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A new system that centralises patients' key details has been launched with an aim of ensuring all local healthcare providers can access up-to-date patient records.
Bringing together GP and Health Department information, the Jersey Health and Care Index (JHCI) will centralise essential data such as name, address, phone number, and date of birth.
The system will be verified against the Government's People Directory and data held by Customer and Local Services, and a data protection team has been involved in ensuring that personal information is used lawfully and securely.
The JHCI will not contain any medical information or history, such as test results, referrals, diagnoses, or appointment dates.
The aim of the system is to ensure that patient information is accurate and easy to get hold of, while avoiding the need for patients to have to update their details with multiple healthcare providers.
The Government said it will also help ensure invitations for will screening programmes, such as diabetic and cancer screenings, are more timely, and that it would simplify the referrals process from GPs to hospital consultants for specialist care.
The pace of changes to digitalise healthcare has often come under criticism over the past few years – most recently, by Digital Jersey CEO Tony Moretta.
"We launched our Digital Health strategy over seven years ago, developed by bringing together the Health Department, GPs, etc, but hardly any of it has been implemented," he told the island's business leaders at a recent Chamber of Commerce event.
"I'm sorry but that's not good enough. We need to do something about our health data and connectivity across not just HCS but the GPs and Family Nursing now. It's improving but too slowly and needs to be prioritised."
Video: Tony Moretta touched on the slow pace of change in health services in a speech about Jersey's digital future.
Nigel Minihane, GP and Chair of the Primary Care Body, described the JHCI as a "promising development".
"We believe that by establishing a secure and consistent healthcare information system, the JHCI will streamline patient data management," he said.
"This will lead to better patient care and ensure that essential personal information is always accurate and accessible to authorised healthcare providers."
Enda McVeigh, Consultant at Health and Community Services, added that the change was "a significant step toward a more efficient healthcare system, that will improve the patient experience".
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