The EPRX is a centralised web based service incorporating health management knowledge, illness categorisation and investigation characteristics, resulting in a dynamic, user-modified referral linking a health condition of interest to the most geographically convenient, available (registered) and appropriate health care professionals and services.

Health care providers or services that are incorporated into the program include:

• medical practitioners
• allied health professionals
• nursing services
• hospitals
• support organisations
• pharmaceutical companies
• pharmacies
• alternative health services
• Support Services (which may be categorised and selected by individual requirement)

All health care support services, providers and associated or related services are ask to be incorporated in the program. This expansion maybe driven by user need and self managed.

Function 1. Health Care and Support Service

Each negotiated service will be responsible for maintaining its own registration details. This will be done through a user-friendly registration and update program. Each service will define its own characteristics appropriate for its discipline. On the basis of these responses, each service can be categorised by its:

• Discipline / Service/Product
• Private/Public service
• Individual/Clinic
• Geographical location (every health provider location will have a unique GPS coordinate entered)
• Interests
• Procedures
• Investigations
• Accessibility, cost, availability

Each health condition has been categorised according to the type of disease it represents and connected to a matrix of appropriate health care provider disciplines related to it have been constructed. There are treatment groups already constructed for all ~16,000 disease entries currently in the database.

The program links the characteristics of a particular health condition of interest through the health care provider matrix to assemble a list of registered health care providers appropriate for the condition of interest. This list can be readily sorted by expertise and geographical proximity. The program will store previous selections made by the registered user so that the list can also display previously selected providers and sort according to frequency of use.

The program will incorporate traditional search functions to enable users to identify health care providers. It will allow searches by:-

• Name
• Discipline
• Area

It provides basic or standard search functions: it is able to identify practitioners in or adjacent to buildings, shopping centres, hospitals etc. This is possible as each provider’s geographical location will have its GPS coordinates identified.

The program has not limited itself to traditional health care providers. The program enables condition-relevant local community support groups, state-based and national- government and non-government organisations and support services to be readily found by health professionals and community support personnel.

In summary, optimal health and support services can be quickly identified using this program. Importantly, multiple health care providers of different disciplines, community support and service providers can be readily identified.

Function 2. Investigations

The same process that enables the program to efficiently display the most appropriate or targeted list of potential health care and service providers for a disease has been adapted so that it can assemble a list of investigations appropriate for that condition. All ~16,000 disease entries have had an investigation matrix constructed which lists appropriate investigations, sorted by investigation. When an investigation is selected, a list of providers who can perform that investigation is displayed, once again sorted by geographical proximity, frequency of use, expertise. Selecting the provider of choice will enable the user to print out a request form listing all the provider’s practice details.

This eliminates the need for the medical practitioner using the program to keep a large number of investigation referral booklets in his office. It enables the practitioner to select any provider anywhere in Australia to undertake an appropriate investigation. It has the capacity to move any health professional consulting room toward a true paperless office. Alternatively, any room with internet connectivity can become an effective consultation office.

There is no other program in Australia which has the ability to display this information. This is a major asset of this program and represent a valuable referral tool for the medical practitioner.

Function 3. Effective Communication

1. E-mail.
The program will enable subscribers to communicate with each other by e-mail.

2. SMS Messaging
Providers may elect to register their mobile phone numbers. As the program is a web-based program, users will be able to send messages directly from their computer keyboard to selected providers. This will greatly speed up the process of communicating with a colleague. It eliminates the need to use a third person(s) to send messages.

It will enable more complex messages about patient care to be sent with confidence, for example from a hospital ward to a treating specialist or from a GP to a Community Nurse. The system will allow a log of messages to be created at the end of the day for quality assurance purposes, ensuring that all providers who have been sent messages have responded.