General Practitioners and Practice Managers in the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network region should be aware of upcoming changes to how Western Health sends cardiology reports.
From 6 May 2026, Western Health will begin delivering the following Cardiology investigation reports through Secure Message Delivery (SMD):
- Holter (24–hour ECG) reports
- Cardiac Catheterisation reports
- Transesophageal Echo reports
- Exercise Stress Echo reports
- Dobutamine Stress Echo reports
- Transthoracic Echo reports.
Western Health sends approximately 25,000 documents each week via SMD including the following documents:
- Emergency Department discharge summaries
- Inpatient discharge summaries
- Cancer multidisciplinary meeting minutes
- Clinician letters
- Pharmacy medication lists
- Death notifications
- Admission notifications
- Referral outcomes
- Referral schedules
- Referral acknowledgements
- Discharge notifications
- ERCP reports
- Colonoscopy reports
- Flexible Sigmoidoscopy reports
- Endoscopic Ultrasounds reports
- Endoscopy reports
- Bronchoscopy reports.
HealthLink, the messaging platform transporting documents, relies on information from the National Health Services Directory (NHSD) to ensure messages are sent to the correct practitioners.
To support timely and accurate delivery:
- Please ensure your clinic and provider details are up to date in the National Health Services Directory (NHSD).
- You can review or update your information via the NHSD (Health Direct), or, if registered, though Provider Connect Australia.
If you are not yet registered for HealthLink and would like to learn more, please visit our HealthLink SMD FAQs (westernhealth.org.au) website or contact the General Practice Integration Unit (GPIU) at gp@wh.org.au
Due to updated processes, some practices may notice an increased volume of Echo Reports overall.
For enquiries about SMD message delivery, please contact the Western Health SMD Officer on: whmedrec@wh.org.au
Disclaimer: This article was provided by Western Health. While every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network does not warrant or represent the accuracy, currency and completeness of any information or material included within.
