Sydney, June 30, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - IBA Health (ASX:IBA)(PINK:IBATF) announce that the Royal Flying Doctor Service health professionals will be able to access essential medical histories while attending patients in remotest Australia, with the creation of a centralised Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

RFDS National CEO, Nigel Milan, said the broadband EMR, believed to be the world's first accessible from remote locations, would greatly enhance the already high level of patient care delivered by the Service's health professionals.

RFDS's EMR solution will be created by specialist health information technology company IBA Health through its healthcare division iSOFT in close consultation with RFDS health professionals.

"Unlike city-based GPs, who have ready access to their patients' records in their surgery, our health professionals conduct consultations at numerous locations, many of them remote" Mr Milan said.

"The RFDS EMR will allow them to access a patient's medical history remotely while attending patients at different locations and update that history as they examine and treat each patient.

"Where no internet or WAN connection is available, an RFDS health professional will be able to download patient histories from the centralised EMR onto a laptop before attending a clinic and then upload the updated records once they have returned to base."

Mr Milan said it was envisaged that RFDS health professionals would have access to health records at clinics and hospitals, from an RFDS base, or in a car travelling to and from consultations. This access could extend to aircraft through wireless broadband.

"Importantly, our health professionals will be able to access patient records from home, where they may provide consultations to remote Australians by telephone," Mr Milan said.

Many people living in remote Australia have no permanent access to health professionals, so the RFDS fills the gap by conducting regular Primary Health Care Clinics at isolated sites. Services include, but are not limited to, general practice services, routine health checks and advice, immunisation, child health care, mental health, dental, eye and ear clinics.

"The EMR will play a crucial role in improving the delivery of those services by providing health professionals access to patient demographics, medical history, allergy, immunisation, and current medications," Mr Milan said.

"This will improve the planning of clinics, consultations and other services in remote Australia, including rural, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, stations/properties and mining towns."

RFDS has been assessing EMR applications for many years but was able to take the big step to implementing a national centralised system following the approach from Intel's Digital Health Group.

Mr Milan said each RFDS section had been at different stages of developing EMRs prior to Intel coming on board 18 months ago.

"Intel was key to focussing the RFDS's national efforts and rapidly opened up a world of Health information technology options that would've taken us years to uncover without them," Mr Milan said.

David Mellers of Intel's Digital Health Group reflects: "we're extremely pleased with the outcome of our work with RFDS. IBA did an outstanding job in understanding RFDS's requirements and it seems very fitting that two leading edge Australian organisations work together to exploit technology to improve medical services to remote and regional Australia. For Intel, to see mobile computing used in such a challenging and broad medical environment is very exciting as well as a huge endorsement to have an organisation of RFDS's pedigree proceeding in this way".

The RFDS's contract with IBA Health subsidiary iSOFT is for software licenses, implementation services, customisation, and support and maintenance for five years. The project starts in July and is due for completion in June 2009.

Gary Cohen, IBA's executive chairman and CEO, said the company's healthcare division iSOFT, had "a strong track record of delivering innovative, scalable software applications".

"We are able to provide a solution that meets the specific needs of the RFDS with particular focus on its mobile and remote requirements.
"The solution will act as a catalyst for change and through improved processes and increased efficiencies will provide direct benefits across the RFDS Sections.

"iSOFT excels as the only provider of a fully integrated and networked primary care business solution in the Asia Pacific marketplace."

Under the e-Health for Remote Australia (eHRA) project, iSOFT will create an electronic clinical platform enabling the introduction of an EMR for patients of the four RFDS Operating Sections across Australia.

Based on iSOFT's internet based primary care solution, the broadband EMR will be central to improving health service delivery and health outcomes for patients as well as improving the communication and transfer of health information between different providers and auxiliary services.

iSOFT has vast experience of providing primary care solutions on this scale and complexity. An example is the Independent Practitioner Network and its network of 100 clinics and multi-disciplinary medical practices throughout Australia.