A streamlined patient record system digitally connecting medical records is set to be rolled out across NSW in a state first.
The single system will consolidate the dozens of medical filing and management systems in use across NSW Health.
Current data from nine separate electronic medical records, 10 administration systems and five pathology laboratory information management systems is often unable to be shared or integrated in real time.
The current system for recording health records was "complex, cumbersome and outdated", Health Minister Ryan Park said.
"We need to make it easier for people to transfer information, to access information, to be able to - if you're a clinician - get information about a person without having to force them to tell their story over and over again," he said on Thursday.
Health staff are often chasing medical records from up to 15 local health districts, two specialty health networks and the numerous NSW Health pathology laboratories across the state.
"In NSW hospitals we've got multiple systems, multiple databases, multiple digital platforms ... it doesn't work," Mr Park said.
The health minister said the existing system could lead to duplicated data and information gaps, as well as requiring patients to recall and repeat complex medical information at a time when they were feeling unwell.
Under the replacement system, members of the public will be provided secure access to their medical data, while clinicians across different sites will be able to view the same information about a patient.
Mr Park said the change was about a more efficient way of delivering health care.
The system will differ to the national My Health Record scheme as it can only be accessed by authorised NSW Health staff working across the state's public hospitals who are involved in a patient’s care.
Patients will also have access to an online portal and NSW Health hospitals will continue to send discharge summaries and other information to a patient’s My Health Record, if they have one.
