Enterprise Patient Administration System

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:13): My question is to the Minister for Health. Given the results of the Australian Medical Association survey, will the minister immediately pause the rollout of the EPAS system to any other sites and commission an independent review as to its suitability?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:13): The answer to that is no, absolutely not. I am very, very proud of EPAS and what it has achieved in the sites where it has been rolled out. It is important to note that the supposed survey that the AMA has conducted had a response rate of 2 per cent of people trained to use EPAS and so, of the 15,000 health workers in South Australia who are trained to use EPAS, this supposed survey had a response rate of less than 2 per cent.

We know that EPAS has made tremendous advances in care of patients and patient safety. It was rolled out at Noarlunga Hospital four years ago and now over 280,000 South Australians have an electronic medical record, 24 million clinical documents have been created in EPAS and around 1.3 million hospital visits have been registered in EPAS. Prescription errors have reduced from 5 per cent to 0.003 per cent.

Hospitals around the world struggle with medication errors. It is one of the most critical errors that happen in hospitals right around the world. All jurisdictions are struggling with how to reduce the incidence of prescription errors because it results in adverse outcomes for patients and it means that patients end up staying longer in hospital. Patients leaving hospital without the correct information has reduced from 12 per cent to 3½ per cent, and patient medication allergies are being recorded more accurately, increasing by 11 per cent.

I know from the clinicians I spoke to at the Repat that one of the biggest concerns they had about moving to the Flinders Medical Centre, which was raised time and time again both to me and through our consultation, was their fear that they would not be able to continue to use EPAS in the new rehab building at the Flinders Medical Centre.

The opposition would do well to perhaps get out into our hospitals and speak to some of our doctors and nurses at the coalface, rather than relying on the serial whingers in the AMA, who I do not believe represent the vast majority of medical workers and clinicians who work in our hospitals. Whatever improvements can and need to be made with EPAS, there is no doubt that, like any IT system, it is something that evolves over time and needs continuous improvement. But the vast majority will always say that, if it's a choice between paper records and EPAS, they will go for EPAS every single time.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call to order the members for Hammond, Kavel, Chaffey and Mount Gambier. Deputy leader.