The Challenge

In 2020 the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) envisaged a modern Electronic Health Record (EHR) to enhance its patient transport and retrieval services. Time is a vital resource in clinical settings and an EHR maximises time spent on patient care while increasing the quality of clinical documentation and reducing administrative burden.

James Anthony Consulting (JAC) was engaged by RFDS to perform a comprehensive design and planning study across its region-specific operations throughout Australia.

Our Role

JAC analysed the requirements collected and developed a system design and a detailed project plan for nationwide EHR implementation. In examining off-the-shelf solutions JAC discovered products which met some requirements, but to provide a system to meet all of the RFDS’ needs a new product was required. Dubbed the “RFDS EHR”, this new product delivers an adaptable, rapid data-entry workflow optimised for emergency transport scenarios, providing an always-on user experience even without data coverage, and deep data integration capabilities with surrounding systems.

JAC was further tasked to conduct development and rollout of the new RFDS EHR, constructing a secure multi-platform, multi-tenant application able to run on iOS and web browsers.

Construction Approach

The new EHR design is a multi cloud hosted platform providing clinicians either a Browser and iOS user experience. Of particular importance is the “data twinning” capability used to deliver an always-on clinical user experience, enabling real time data analysis even without Internet connectivity.

JAC followed a Scrum methodology for the day-to-day management of EHR software development activities. This consisted of fortnightly sprints, each delivering a portion of the overall product. Under the expert guidance and supervision of RFDS CIO Ryan Klose, delivery was well controlled using a portfolio management approach to ensure outcomes met quality standards and a rhythm of on-schedule delivery was established, while providing the RFDS with the opportunity to sense and respond to new requirements and to ensuring any risks are quickly identified and addressed. As a result, the project’s successful outcome was assured.

Multiple task forces were established, each focused on a critical system feature. These groups brought together representatives from operations, IT, and data functions to provide co-ownership and collaboration around the organisational change being delivered. JAC’s Project Managers worked with RFDS leaders to continually make effective technical decisions in view of key organisational needs. The project received ongoing support and feedback from the clinical teams across the organisation.

This collaborative and leadership-engaged approach created high alignment and connection between user expectations and the product delivered.

Rollout Approach

In March 2023 the RFDS leadership announced the EHR go-live with an internal awareness campaign, the centrepiece of which was a powerful cartoon “explainer” video. Follow-on training sessions were delivered with materials prepared by JAC and tailored by RFDS internal system champions. RFDS IT and JAC then collaboratively provided close support for users as usage was scaled-up. This coordinated approach led to successful system adoption. The EHR continues to deploy across RFDS sections, already operating SA, NT, and NSW, taking advantage of the system’s multi-region capabilities.

JAC’s key strengths contributing to this project included:

• Solution architecture and IT modernisation.

• Innovation and creative problem solving: engineering new, more efficient subsystems, enabling solutions to be delivered at-scale.

• Enabling organisations to embrace emerging technology, augmenting teams with ready access to relevant specialists.

• Using a collaborative approach to drive effective outcomes, both at a business level and user level, enabling a client organisation to embrace change.

See 7News’ coverage of the impact being made by the RFDS’ world-leading EHR at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyi1XhhopwE

Update: The Award

We are thrilled to announce that the RFDS has been awarded the "Rural/Remote Health Innovator of the Year" by Rural Health Pro for their Electronic Health Record (EHR) Project. This innovative project, developed in partnership with JAC, has significantly enhanced healthcare delivery in rural and remote areas, ensuring critical patient information is available during flights, aiding in life-saving decisions.

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Contact us to find our how James Anthony Consulting can deliver a successful IT modernisation project to your healthcare organisation.