Digital health maturity assessments

Through regular assessments, tailored resources and training, Murray PHN supports local providers – including allied health, aged care, general practice and pharmacy – to measure and improve their digital health maturity.

Following the successful rollout of the 2023 Digital Health Maturity Assessment, Murray PHN is again inviting residential aged care facilities, community pharmacies and allied health providers to take part. Invitations were emailed on 26 March 2026. If you do not receive your individual link, contact our Digital Health team. General practice assessments opened on 28 April 2026.

What is digital health maturity?

Digital health maturity has shifted from being a purely technical consideration to a key strategic factor in strengthening health system resilience. It describes how effectively an organisation uses digital tools, data and systems to deliver safe, connected and efficient care. It’s more than simply having clinical software; it’s about how well these tools are integrated into everyday practice and across the patient journey.

A digitally mature practice:

  • has strong digital culture and leadership
  • engages consumers in digital tools (telehealth, electronic requests and ePrescriptions)
  • optimises My Health Record
  • maintains essential cybersecurity
  • participates in continuous quality improvement.

Achieving this requires:

  • registering and configuring digital health tools
  • embedding digital workflows into clinical software
  • training staff and building capability
  • monitoring use and embedding continuous improvement
  • ensuring cybersecurity and compliance with national standards.

Digital health maturity assessments

Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy (2023-2028) recognises the need for an uplift in digital health maturity to deliver a more connected and person-centred health system. PHNs have partnered with Semantic Consulting to provide digital health maturity assessments using a framework that aligns with internationally recognised digital health maturity concepts (including those described by the Global Digital Health Partnership) and refined using insights from Australian organisations.

The assessments are completed via invite-only surveys, which seek to understand:

  • infrastructure
  • technology
  • meaningful use
  • readiness and willingness for digital change
  • digital literacy
  • clinical leadership.

By completing the assessment, practices can gain insights into what’s working well and where improvements can be made to create efficiencies, implement safer workflows and deliver more coordinated care. Practices will also see where they sit on the digital maturity scale — Foundational, Intermediate or Advanced.

Key points for participating

  • Participation is voluntary and confidential (Semantic Consulting privacy policy)
  • The customisable survey assesses core components of digital health maturity
  • It takes less than 20 minutes to complete the assessment
  • You will receive an individual digital health action plan – noting for general practices and pharmacy, each action is mapped to related to practice standards.

Practice-level benefits

  • Better workflows and reduced admin: Integrated digital processes save time, reduce duplication and support consistent, reliable care
  • Improved data quality: Accurate, structured data supports clinical decision making, QI activities and accreditation requirements
  • Stronger cyber security: Mature digital systems help protect patient information and reduce risk

Consumer-level benefits

  • Smoother care experiences: From appointments to follow-up, consumers experience clearer communication and more connected care
  • Improved safety: Accurate information shared between providers means fewer gaps, delays or repeated tests
  • Better access: Digital systems support telehealth, ePrescribing and patient-centred communication options

Health system-level benefits

  • More coordinated care across providers through secure and consistent information sharing
  • Better population health planning enabled by reliable, high-quality practice data
  • Improved efficiency and sustainability by reducing duplication and manual processes

Assessment results

In 2023, Murray PHN engaged Semantic Consulting to help facilitate Digital Health Maturity Assessments across local community pharmacies, residential aged care homes, general practices and allied health services. The results provided us with key insights into what digital tools, data and systems were being used by each sector and in each region, supporting planning efforts to increase digital uplift to deliver safer, more connected and efficient care. Detailed findings, including results, key insights and recommendations from each assessment are documented in individual reports and shared back with providers.

A snapshot of the key findings and themes emerging from the analysis of the 2023 Digital Health Maturity Assessments:

Digital maturity

  • Self-perceived readiness for digital health was generally high across all healthcare service types.
  • The average digital health maturity score across the region was 66.1 out of 100. General practice had the highest average maturity score (70.8) particularly Central Victorian practices (71.7), while allied health recorded the lowest (62.1), particularly Goulburn Valley allied health providers (57.5).

Participation and digital health maturity by sector:

Digital health maturity by region and sector:

Digital tools and initiatives

  • Registration with Provider Digital Access (PRODA)/Provider Connect Australia (PCA)™ was low across all regions. Central Victoria had the highest rate of PCA™ registration (23%).
  • Telehealth use was high across all regions (>80%), mainly telephone rather than video.
  • Electronic prescribing, particularly for tokens, was widely adopted across all regions (>94%).
  • eReferral use was moderate across all regions (57-74%).
  • Use of secure messaging was rated as moderate to low across all regions (26-48%).
  • HealthPathways use was also moderate to low across all regions. Goulburn Valley recorded the lowest use (31%).
  • Use of My Health Record was moderate across all regions. The highest use was recorded in the North East (63%) and the lowest in the North West (43%).

Digital health initiatives identified by region:

Future reassessments

Regular Digital Health Maturity Assessments will continue to be offered to enable ongoing measurement of digital uptake and use and help Murray PHN to deliver targeted support where it’s needed most.

Resources

Contact

If your practice is ready to strengthen digital health systems, our Digital Health team can help you understand your current maturity, identify actions and resources so that you can deliver smarter and safer patient care. For support, email: digitalhealth@murrayphn.org.au

Last Update: May 26th, 2026

Murray PHN acknowledges its catchment crosses over many unceded First Nations Countries, following the Dhelkunya Yaluk (Healing River).

We pay our respects and give thanks to the Ancestors, Elders and Young people for their nurturing, protection and caregiving of these sacred lands and waterways, acknowledging their continuing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.

We are grateful for the sharing of Country and the renewal that Country gives us. We acknowledge and express our sorrow that this sharing has come at a personal, spiritual and cultural cost to the wellbeing of First Nations peoples. We commit to addressing the injustices of colonisation across our catchment, and to listening to the wisdom of First Nations communities who hold the knowledge to enable healing. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.