The Children's Hospital at Westmead wins prestigious award

The Children's Hospital at Westmead was last night awarded with an iAward for innovative development in health care. This award recognises a ten year journey, alongside NSW Health, creating the Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

The award was presented by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) in conjunction with CSIRO ICT Centre.

The EMR is a real-time patient and clinical system providing clinicians with vital, relevant and timely data on which to base their clinical decisions. It is a system that provides clinical information for patient care and treatment via a computer, rather than in paper format.

This EMR system has revolutionised patient care at The Children's Hospital at Westmead by capturing clinical observations in electronic format and allowing for innovations such as the facilitation of electronic ordering for results of diagnostic tests.

The Children's Hospital at Westmead, with strong support from the Minister and NSW Health, has pioneered the establishment of the EMR. It is part of the NSW Health strategy to provide support to clinicians through a single integrated solution which will be deployed statewide in other areas by HealthTechnology, a newly established shared service responsible for implementing strategic IT systems. This strategy has shown foresight in understanding the needs of patients and clinicians and equipping our heath system to deal with changing provision of health care in the 21st century.

Once the EMR system is established throughout NSW, patients registered in the database will no longer be required to bring case histories with them if receiving treatment in other hospitals. This will save millions of dollars each year and help eliminate medical errors.

It is fitting that The Children's Hospital at Westmead has received this award as celebrations are underway to mark the 125th anniversary of the Hospital. Since its humble beginnings at Glebe and Camperdown, the Hospital has provided the very best care for sick children and their families. Initiatives such as the introduction of the EMR highlight the Hospital's futuristic vision for world class patient care.

For further information contact Public Relations at The Children's Hospital at Westmead (02) 9845 3364 or (02) 9845 0000 after hours.