Capital Health Network

The ACT and SNSW HealthPathways Program is a unique cross-border partnership involving ACT Health, Southern NSW Local Health District, COORDINARE (South Eastern NSW PHN) and CHN (ACT PHN). Over the last year, the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways program has continued to be responsive and relevant to local community needs through the provision of clinical assessment, management, referral and resource information to ACT and SNSW health professionals.

As part of the continuing response to COVID-19, the program collaborated with the wider HealthPathways community to provide information on national health initiatives relating to MBS items and Telehealth, COVID-19 vaccination procedures, local public health directives, and COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs.

HealthPathways has localised 43 pathways and reviewed 83 pathways in the last year. There is a total of 612 pathways localised on the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways site. Over the last year, HealthPathways had almost 6,000 returning users, resulting in the number of users increasing by 12.9% compared to the previous year. Over the year there were over 190,000 pageviews.

The ACT & SNSW HealthPathways program has also continued to foster efficient and effective local care pathways and promote consistent ‘whole-of system’ communication between health services across the ACT and Southern NSW.

Strong partnerships between the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways program and the tertiary and specialist service providers in the ACT and SNSW has facilitated the provision of information to primary health care professionals to support patient’s receiving care closer to home, map local surgical services and streamline referrals to public outpatient tertiary services.

Mental health presentations in general practice

GPs in the ACT reported a significant increase in patients presenting with mental health concerns in general practice, many of which were exacerbated by the continuing stress of the bushfires and COVID-19.  As a result, the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways and CHN Education Program hosted an educational event for primary healthcare professionals – Mental Health Presentations in General Practice. The event featured presentations outlining strategies to assist GPs and general practice staff to assess, manage, refer and support patients within the constraints of a consultation period.  Specialist presenters focused on the areas of anxiety and depression, intimate partner violence and eating disorders. Attendee evaluations showed they would access the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways site for clinical, referral and patient information.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health

A key priority for the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways program was to support health system improvements in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. The ACT & SNSW HealthPathways team partnered with CHN’s Indigenous Health Team and collaborated with relevant Indigenous stakeholders from the both the ACT and SNSW regions to facilitate co-design in the localised elements of the eight pathways.

The project developed specific ACT & SNSW HealthPathways to support health professionals to navigate the Closing the Gap health initiatives, summarise relevant guidelines and initiatives, support the provision of culturally safe care in primary and allied healthcare settings and raise the awareness of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health services in the regions. As part of the project, the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways team highlighted their work at the National Allied Health Conference 2021.

We consider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in all our clinical and referral HealthPathways. To help guide the user towards specific relevant content, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag is displayed on each relevant pathways to assist in raising awareness of culturally appropriate care and services within ACT and SNSW. There are a total of 139 pathways with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health icons.

Digital health

Another key priority for the ACT & SNSW HealthPathways program was to support health system improvements in the area of Digital Health. Click here to see what was achieved in this area.