Boosting GPs’ digital capability

Practices that are digitally advanced will benefit from opportunities to refine and innovate, while those earlier on their digital journey will receive practical, hands-on support.

To learn more about the digital capability of general practices, SEMPHN commissioned the Digital Health Maturity Assessment to gauge the state of digital health readiness and usage among general practices.

Forty per cent of SEMPHN’s practices responded to the assessment tool, providing crucial information that will enable us to build a more connected, capable, and digitally aware primary healthcare system.

The October 2024 assessment tool reached all general practices in the south east Melbourne region, with responses collected primarily from practice managers using a standardised tool. The assessment evaluated practices across multiple digital health domains.

The audit revealed differences in digital health maturity. Many practices had adopted electronic health records and prescribing systems, there was moderate progress in secure messaging, but improvement was needed in telehealth capabilities and data quality and use. 

Other findings included that:

• work is required on cyber-security and disaster recovery
• larger practices and corporate practices are more digitally mature 
• practices with a younger average age of general practitioners (GPs) are more digitally mature 48 practices (25%) reported using an artificial intelligence solution for clinical transcription
• digital literacy among general practice staff could be improved and is likely to be more of an issue than acknowledged in the assessment tool; GPs will need ongoing assistance in this area.

SEMPHN Program Manager Digital Health Angela Eklund says the results provide a clear roadmap for supporting digital advancement in the region. 

“We can now use these findings to tailor resources to the specific needs and maturity levels of individual practices,” she says. “Practices that are digitally advanced will benefit from opportunities to refine and innovate, while those earlier on their digital journey will receive practical, hands-on support.”

Plans to improve the region’s digital capability include offering customised training sessions, developing communities of practice to facilitate peer learning and collaboration, and tracking improvements over time. 

Angela says that while the assessment tool related to general practices, the actions will also be suitable for providers in allied health, pharmacy and private specialties.