Guest Article on Secure Pathology Messaging III - The AAPP Perspective.

Ann Webb, Deputy CEO of the Australian Association of Pathology Practices has written another contribution to the secure messaging discussion, from their perspective. This adds another view to the discussion for all to consider.

Ann writes:

In a guest blog by Dr Ian Colclough (see the entry for February 1, 2007) there were a number of references recently to the position held by pathology laboratories with respect to electronic messaging. It was felt by the Australian Association of Pathology Practices (AAPP) that a clarification of that position may be helpful.

Members of the AAPP provide more than 90% of community pathology services in Australia. The AAPP has a working group in health informatics and has supported standards development in this area for more than 10 years.

Among these standards were the Australian standards that Dr Colclough references for the implementation of HL7 v2.3.1. Indeed the Standards Australia Working Group that has carriage of the AS4700.2 and HB262 was formed through the efforts of AAPP member’s and in 1996 after formally reviewing the available messaging standards (including EDIFACT and PIT) unanimously endorsed the adoption of HL7 and immediately set about producing an Australian implementation guide.

This was first published in 1998 five years after PIT, a simple document format, was developed and adopted by pathology practices to get electronic messaging started in Australia. The structure for reports provides for the transfer of both atomic results and a rendering to ensure that the intended pathology report is conveyed with high fidelity.

Pathology practices have since been involved in a number projects to test and improve these messaging standards including communications with cancer and communicable disease registries.

The AAPP endorses ‘AS4700.2-2004 Implementation of Health Level Seven (HL7) Version 2.3.1 Part 2: Pathology orders and results’. Furthermore member practices currently provide significant volumes of electronic messaging to GPs, Specialists, and hospitals using these standard messages. The Pathology Practices are not the source of delay in widespread standardisation and would be pleased to move their customers to this mode of messaging now. The report receiving systems however have to be capable of managing these messages properly. That PIT is provided at all by AAPP member practices is because that is what their customers have asked for.

The AAPP continues to work closely with Standards Australia and NEHTA to establish the infrastructure that Australia needs for connected health care.

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Thanks Ann!

David.