To help practitioners, including optometrists, better understand and meet their health record management obligations, seven of Ahpra’s national boards have developed two new health record management resources.
The resources, available on Ahpra’s resources page, include a summary of the guidance about record management given in the shared Code of conduct, and a self-reflective tool to help assess the adequacy of record keeping and management practices.
The one-page summary, Managing health records – Summary of obligations, aims to help practitioners meet their health record management requirements.
“It summarises the information in the Code of conduct about health record management requirements and brings all the guidance on record keeping and management from the code into a single document,” Ahpra said.
The agency said the Managing health records – Self-reflective tool is designed to help practitioners reflect on their record keeping and management processes.
“The interactive tool aims to help practitioners assess how they manage their health records and to identify opportunities for improvement,” it said.
The tools have been developed by the following National Boards for the relevant professions:
- Chiropractic
- Medical Radiation Practice
- Occupational Therapy
- Optometry
- Osteopathy
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry
“All registered health practitioners must keep good health records. Good records contribute to the continuity of healthcare and help keep the public safe,” Ahpra said.
National Board’s expectations about health records are outlined in their respective codes of conduct or ethics. In addition to these requirements, practitioners must also consider state, territory or Commonwealth legislation about health records and privacy that may apply.
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