Monash Health has selected Consultmed to deliver a single digital referral platform across its non-admitted services, replacing referral processes currently relying on fax, email and a range of legacy systems.
The platform will be rolled out across Monash Health’s seven major acute and subacute hospital sites, as well as its community and ambulatory services across south east Melbourne, following a competitive tender process.
Implementation is due to begin in October, with the first sites expected to go live in the second half of 2027.
Consultmed will provide a single digital pathway for referrals across medical, surgical, paediatric, nursing, allied health, community and ambulatory services.
GPs and other community clinicians will be able to identify the appropriate service, complete referrals and securely send information required for triage through the platform.
Consultmed integrates with practice systems including Best Practice, MedicalDirector, MediRecords and Gentu, as well as hospital EMRs including Oracle Cerner and Altera Health’s Sunrise.
Patient demographics, clinical history, medications and supporting documents can be incorporated directly into referrals, while structured digital forms will be used to capture required clinical and administrative information before submission.
Referrers and patients will also be able to track whether a referral has been received, accepted, redirected or returned. Outcomes can be sent back to clinicians through their practice management system, with patients notified by email and SMS.
The deployment will also include Consultmed’s Advice & Guidance capability, allowing GPs, nurse practitioners and allied health practitioners to seek advice from Monash Health specialists before deciding whether an outpatient referral is required.
The platform will incorporate Victorian statewide referral criteria into the workflow and is intended to support the state’s Specialist Access Now program.
Consultmed is already being used by Bayside’s Alfred Care Group, while Gippsland Health Alliance is rolling out the platform across 11 sites in regional Victoria. South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network is also using the technology for palliative care referrals.
The company said participating health services would be able to share, redirect and transfer referrals and clinical information between healthcare networks, while its My Health Record integration can allow relevant referral and clinical information to be added to a patient’s national record.
The rollout will also include Consultpilot AI, which can convert paper, email and PDF documents into structured digital referrals and support automated triage.
Consultmed CEO and consultant paediatrician Associate Professor Vikram Palit said the Monash Health deployment also had personal significance, having trained at Monash University and Monash Children’s Hospital.
“What excites me just as much is what this can enable beyond any one health service. A GP in south east Melbourne should be able to use the same digital infrastructure to refer a patient to Monash Health, The Alfred or a health service in Gippsland, without completing duplicate forms or repeatedly re-entering the same clinical information,” A/Prof Palit said.
“The referral and supporting information should then follow the patient wherever their care needs to go.”
A/Prof Palit said connecting primary care, PHN-commissioned services and hospitals through common infrastructure could create a more connected referral network, noting “that is interoperability in practice.”
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