The Art of Connection: Reimagining the Future of General Practice and the Electronic Health Record

A doctor patient consultation

In 2016, as part of Australia's Healthcare Homes training, I was fortunate to be invited to write the module on the template of the future from the 10 building block of higher performing primary care. For that training, I created a short video about the future of general practice. It told the story of a fictional patient named Bill and his doctor, Dr Angelene Murray. But the story wasn't really fiction-it was a vision. A vision of what healthcare could look like if we chose to redesign it with purpose, with people at the centre, and with the courage to imagine beyond our immediate constraints.

“We don’t want computers to think like doctors. We want computers to free up doctors to think like humans.” — Ziad Obermeyer

Almost a decade later, I find myself revisiting that story. Why? Because so much of what was imagined in that piece is no longer just plausible—it's increasingly within reach. And because, at Prestantia Health, we believe that painting the future is not just about prediction. It’s about shaping it. With intent, with collaboration, and with deep respect for the people and professionals who live and work in our health system every day.

A Glimpse Into the Future We Envisioned

Back then, we imagined a healthcare system that was prepared and proactive. One where clinicians could see the full context of a person's life before the consultation even began. Where data wasn't siloed or overwhelming but orchestrated into a rich, meaningful tapestry.

“Digital tools should enhance, not replace, the healing relationship between patient and clinician.” — Don Berwick

We envisioned a world where:

• Doctors had dashboards, not guesswork

• Patients shared real-time health data from wearables

• Social determinants were visible alongside clinical notes

• The consultation was recorded by an "ambient computer" that listened, transcribed, and interpreted in the background

• Shared decision-making tools appeared exactly when needed and flowed between doctor and patient

We also reimagined the practice environment: welcoming, tech-enabled, and human. From auto check-ins to health concierges, to rooms where teams came to the patient—not the other way around. And yet, at the centre of all this innovation remained the art of care: the conversation, the partnership, the connection.

Why It Matters Now

This story was never just about the future. It was about direction. It was about reminding ourselves that even as we digitise, we must humanise.

And it’s also about readiness. At Prestantia Health, we’ve spent years supporting practices to build capability—through the 10 Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care, through the Patient-Centred Medical Home (PCMH) model, and through quality improvement work that strengthens culture and systems.

We don’t just talk transformation. We walk alongside practices doing the work.

What Comes Next: Rethinking the EHR

As we look toward 2027, one of the most exciting frontiers is the evolution of the electronic health record (EHR). Because if we get it right, the EHR can stop being a burden, one of the commonest cause of clinician burnout and instead it can become a breakthrough. With so many States and Territories moving towards a 'single digital patient record' we have an opportunity for real change - real integration and real transformation.

From 'Filing Cabinet' to Clinical Partner

The EHR of the future will be ambient, adaptive, and multimodal. It will accept more than just typed text. It will listen. It will watch, it will observe, it may feel and it will synthesise.

Imagine an EHR that takes in:

• Voice from your consultation

• Audio from your digital stethoscope

• Images of skin lesions, otoscopy, ophthalmoscopy, and wounds and so on

• Data from ECGs, spirometry, and wearables and body scans

• Hand-drawn notes or diagrams from your digital pad

• Videos of a patient’s gait, or musculo-skeltal examination even from a telehealth assessment

It won’t just store that information or trasncribe it. It will anticipate what you need next and handle those routine complexities effortlessly. The system will draw on the patient’s full clinical history—their trajectory, patterns, preferences—to generate the outputs we now spend too much time producing manually and then processing:

• A structured note

• A referral letter

• A pathology request

• A prescription

• A shared care plan

• And even a scheduled follow-up

As Dr Robert Wachter once said:

"The digital record should be one that draws a portrait of the patient’s clinical history."

Not a list. Not a log. A portrait. One that evolves in real time, reflecting the complexity and nuance of real lives.

A Shared Workspace, Not a Silo

The EHR will no longer be the domain of the clinician alone. It will be a shared environment where patients, families, and the broader care team can collaborate. It will reflect what matters to the patient, not just what’s the matter with the patient.

Visualisations will support health literacy. Alerts will support safety. Pathway-linked prompts will support evidence-based care. And patients will move more and more from passive recipients to active participants in their care.

“In the digital age, the real innovation will be delivering care that is both high-tech and high-touch.” — Atul Gawande

Made Possible by Purpose, Not Just Technology

This isn’t about gadgets or buzzwords. It’s about designing technology around human needs, clinical workflows, and team-based care.

At Prestantia Health, we help practices build the foundation for this future:

• Strong clinical governance

• Data stewardship

• Team-based workflows

• A culture of continuous improvement

Because transformation doesn’t start with software. It starts with vision. And it becomes real through action.

Let’s Paint the Future, Together

We invite you to revisit the vision. To ask what’s possible. And to join us in doing what’s doable—today.

Because the future isn’t just coming.

We’re already building it.