or GP’s mobile phone.
• Notifications to the GP that the referral appointment has been booked including details of the appointment, with the option of being notified if the patient doesn’t show up for their referral appointment.
• The Specialist being provided all of the information they need to allow them to undertake immediate triage of the inbound online appointment.
• Phase 1 of StVincentsPriority offers access to an initial 21 specialties including Breast Surgeons, Cardiologists, Hepatologists, Neurologists, Otolaryngologists, Gynaecologists, Vascular Surgeons and others, with many more to come.
• MyHealth1st integrates with many practice management software systems, including those used by GPs and Specialists such as Genie, Shexie (new integration), BlueChip, Best Practice, and soon Clinic2Cloud.

Phase 1 has rolled this out to the three St Vincents Hospitals in NSW. Phase 2 will commence soon and bring this new service to all other hospitals in other states. The reaction from GP's has already been fantastic and specialists are equally excited by it all. It is a great credit to St Vincent's leadership that they have had the vision and commitment to bring a new service like this to market that will benefit everyone, and a service that we know will have a huge impact on improved patient outcomes. Underpinning the service is the MyHealth1st platform that we have been building over the past 8 years, that makes it all look easy.

Here is a video demonstrating the new exciting StVincentsPriority.com.au solution: