Health app bit like an ‘internet doctor’

Patients in the Midcentral District are now able to access their patient records, results, and order repeat prescriptions from their phones.

Manage My Health is a patient portal programme allowing registered patients to interact directly with their doctors via a computer or phone.

Midcentral District Health Board heard how the programme could free up nurses in the future and lessen the financial impact on patients at a meeting on Tuesday.

However, Central Primary Health Organisation chief executive Chiquita Hansen said there was ‘‘a little bit of tension’’ because not all practices were offering it.

‘‘...You can imagine some practices aren’t that keen about it,’’ she said.

It was a service people wanted, but some GPS were ‘‘deciding not to get into this century’’.

About 3000 people had registered for Manage My Health in January 2016, and that figure had since more than doubled.

Hansen hoped more GPS would get on board and offer the service in the future.

‘‘We are really highly recommending that people do use this as a way of interacting with their general practice teams.’’

Central PHO chairman Dr Bruce Stewart said the programme was ‘‘a bit like internet doctor’’.

Patients were able to directly message their doctors to ask questions.

Stewart said he had about two or three messages from patients to respond to each day.

Some were situations where general advice could be given out, while others were virtual consultations, for which patients were charged at a reduced rate than for a face-to-face consultation, he said.

‘‘I talked to a patient of mine who lives in Palmerston North, I practice in Feilding, and she has to come over to Feilding for discussions that generally often don’t end in examination.’’

Through Manage My Health, that patient would likely save three hours, he said.

Although the programme was ‘‘a little bit clunky’’, the system in place would be great for the future, he said.

To sign up for Manage My Health, patients need to visit their participating GPS and complete a registration and consent form. They will then be given an access code to sign in online or on the phone app.