Capital Health Network

Capital Health Network

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For Health Professionals Digital Health Electronic Referrals

Secure Messaging 

Sending clinical information and documents via fax, post or email is deemed unsecure. Secure Messaging enables all health care providers to seamlessly and securely exchange a patient’s clinical information using a clinical conformant software that is linked to a Secure Message Delivery (SMD) system such as HealthLink. 

To enable your practice for Secure Messaging, you will be allocated an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) number which is made up of eight characters. Having an EDI will also enable your practice to send electronic referrals and electronic pathology requests. 

Electronic Referrals 

Electronic Referral is the seamless exchange of vital patient information from one health care provider to another using a secure messaging system. The use of traditional methods, via fax machines or email, cannot track whether a referral was received, and are not as secure or reliable as secure messaging. For this reason, Canberra Health Services’ (CHS) preferred referral method is electronic referrals using SmartForms.   

Using HealthLink’s SmartForms through your practice management software, such as Best Practice, Medical Director, Genie, or MedTech, a GP can send a referral together with the patient’s medical history to the outpatient services at CHS, Calvary Hospital, and Community Services. If your practice does not have a compatible practice management software, you can still access SmartForms through the HealthLink Provider Portal.   

You can also use SmartForms to refer to private specialists through SR Specialists & Referrals.  SmartForms is the preferred way to refer patients to these services because it is easier, more seamless, and assures that your referral is received.   

More information on Electronic Referrals can be found here on the Digital Health website.  

What are the benefits of using HealthLink SmartForms?  

  • Improved timeliness for sending and receipt of referrals and clinical information.  
  • Improved clinical decisions due to the right information being available at the point of care.  
  • Access to a broader range of referring practitioners.  
  • Streamlined administration due to reduction in paper-based processes.  Your admin staff can focus their time and energy on more important tasks and not waste their time in unnecessary refaxing or follow-up phone calls.  
  • Improved coordination of care as a result of improved communication between health care providers.  
  • Confidence in privacy and security of transmitted patient data and decreases the risks associated with lost or missent faxes or emails.  
  • Improved traceability and tracking of information for audit purposes.  

If your practice is not yet registered with SmartForms, simply call HealthLink on 1800 125 036 to have your GPs registered.  You can also contact the following if you have questions or require support:  

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