Children and Young People in Out-Of-Home Care (OOHC)

Aim

• Digitisation and review of existing paper-based health and developmental assessment and management tools
• Development of a secure, shared digital platform for the documentation of the young person’s health status, with integrated multi-user management planning capability.

Benefits

• Efficiency in both primary care and HHSs due to improved access to relevant information such as test results and referrals, with appropriate confidentiality safeguards.
• Patient safety and quality of care arising from digital access to contemporaneous health information.
• Waiting list reduction for public paediatric, developmental, and mental health services through improved management in primary health and other non-HHS settings.
• Reduced burden of this group on adult mental and physical health services in the long term.

Background

This project will develop an integrated system of health assessment and management for children and young people in OOHC that maximises the input of the primary care sector, while allowing efficient digital communication between primary care providers, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (DCCSDS), and specialists within the public Hospital and Health Services (HHSs).

The Integrated Care Innovation Fund provides financial support to innovative projects that deliver better integration of care, address fragmentation in services and provide high-value healthcare. Funded projects also demonstrate a willingness to embrace and encourage the uptake of new technology alongside the benefits of integrating care and improving communication between health care sectors.

Further Reading

National Clinical Assessment Framework - March 2011 - Information for General Practitioners