Quick links:
- About POLAR
- Costs
- Benefits
- POLAR demonstration video
- Software compatibility
- Request POLAR
- Privacy and security
- Walrus
- Training and courses
- POLAR Walkthroughs
- PDSAs
- Patient Flagging
- Increasing your practice income: Business Modelling resources
- Accounts and passwords
- Troubleshooting
- Resources for practices
- Resources for patients
- POLAR Mapping
- EMPHN Practice Data Quality Report
- Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI)
- Support
- Frequently asked questions
About POLAR
POLAR stands for Population Level Analysis & Reporting (POLAR) system. POLAR is a business intelligence tool that uses extracted data from your clinical and billing software program and can be used by practice staff and GPs. Practices can use POLAR for quality improvement, support business development and help provide better patient centered care.
More information about POLAR can befound here.
Costs
There is no cost to practices within the EMPHN catchment. An agreement to provide de-identified practice data to the PHN is required for the use of the tool. EMPHN is then able to identify system gaps and work towards developing better services for the community. POLAR is now web based and the installation is very quick and can be managed via Teamviewer into the practice at a time that suits.
Benefits
- Assists practices to meet their PIP QI requirements
- Identifying patients that are eligible for Health Assessments, Care Plans, Team Care Arrangements and Reviews and Mental Health Treatment Plans
- Assists with recalling patients for immunisations, screening tests and other preventative health items
- Assists practices with business planning
- Increase data quality and recording to assist with accreditation
- Improve patient outcomes
POLAR demonstration video
Software compatibility
POLAR is Compatible with the following Software:
Medical Director | |
Best Practice | |
Zedmed | |
Medtech | In development |
Genie | In development |
Helix | In development |
Practices that have mismatched billing and clinical software may not get full functionality
Request POLAR
Want POLAR installed in your general practice? What's next?
Complete the below documents and email to digitalhealth@emphn.org.au
Privacy and security
- POLAR Fact Sheet
- POLAR Data Security Information
- POLAR patient opt-out poster
- Privacy Policy Outcome Health
- POLAR patient opt-out instructions
- RACGP Secondary use of general practice data
Walrus
Walrus is a point of care tool for GPs. Walrus prompts you about specific items, missing data, clinical prompts, risk scores, PIP-QI or MBS items for the patient you have open in your Clinical Information System. This is a short demonstration video. If you would like to have access to Walrus please email digitalhealth@emphn.org.au.
Training and Courses
POLAR Training Courses via EMPHN Learning Management System (LMS)
POLAR Training Courses are now available on the EMPHN Learning Management System for GPs and Practice Staff including:
- Introduction to POLAR (Course Duration 60 minutes Certification available upon completion)
- Using POLAR reports to identify patients at risk of Cardiovascular Disease or Hospitalisation at risk patients (Course duration 60 minutes RACGP CPD Points available)
This online course has been developed to provide Clinicians with the skills, tools and knowledge to be pro-active in health promotion activities for patients who are either at risk of developing chronic diseases or improve patient outcomes for patients who have chronic complex health conditions through the use of POLAR.
To request access to EMPHN Learning Management System (LMS), email digitalhealth@emphn.org.au. View our guide on how to utilise the LMS.
POLAR Training videos via YouTube
- What is POLAR - Watch here
- How to access POLAR - Watch here
- Managing users in POLAR - Watch here
- Applying filters in POLAR - Watch here
- Applying filters within Excel to sort data - Watch here
- Export, Format and Print POLAR Patient Lists within Excel - Watch here
- POLAR Education Portal and Data Mapping - Watch here
- Data Quality - Watch here
- POLAR Hospitalisation Risk Report - Watch here
- Introduction to POLAR reports - Watch here
- POLAR Cardiovascular Disease Reports - Watch here
- MBS care plans - Watch here
- Diabetes Quality Improvement Activities - Watch here
- POLAR Videos using the POLAR Practice Incentive Quality Improvement (PIP QI) Report - Watch here
- Clinical Indicators Video - Watch here
- POLAR Identifying Patients Who Are Eligible And Would Benefit From A Health Assessment - Watch here
- How To Opt Patients Out Of POLAR - Watch here
- Increasing cervical screening rates in your practice (QIM 9) - Watch here
- Heart Health Checks Webinar - Watch here
- Interpreting your EMPHN POLAR Practice Report - Watch here
- Quality Improvement Activity: Diabetes Management (Quality Improvement Measure 1) - Watch here
NEW
Hospitalisation Risk POLAR Report is now available. Watch this webinar to find out how to use this report or contact your Digital Health Team at digitalhealth@emphn.org.au for an overview.
POLAR Q&A Webinars are held by Outcome Health monthly. Registration is available via the front page of POLAR when you first login. There is also a link to the previous months webinar available if you have missed viewing.
Practices also have resources available through the POLAR program under Help:
POLAR Walkthroughs
- NEW! POLAR Walkthrough identifying patients eligible for a Shingrix Vaccine
- NEW! POLAR Walkthrough Patient Flagging in a Practice
- NEW! MyMedicare POLAR Walkthrough Telehealth patients seen in the last 12 months
- NEW! MyMedicare POLAR Walkthrough hospitalisation avoidance report - Identifying patients most at risk
- NEW! MyMedicare POLAR Walkthrough identify patients with a chronic disease with 2 or more f2f visits in the last 24 months
- NEW! Walkthrough - Medications
- Walkthrough SMS Broadcasting
- COVID Vaccine 6 months - 5 years
- Patients eligible for a Flu Vaccine
- Tracking Free Flu Vaccines
- COVID -19 Booster 4 Winter Dose
- COVID-19 Report finding patients for a booster vaccination
- COVID-19 Report finding immunocompromised patients for a booster vaccination
- POLAR patients lists export-format-print (using excel)Applying Excel filters to columns in Excel
- Patients eligible for a Government funded Flu Vaccine
- Find patients eligible for an Indigenous Health Assessment
- Flu Vaccine Predictor
- Patients eligible for 75+ Health Assessments
- Patients eligible for a Government funded Zostavax Vaccination
- Patients eligible for a GP Mental Health Plan
- Patients eligible for a GPMP or GPMP Review
- Patients eligible for Heart Health Check
- Patients QI Activity Patients with incorrect diabetes coding
- Patients with Diabetes no Hba1c recorded in the last 12 months
- Keep patients at high risk of hospitalisation at home through comprehensive preventative care
- PDSA: Ensuring all patients with diabetes are coded in the correct format in your Clinical Information System
- PDSA: Implementing WALRUS Tool in the Practice
- PDSA: Ensuring all Active/RACGP Active patients with Diabetes have a GPMP performed at least every 24 months
- PDSA: Increase the number of patients with Diabetes Mellitus having had a HbA1c measurement recorded in the last 12 months
- Walkthrough Implementing and Setting up Walrus
PDSAs
- New! PDSA Implementing 45-49 Year Old Health Checks
- New! PDSA Implementing indigenous Health Assessments
- New! PDSA template Cervical Screening QIM 9
- New! Heart Health Checks
- New! Ensuring patients with Diabetes Mellitus have an active GPMP
- New! Data Quality Diabetes Coding
- New! 75+ Health Assessments
- Increasing Allergy and Reaction Recording
- Increasing Shared Health Summary uploads to the My Health Record for patients over 65 years
- Increasing the number of patients with Chronic or Complex needs having a Shared Health Summary uploaded to the My Health Record
- Increasing COVID-19 Vaccinations in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Implementing the use of Walrus Point of Care Tool in the practice
- PDSA Increasing smoking recording
- PDSA using My Health Record to update immunisation status in patient records
- PDSA Increasing ethnicity status recording
- QI Activity Recall Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 No HbA1c Measurement Recorded In The Last 12 Months
- Quality Improvement activity - Demographic and Clinical Data Cleansing
- QI Activity Implementing Preventative Healthcare To Keep At Risk Patients Out Of Hospital
- PDSA increasing shared health summaries uploaded to the My Health Record
Patient Flagging
Increasing your practice income Business Modelling resources
Accounts and passwords
POLAR enables you to allow or restrict access to specific reports. For example, as an administrator you may prefer all staff to have access to the Summary report but restrict access to the Summary Business report to yourself and the business owner.
You nominate a POLAR administrator when you sign up.
The processes for setting up accounts, managing access, and resetting passwords are covered in the resources below. We recommend you start by viewing the set up guide video.
Contact us if you need help with these processes or alternatively you may search for the solution on the POLAR Confluence found here (use your POLAR login).
Troubleshooting
Resources for practices
Resources for patients
POLAR Mapping
POLAR Mapping information is available in the POLAR program. Go to HELP then Data Mapping for this page:
EMPHN Practice Data Quality Report
A hard copy of your Practice report is available upon request that demonstrates practice performance against benchmarks.
The Practice Data Quality Report can lead to better patient outcomes and identify areas of improvement in your practice.
See our flyer for more information.
To request your practice report please contact: digitalhealth@emphn.org.au
Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI)
The PIP QI Incentive started on 1 August 2019.
If you do not currently have a preferred data extraction tool required to meet the data sharing PIP QI component, EMPHN can provide you with our existing data extraction tool (POLAR).
Visit our webpage for more information.
Support
For support contact EMPHN's digital health team on 03 9046 0354
or digitalhealth@emphn.org.au.
Frequently asked questions
FAQs can be found here