C&C DHB goes live with InterRAI, a new assessment and care system
Capital & Coast DHB has launched an exciting new programme that will allow staff to access a clinical assessment system directly through the Internet when working out in the community.
The programme is a secure, fully web-based clinical assessment and care planning system called InterRAI.
InterRAI is an evidence-based assessment and care planning methodology developed by the InterRAI group. The group is a not for profit, collaborative network of researchers in over 20 countries committed to improving health care for persons who are elderly, frail, or disabled.
The InterRAI method is a reliable way of assessing peoples’ needs and automatically provides information on outcomes and quality of care.
C&C DHB Chief Executive Derek Milne said the launch was the culmination of three years work involving many clinical and IT staff working in partnership, with the aim of improving assessment and care planning for older people living in the community.
“InterRAI is an important part of C&C DHB’s Integrated Home and Community care programme. This programme covers many diverse initiatives that range from acute in-hospital care facilities, to the Palliative Care Advisory and Education Service at the Hospice,” Dr Milne said.
“Apart from being a sound assessment system, the information that InterRAI provides also allows us to easily evaluate how well our programmes are doing. Today, we have about 30 staff who use the system, but the way the secure InterRAI website is designed means we can easily add more community based clinical users as needed.”
The InterRai methodology is considered a good match for the Assessment Guidelines for Older People, which were released by the New Zealand Guidelines Group in 2003.
The launch of the programme came about after Capital & Coast – along with Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Hutt Valley and Waikato DHBs – conducted a two year pilot to understand how InterRAI could be used to help assess and provide services for mainly older people living at home.
IT company Health Intelligence (HIQ), which provides information technology support for C&C DHB, successfully ‘hosted’ specialised InterRAI software for the pilot. The pilot was also subject to a Ministry of Health funded study that described the experiences of using InterRAI in New Zealand.
And now, in a C&C DHB and HIQ first, the innovative ‘secure hosted InterRAI software’ service has been launched.
Tracy Street, Business Manager for HIQ, said that providing a secure system for clinicians to use through the Internet is exactly the type of leveraged delivery model that HIQ was set up to provide.
“The InterRAI project has shown how clinical collaboration within and across DHBs can be supported through technology. This type of collaboration is something we see happening more frequently and it will deliver improved health outcomes and increased investment value for the sector as a whole,” she said.
C&C DHB would like to acknowledge all the partners who, over the past three years, have played a significant role in getting InterRAI up and running at C&C DHB:
- The InterRAI group
- Nigel Millar – InterRAI fellow for New Zealand (and Chief Medical officer for Canterbury DHB)
- Momentumhealthware
- AISsystems
- HIQ
- Nurse Maude Association
- Patient Care Coordination Service Coordinators
- Infinity
- Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Hutt Valley and Waikato DHBs.
