Important Update for Best Practice Users

We’re excited to announce that the latest upgrade to Best Practice introduces powerful new features for capturing patient cultural demographics. You can now record vital details like country of birth, language spoken, interpreter needs, and cultural background with improved accuracy.

Why These Changes Are Crucial:

Collecting detailed cultural demographics is key to offering culturally responsive care. Although some patients might initially hesitate to share their cultural background, many will feel more comfortable as they build trust with your practice. Completing these fields will also streamline your practice’s audits on cultural demographics, ensuring compliance with Quality Improvement standards.

Maximizing the Benefits of These Updates:

1. Update Your Registration Forms: Revise your patient registration forms to include questions about preferred language, interpreter needs, country of birth, and cultural background or ethnicity. Remember to continue collecting information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, and consider adding a question like, “What is your cultural background?” to better understand each patient’s unique needs.
2. Engage and Educate Your Team: Share resources and knowledge with your staff to underscore the significance of cultural background in patient care. This will help your team appreciate the value of this information in delivering personalized care.
3. Approach Cultural Conversations Sensitively: Discuss as a practice the best ways to ask patients about their cultural background. Ideally, this should be done privately, perhaps with a trusted provider or through an updated registration form filled out while the patient waits to see the doctor. This approach respects the patient’s privacy and encourages more open communication.
4. Equip Your Team with the Right Tools: Ensure your staff are well-trained on how to use the new and existing cultural data fields in Best Practice. Provide them with guidance on where to find these fields in the system and refer to the visual aids provided below for additional support.

A Note on Capturing Cultural Information:

When asking about country of birth, even for patients who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, it’s important to remember that they might have been born overseas. While this question may sometimes seem unnecessary, being prepared for it ensures accurate and respectful data collection.

Contact us

If you need further assistance, feel free to contact us at (08) 8219 5900. Alternatively, you can reach out via email:

1. Practice Support: practicesupport@adelaidephn.com.au
2. Digital Health: digitalhealthinfo@adelaidephn.com.au

Links & resources

• Ethnicity Field Best Practise step by step guide (1 MB - pdf)

13 August 2024