Medtech PMS improves access for Southland’s Pasifika community

WellSouth and Medtech have developed tailored practice management software for the Pacific Island Advisory Charitable Trust (PIACT), enabling it to expand healthcare services and improve access for Southland’s Pasifika population.

The Medtech Evolution platform allows PIACT to coordinate care across all its health services (General Practice, mental health, nursing, social work and community navigation services.)

WellSouth hosts the system, which was implemented in April 2024, and provides ongoing technical support for the Invercargill-based organisation.

General practice operations advisor at the Primary Health Organisation, Karen Bolch, says the system has been customised to meet the trust’s unique needs.

“We had to make the system work for them rather than the other way around,” she says.

 

PIACT staff member using Medtech Evolution

Supporting Southland’s Pasifika community

PIACT supports Southland’s Pasifika communities through a diverse range of services, which include Whānau Ora, financial mentorship, work and income clinics, and community resilience programmes.

PIACT health contracts lead and board advisor Judy Bradley says Medtech Evolution integrates all of the trust’s services under one platform, as its previous system provided good data for social services, but could not integrate with other health services.

The new system has enabled the trust to employ clinical staff including a nurse practitioner, general practitioner, well child nurse and vaccinator, along with mental health clinicians. Winning these contracts only became possible by having a robust digital system.

“We would not have been able to secure and sustain those services without the information system provided by Medtech Evolution. If we did not have one, we would not get the other,” says Bradley.

“We started off with five users and now we have 10. We were just dabbling our feet in the water at the start, and we were future proofing, hoping that we would get these services.”

Enabling care

A lack of integration meant that previously general practices were not made aware of the work of PIACT staff, but the new system enables secure information sharing, Bradley explains.

Implementing practice management software (PMS) also means the trust can serve unenrolled patients who cannot access GP services due to closed practice books or other issues.

Invercargill has a very high number of unenrolled patients due to the general shortage of GPs and most, if not all, closing their books. Having this system that documents and stores information related to unenrolled patients enables ready access as space becomes available.

Bradley says this integrated approach allows staff to identify multiple needs during a visit.

“Many of our clients are quite complex with unresolved issues of a cultural nature that require further assessment and support by our team. This includes pastoral care, clinical pharmacist to assess their medications, dietitian, social worker, financial advisor and mental health.”

She adds that the bespoke software meets the cultural needs of Pacific families, where appointments often involve multiple family members and require longer than the traditional 10-minutes.

“It could be two or three family members that come and that takes time: respecting their culture and the language barrier,” says Bradley.

A digital transformation

The project began in February 2024 with comprehensive scoping, training plans, and support structures. WellSouth’s team designed the system to include both social services and Comprehensive Primary Care Teams for PIACT.

Bolch, who led the implementation project, explains that the new practice management software needed significant customisation to suit community healthcare rather than traditional general practice workflows.

Making it work for them was probably one of the biggest challenges, she says.

Medtech Evolution was also adapted to handle group bookings for programmes like Whānau Ora groups and Drive My Life sessions, replacing paper-based tracking with electronic health records that automatically generate demographic and attendance reports.

Many PIACT team members had never used practice management software, so they identified a “super user” to give support and simplified the registration processes based on community feedback.

“Some of the challenges for the community was it was a change of process. They had to come in, they had to fill out a registration form to be logged onto a system,” says Bradley.

Social workers and community support workers can also log in remotely to access patient notes, and automated appointment reminders sent via SMS both the day before and one hour before appointments have significantly reduced non-attendance rates.

Lasting impact

Medtech supports many communities like PIACT, says Jeremy van de Klundert, general manager sales & marketing, Medtech Global.

“Healthier Care is our byline, and by helping and learning from those who need support, we become stronger as a healthcare provider in the community,” he says.

Bradley says the new software makes it much easier for the trust to welcome people into the space and support them and their health and wellbeing needs as suits them.

She can also get accurate reporting at the touch of a button and providers can modify components such as the sign-up forms to be more accessible.

“So many medical forms and paperwork are hard to understand especially if English is your second language,” explains Bradley.

“Something like a client information form that you can understand and starts the process positively can make the difference between someone staying and getting the help they need or leaving.”

Since PIACT’s successful implementation, WellSouth has rolled out Medtech Evolution to four other community providers in the Southern region, using the lessons learned to streamline future deployments.

“This is where healthcare needs to go,” Bradley says.

“We need to help break barriers, so people get support where they feel most comfortable.”

Image: PIACT staff member using Medtech Evolution

 

Article republished with the permission of HiNZ. Any requests for further use please contact editor@hinz.org.nz