Electronic Discharge Summaries to GPs from some Emergency Departments & Minor Injury & Illness Clinics are changing from 4 August.

The Transfer of Care Information (ToCI) Project strengthens Clinical Handover communications (such as ED discharge summaries) from Queensland Health to community care providers. The new Clinical Handover communications will align with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare - National Guidelines for Presentation of Electronic Discharge Summaries .

What GPs & Practice Staff need to know 

From 4 August 2026, GPs will start to receive a new version of a discharge summary, now called the “Clinical Handover” document from: 

• Caboolture and  Redcliffe Emergency Departments
• Caboolture, Bribie Island and Kallangur Minor Injury and Illness Clinics.

The Prince Charles and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospitals Emergency Discharge Summaries will remain the same as before until they transition to the Integrated Electronic Medical Record (ieMR) over the next 12 months.

What do you need to do now? 

To facilitate direct electronic delivery of this Clinical Handover document please ensure the following: 

Practice Staff: 

1. Please update the Queensland Health STS (GP) Address Book every time there is a change of a GP at your practice. This to ensure these clinical handover documents reach your GPs.
2. Assist your patient’s with knowing the name of a GP they have seen, as patients must nominate a GP name when attending a hospital or Queensland Health facility

GPs: 

1. Please familiarise yourself with the New “Clinical Handover” Document
2. GPs will notice a range of new sections but important information about medication changes could also be found in the new “Advice to GP” and “Information Provided to Patient” sections. 

How will the Emergency Clinical Handover (discharge summaries) document change? 

ED discharge summaries will be titled “Clinical Handover” rather than ED discharge summary or statement of attendance and will have more structured headings. Please familiarise yourself with an example of the new discharge summary here. View an example of the new format.

New headings:

• Diagnosis, Advice to GP & Health Professional, Clinical Summary & Information Provided to Patient.
• May include pathology reports
• Tests Awaiting Results- This section may list of results still pending at time of discharge.
• Medication section- Please note changes to medications may appear under the medication heading. NOTE: Medication information may also be provided under the ‘Clinical Summary’, ‘Advice to GP or Health Professional’ or ‘Information Provided to Patient’ sections. 

How to report missing or unclear information? 

We encourage GPs to provide feedback or report missing or unclear information in these clinical handover documents to the Metro North GP Liaison Unit via patient deidentified email to mngplo@health.qld.gov.au .