Perth North PHN is the first PHN in Australia to have developed an Allied Health Referral Dashboard to help improve patient referrals from GPs to allied health practitioners.

This digital initiative is being used by general practices participating in the Australian Government’s Health Care Homes program.

Using a common data collection tool, the practices have been able to demonstrate the breadth of their shared care planning – with 70% of their patients having completed Shared Care plan.

Each practice can now view the referral sources used for their patients which:

• Identifies their medical community’ that can be enhanced by Communities of Practice, groups which identify common issues to collaborate on such as obesity and/ or organise training sessions on areas of common interest.
• Assists in understanding the geographical spread of referrals and analysis of which health professionals are referred to, ensuring optimal referral practices.
• Demonstrates gaps in referrals to allied health professionals, which may represent a knowledge deficit the PHN can assist with.

Read more on how we are using digital health to identify priorities, link services, and fund options for better care.