National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR)

Cancer screening saves lives. The NCSR is a digital health platform that enables a single electronic record for each person in Australia participating in cervical and bowel screening. It helps improve cancer screening outcomes for individuals by inviting and reminding eligible people when they are due for screening, and by providing screening histories to a patient’s healthcare providers to help inform appropriate care.

The NCSR is the first digital health system in Australia to comprehensively link all relevant population screening stakeholders. Commonwealth and state health authorities, GPs, specialists, public and private pathology services, and the participant.

The NCSR currently:

• Maintains a national database of cervical screening records.
• Invites eligible persons to commence cervical screening when they turn 25.
• Reminds participants when they are due and overdue for cervical screening.
• Provides a participant’s cervical screening history to laboratories to inform screening recommendations.
• Provides a ‘safety net’ for participants who are at risk and have not attended further testing by prompting them (and their healthcare providers) to have follow up tests.

Find out more on the NCSR website

Real Time Prescription Monitoring

In 2016 there were over 1,800 deaths in Australia as a result of prescription medicine overdoses. Telstra Health’s joint venture for pharmacy and medications management solutions, Fred IT Group, was recently awarded the contract to build the National Data Exchange to enable the introduction of a national approach to real-time prescription monitoring.

This national approach will play a significant role in helping to prevent prescription medication misuse by:

• Providing health professionals with real time, accurate and up to date clinical data about their patients’ monitored medication history at the point of prescribing and dispensing.
• Enabling pharmacists and GPs to identify and support patients who are at risk.

Fred IT also built the Victorian real-time prescription monitoring system (SafeScript) which went live on 2nd October 2018. Fred IT will draw on its experience with this solution to support the national extension of real time prescription monitoring to health professionals in all states and territories. 

Find out more about SafeScript

Population Health Solutions

Telstra Health marks Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

30 June 2022

During Bowel Cancer Awareness Month Telstra Health employees were joined by Dr Hooi Ee – specialist gastroenterologist, Head of Gastroenterology at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, and member of the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) Quality Committee, for a discussion focused on raising awareness of Australia’s second deadliest cancer. 

Tell me more

Population Health Solutions

New observational study reveals higher risk for women with HPV 16 and 18 in the first round of HPV screening

22 April 2022

An Australian study analysed data from the first two years of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program which transitioned from Pap testing to primary human papillomavirus (HPV) cervical screening in December 2017.

Tell me more

Population Health Solutions

Digital transformation of cancer screening

23 March 2022

The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) is helping reduce the reliance on fax within the healthcare system with the introduction of new digital channels. In just one year, the number of fax requests for cervical screening histories received by the NCSR has dropped by 94%, due to the release of secure online alternatives to access and submit patient screening information in real-time.

Tell me more

Population Health Solutions

Telstra Health’s National Cancer Screening Register introduces channels to access and submit patient information online

05 February 2021

The National Cancer Screening Register, operated by Telstra Health on behalf of the Australian Government, has released an online portal for healthcare providers and integrated with the primary care practice management system, Best Practice, to enable access to patient bowel and cervical screening information.

Tell me more

SafeScript solution wins at AIIA National iAwards

The “SafeScript” Real-Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) solution that Fred IT Group (our Joint Venture partner) developed for their client, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria, won the award in the category of Infrastructure & Platforms Innovation of the Year at the Australian Information Industry Association’s (AIIA) National iAwards on Thursday, 29th of August 2019.

Tell me more