Availability
and how to order records
The South Australian Pregnancy Record is
available free of charge to all antenatal providers in South
Australia, both in the public and private sectors.
Administrative Guidelines for the use of the SAPR
can be viewed here.
To order the South Australian Pregnancy Record contact:
SA Health Distribution Centre
Phone: (08) 8350 4160
Fax: (08) 8350 4161
Email:
sahealthdc@health.sa.gov.au
To
discuss medical record issues contact:
BELINDA SYDES
Health Information Manager
Medical Record Advisory Unit
Department of Health
PO Box 287 RUNDLE MALL, ADELAIDE SA 5000
Phone: 08 8226 8837
Fax: 08 8226 8150
Email: Belinda.Sydes@health.sa.gov.au
About
the South Australian Pregnancy Record
The South Australian Pregnancy Record MR31
(SAPR) is contained in a bright orange
vinyl folder along with information brochures.
The colour orange is recommended for obstetric medical
records and makes the SAPR very distinctive.
The SAPR is designed to be held by pregnant women rather
than their health provider. Notes are made and added to the
SAPR by all the health providers consulted during pregnancy and provision is
also made for women to add their own notes, comments or questions.
Hand-held records are not a new concept, and have been in use for
many years in the United Kingdom and elsewhere
Instructions
for women using the
SAPR
On the front cover of the SAPR you will
find the following brief instructional information. For more
detailed information go to page 14 of the Record.
Please take care of this record as it is the
only official record of your pregnancy.
You should bring this record with you when
you visit any health professional.
Translations
of instructions
Brief instructional information is provided in the following
languages (PDF
help):
A
South Australian initiative
Several key South Australian reports reiterated recommendations
from the World Health Organisation and Australia’s National Health
and Medical Research Council for the introduction of hand-held
antenatal records.
In 1996, a South Australian steering committee was formed to
oversee the development and trial of a hand-held antenatal record.
Funding was provided by the Department of Health Primary
Health Care Initiatives Program.
The Steering Committee was chaired by the late Dr Brian Pridmore of The
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, South Australia and included
other obstetricians, midwives, general practitioners, consumer
representatives and staff from the Department of Health.
About the trial
A prototype hand-held record was developed and 5,000 were
prepared for the trial. The prototype, titled the Pregnancy Health
Record, was distributed in kits with the vinyl folder, information
brochure, translations and a hospital medical record.
The trial was held in Adelaide, the capital city of South
Australia and two rural areas. The metropolitan teaching hospitals
in the trial included Flinders Medical Centre, The Queen Elizabeth
Hospital and Lyell McEwin Health Service. The Pregnancy
Health Record was issued in their
antenatal clinics and through general practitioners involved in
shared antenatal care programs. General practitioners providing
antenatal care in the two rural areas of Crystal Brook and Port
Augusta also were involved.
The trial was very successful. Some of the key findings included
- 91% of health professionals strongly supported or supported
the concept of a standard South Australian hand-held antenatal
record.
- 94.1% of health professionals encouraged women to carry the
hand-held record all the time.
- Over 50% of health professionals reported that the hand-held
record improved communication with women and with other health
professionals.
- 88.1% of women found the hand-held record very helpful or
helpful.
- 94.7% found the hand-held record helped them know what was
happening in their pregnancy.
- 94% looked at the hand-held record between antenatal visits.
Following the trial the hand-held record has
undergone review every second year. The Record is now called the
South Australian Pregnancy Record.
The SAPR
Each SAPR contains the Record
itself and information brochures as follows:
Having a baby:
Breastfeeding: What you should know:
Topic links
Pregnancy Outcome Statistics Unit
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