FAQs
The consent process is as follows. You can download a handy Quick Reference Guide here.
- Have a discussion with the patient about the tool and why you want to enrol the patient.
- Give patient the information pamphlet (download here), ask them to read it, and ask the patient if they have read the information and consent to be enrolled.
- If the patient gives consent and indicates they have read the pamphlet, enrol the patient.
- The system has a checkbox indicates you have obtained consent, and serves as a consent indicator.
There are no forms to sign and send: the process has been designed to be as simple as possible.
For support with the Orion system, contact us here.
GP’s can invite any listed Service Provider into the CoC provided they are created as an available service provider. GP’s would only invite Service Providers who the patient has contact with.
Private Service Providers who can be added to the system include:
- Private allied health
- Private medical specialists
- Pharmacy, private consultant pharmacists
If you cannot find a service provider you wish to invite into the Circle of Care/Care Team, they need to be added to the system.
You can submit a request for them to be added here. You can request addition of an LHD service or private specialist, private allied health or pharmacy. This form will send an invite to the user asking them to signup, and include an information pamphlet.
Note, we are unable to add service providers to the system without an explicit sign up by that provider. For this reason, it would be worthwhile if you contacted them personally to ask them to participate.
You can find a template invitation letter and information pamphlet on our resources page.
If you are not listed in Orion, but would like to use Orion, you need to be added to the system.
LHD staff can simply contact the project to arrange to be added to the system.
Private Service Providers can sign up here.
If you would like to be removed from Orion, contact us here. You will no longer be able to use the system or participate in Care Plans or communication on Orion.
You must notify GPs that you are no longer in the system.
Only adult patients with complex and chronic care needs can be enrolled.
If you have a patient you would normally do a GPMP (MBS item 721) or manage a Team Care Arrangement (723), then Orion would be perfect.
You can search for patients in the system as shown in the user manual or at training (if you attended).
Upon search, you can see the patient name, but you will not have access to their record unless you are either
- An LHD staff member - LHD staff can see all patient records
- The doctor who added the patient to the system, or a GP at the same enrolling GP's practice
- A member of the circle of care (invited by GP) OR belong to the same organisation as a circle of care member.
Access to patient records is based on your organisation. So as long as someone in your organisation is a member of a patient's care team, OR you work for the LHD, you can access a patient record for the purposes of continuity of care.
Example: GP Joe Smith from GP Clinic A invites physio David Bloggs from Physio B for patient Alan Abbott. Physio Janelle Allen from Physio B will be able to see patient Alan Abbott because David Bloggs is in the care team, and she and David work for the same organisation.
Yes, service providers can be removed for the Circle of Care (CoC): they can be deactivated from the CoC tab in the portal.
Open patient and then open the required service provider and edit the provider.
Only GP’s and practise nurses can update the CoC team. (ie: add or remove).
You can, but shouldn't. If a GP or Practice nurse manually adds care team members via the CoC tab then there is no notification to the invitee. The contact details are not used by the system they are provided as a reference only.
For users you wish to receive notifications about activity for that patient, you should use the care team invite function to add care team members.
You should always add care team members by invite, if you wish
If one of your enrolled patients dies, you do not need to do anything. You are free to unenroll the patient from the Shared Care workflow, and remove team care members.
The patient record will be maintained in the system in accordance with the Corporate Records Act.
Any service provider may decline an invitation from a GP to be in the care plan.
LHD Service Providers may at times decline an invitation, this could be because the patient doesn’t meet the selection criteria or a lack of resource. LHD staff are trained to include a reason for a decline and also nominate an alternative LHD SP if there is one available.
Private Service Providers may decline a patient due to service capacity or any other reason. If a PSP declines an invite they will be encouraged and trained to include a reason explaining why, and also nominate an alternative SP if there is one available.
There is an expectation that the GP will have had a discussion with the SP prior to sending the invitation as is the current workflow to minimise rejections.
No. The GP practice software is the source of truth. No changes to a patient record in the platform are reflected in the GP system.
Changes to the patient's demographics, allergies, medications and conditions must be made from the GP system into Orion.
This is handled through some software called EMR Connect ("EMRC") that we will install on GP desktops. The software adds a small sidebar/widget to Best Practice and Medical Director and lets the GP interact with Orion from their practice software directly.
This software highlights the differences to the GP between what's in their practice software patient record and Orion. The software then lets the GP update Orion, adding new information, or removing old/other information, with one click for each of allergies, medications and conditions.
Demographics are automatically updated in the background.
A GP can access Orion in two ways.
They can login to the web portal directly from the web browser.
Or, they can open a patient record in their practice software then launch a patient-context window from the EMR Connect sidebar.
The web portal provides access to updating their user details (e.g. email etc), changing subscription to system notifications, patient search and so on.
No, practise nurses can update certain information within the platform which will then populate a care plan or review care plan. This information include assessments, legal documents, patient services and next GP appointment.
It is not recommended that practise nurses enrol patients on the platform as this will then create them as the primary care provider instead of the GP.
Whomever receives the subpoena will be responsible for providing the information that has been entered into the portal. For GPs and private providers, we recommend they would follow their normal procedures for responding to subpoena’s. LHD staff should follow normal processes when receiving a subpoena.
If your patient wishes to change the GP associated with their care plan, the best thing to do is contact our helpdesk, and we will manage this for you.
Orion is a web based ("cloud") system hosted securely by the NNSW LHD.
We install 2 small pieces on the GP desktop to allow the GP to pass information from their GP desktop to the patient's record in the cloud.
The two pieces of software are called EMR Connect ("EMRC") and EMR Data Connector ("EMRDC").
EMRDC runs in the background and basically packages up patient demographics, conditions, allergies and medications and passes them to EMRC. The GP does not see EMRDC nor need to do anything with it.
EMRC is like a widget that the GPs interact with. EMRC is the app that actually sends the patient's info the cloud.
If you would like further technical information, contact the project team.
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