Hospital operator Unitas Healthcare is implementing the Kyra Clinical EMR by Telstra Health at the upcoming Sunshine Private Hospital in Melbourne's west.

The Kyra EMR provides real-time access to patient information and enables peer-to-peer communication between clinicians, care teams and patients. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Telstra Health claims that its EMR offering streamlines care delivery, allowing the smooth transfer of care between wards and theatres, e-referrals from consultations, and medication management.

"We understand that innovative, digital healthcare delivery means more efficient service provision. Delivering end-to-end digital healthcare with our partners, including Telstra Health, will result in a seamless, secure experience for our team and for those in our care," said Unitas Healthcare chief executive Dr Malak Sukkar.

Chris Norton, head of hospitals and connected health at Telstra Health, added that Kyra EMR enables organisations to "improve patient safety and patient experiences while supporting multidisciplinary care teams to work together to provide efficient patient-centred care on any device, helping staff spend more time with patients".

A part of the Australian Unity’s Healthcare Property Trust, Sunrise Private Hospital is set to open next year. Following that, it will be leased by Unitas for a 30-year term.

It will initially operate a 30-bed medical and surgical ward and a 21-bed mental health unit with a plan to expand up to 120 beds. It is reportedly going to offer IVF, day surgery, day chemotherapy, radiology, pathology, and mental health services, and will include four operating rooms and an endoscopy suite.

The A$140 million ($98 million) health facility will be located within the Victorian Government’s Sunshine Health, Wellbeing and Education precinct, which includes the public Sunshine Hospital, the new Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and a A$51 million ($36 million) health teaching and training campus.

THE LARGER TREND

In March, Telstra Health unveiled its latest mobile app for the residential aged care sector called  CareKeeper. The cloud-connected app allows staff to view, capture, and document care from a resident's side in real-time. 

In other related news, Telstra Health recently made some key appointments. In May, the company appointed Dr Monica Trujillo, ex-Cerner Australia and Asia Pacific official, to its newly created chief health officer post. Her appointment comes almost three months after the company announced that Elizabeth Koff, former NSW Health secretary, will serve as its managing director, succeeding Mary Foley.