A small marae-based GP clinic in the Waikato is going to the High Court to try to get its data back from a medical IT company.
Waharoa's Raungaiti Marae Health Clinic has tried for more than two years to get a full clone of its patient data after finishing a contract with Health Support Systems for a practice management system.
Rawiri McKree Jansen, one of the clinic's GPs, says the clinic is small and "barely" makes a profit, but has several patients with complex needs.
It needs to be able to put its full patient data into its new practice management IT system to be able to seek funding and support for them, he says.
The clinic had taken a contract out with Health Support Systems to run Indici software, one of the main practice management systems used in New Zealand.
But when it found the system was not a good fit, it ended the contract and had expected to get its data back within a couple of weeks in a way that it could be put into a new system, says Rawiri.
But that has not happened and earlier this month, the trustees filed a claim in the High Court.
"This particular arrangement has been far too long, we're frustrated. Enough's enough.
"It's an entirely reasonable expectation that the data can be packaged up safely, reliably, accurately, handed back to the clinic so it can put it back into a PMS [patient management system]," he said.
The IT company is owned by Pinnacle Group which also ran a network of North Island GP clinics serving more than 400,000 people.
Chief executive Justin Butcher says it takes its contractual obligations very seriously and has been working with the software provider and the marae trust to find a resolution.
While he can't comment on the specifics because of the legal case, he understands the frustrations, he says.
The "data landscape" can be complex and clear standards are needed for secure data handling practices, he says.
"We understand the importance of this and are actively involved in efforts to develop a national standard, which would ultimately benefit all stakeholders."
1 comment
Hmmm
Posted on 27-03-2024 19:03 | By Let's get real
Probably more behind the story.
I certainly don't like the thought of turning up for an appointment with a GP, to hear that they don't have my records. Not the sort of professionalism that I would expect from someone dealing with health problems and definitely not something that I would expect to see being raised in the media.
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