27 November 2013

Calendar, Printing and ACC Identifiers

In response to feedback, the online ACC18 continues to launch enhancements; the following will be available from 27 November.

Fitness for Work Tab - Calendar: Moving the mouse over the calendar for longer periods has been made easier.

Declaration Tab - ACC Identification: There will be a reduction in the number of identifiers from five to four; no direct impact on the Provider.

If you are one of the over 2000 Practitioners who regularly use the online ACC18; thank you. If you are not then now would be a good time to begin, noting that additional return to work assistance for patients is offered solely through this online form. Self service for setting up and using the online ACC18 is available at www.acc.co.nz (use keyword eACC18 Self Service). However, feel free to contact ACC at 0800 222 994 or ebusinessinfo@acc.co.nz for more personalised support.

01 July 2013

Online ACC18 Enhancement - Multilingual Patient Information and Declaration / Consent

In response to your feedback, the online ACC18 continues to launch enhancements to assist Practitioners.

From 3 July the Patient Information and Declaration / Consent will be available in Te Reo Maori, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Punjabi, Samoan, Spanish, Thai, Tongan, Vietnamese, as well as English. Soon, Cook Island Maori will also be available. These will be downloadable from the Dashboard page of any patient but remain patient independent so a physical copy can be printed to hand to any patient; look for the ‘Resources’ link.

There has also been cosmetic changes to the Patient Information wording; a rearrangement of content and inclusion of headings to make it an easier read. There is no change to the Patient Declaration and Consent.

If you are one of the over 2000 Practitioners who now regularly use the online ACC18; thank you. If you are not then now would be a good time to begin, noting that additional return to work assistance for patients is offered solely through this online form. Self service for setting up and using the online ACC18 is available at www.acc.co.nz (use keyword eACC18 Self Service). However, feel free to contact ACC at 0800 222 994 or ebusinessinfo@acc.co.nz for more personalised support.

28 November 2012

A standalone version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is now available. It is located under the Forms menu.

If you have not previously accessed the Depression module you will need to add the relevant bestpractice concept maps to MedTech. To do this, view the 'New AUDIT Variation' news item in bestpractice (select the News menu item on the Dashboard) and click the link there.

The concept maps are required to 'Save' the form to the Outbox and to Screening.

30 September 2012

ACC has made a number of changes to the eACC18 medical certificate to increase the focus on fitness for work, rather than incapacity. These changes align with the research which shows that, staying at work or quickly returning to work will result in a better recovery for a patient.

All practitioners will see changes that include renaming the ‘Work Capacity’ section to ‘Fitness for Work’ and using terms such as ‘Fit for Some Work period’ instead of ‘Restricted Work period’.

Practitioners will progressively be given access to a section below the calendar where they can advise ACC if a client needs assistance with returning to work, and the type of assistance required. You will be advised individually when your practice’s system will be updated, however it will be available to all Practitioners by 1 February 2013.

17 July 2012

To take effect from July 18, in response to your feedback, the online ACC18 is launching a series of enhancements; your Practice Manager has been requested to pass on an email providing detail.

Thank you if you are one of the over 1500 Practitioners (using MedTech) who now regularly use the online ACC18. If you are not one, then now would be a good time to begin while ACC has additional dedicated support in place to assist.

30 June 2012

From 1 July 2012, the Get Checked programme will be replaced with the Diabetes Care Improvement Package.

The ability to invoice for Annual Diabetes Reviews via the bestpractice Diabetes with management module has been removed.

Please contact your PHO if you have any questions about the funding change.

11 May 2012

bestpractice Decision Support and Midlands Health Network have won the collaboration award in the Waikato DHB Best of Health Awards 2012. The project that netted the award was the roll out of the bestpractice Generic e-Referral System to Waikato general practices.

Read the Waikato DHB press release here.

19 March 2012

The electronic ACC18 now supports selection of Fit For Selected Work options (1st and 2nd Restriction) ahead of the Unfit option, plus a generic Practice log-in.

Now is a Good Time to Begin Using this Online Form

In the future, all ACC business will be transacted on-line. Therefore, now is a good time to give the eACC18 a go. The form is quick and easy to complete. If you do require assistance, ACC has dedicated support in place.

Freephone 0800 222 994 if you require assistance using the e-form.

27 February 2012

The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) is funding a trial of the bestpractice Stroke/TIA module.

FASTEST Trial Information

The Efficacy and Safety of TIA Electronic Support Tool (FASTEST) trial is a multi-centre randomized controlled clinical trial that aims to assess the efficacy and safety of a novel electronic tool to aid GPs in the management of patients suspected to have suffered from a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke. The study has received full ethics approval.

GPs are eligible to participate if:

• Their practice is located in Hawke’s Bay, Whanganui or Southern DHB
• They use an electronic Practice Management System
• They agree to be randomized into either the Intervention group (who will use the TIA/Stroke EDS) or the Control group (who agree not to use the TIA/Stroke EDS) for the 12 months of the intervention phase.

27 February 2012

March 2012

• bestpractice will launch a faster version of the Patient Prompt
• Simple Read Coder - will write back selected classifications
• Display current smoking status. Can be updated as required. Will still prompt when due.

April 2012

• Childhood immunisations added to the Patient Prompt

May 2012

• Drug monitoring - the Patient Prompt will advise when lab testing is recommended based on currently prescribed medications. For example, for a patient on Sodium Valproate, the Patient Prompt will prompt to recheck CBC, LFT and Electrolytes in 3 months and then annually. Will not prompt if prescription not ongoing or tests have already been completed.

27 February 2012

Those of you who have been using the Atrial Fibrillation module will have noticed that it is temporarily unavailable. This module is currently being updated and will be rereleased soon. Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

29 November 2011

Another year is drawing to a close and Christmas is just around the corner. The bestpractice Support Line will be open in a restricted capacity over the holiday season. View the details in the Holiday Season Support Line Hours announcement. The team at BPAC Inc wish you a merry Christmas and happy New Year.

14 November 2011

eACC18 Locum Support

If a GP or Nurse Practitioner is registered with BPAC as being located at one practice and then works at another practice, eACC18 will display a NZMC/NZNC field within the Declaration Tab. The GP or Nurse Practitioner should load their NZMC/NZNC number to ensure their name is correctly recorded within the eACC18.

Usability Improvements

• Patient Title (e.g. Mr, Mrs) field is no longer mandatory.
• Printing The Calendar Within The Work Capacity Tab - Click on the new printer icon.

18 August 2011

The CVD with Management, Diabetes with Management and CVD Quick modules have been updated to facilitate the extraction of HbA1c in mmol/mol.

HbA1c should now be reported by laboratories in mmol/mol units instead of a percentage. bestpractice will now only display the mmol/mol reading (if there is only a percentage recorded for the patient we will continue to display that reading). For more information, view the BPAC^NZ fact sheet.

18 July 2011

• Accessed via the Depression module under the Mental Health menu.
• Defaults to Elderly version if the patient is 60 years of age or older.
• Option to change to Adult version if preferred.
• Supports the assessment and management of depression in older people (60 years of age).
• A special edition of the BPAC^NZ journal - Depression in Older Adults - features an overview of the new module and contains supporting information based on the NZGG Guideline.

29 June 2011

In response to GP feedback, enhancements have been made to the electronic Medical Certificate that focus on making it more user-friendly. Your Practice Manager has been requested to pass on an email providing detail.

31 May 2011

In response to GP feedback, enhancements have been made to the electronic Medical Certificate. The enhancements are focussed on the calendar and printouts; making them more user-friendly. More GP-feedback generated enhancements are scheduled for release in late June.

A recent study has shown that patients who are assessed with the bestpractice Childhood Asthma module experienced improved outcomes following their assessment with the module.

The full text of the paper can be found in our articles section.