New Patient Portal Announcement

The new patient portal is launched. Introducing Vensa!

Queenstown Medical Centre will now use Vensa for all online services. This will allow enrolled patients to: 

• Book, change and cancel appointments
  
• Request repeat scripts online and pick up from your preferred pharmacy
  
• View your lab test results and other health documents like hospital discharge letters and referrals
  
• View your medications, allergies, and medical conditions
  
• Lookup your immunisation history
• Organise healthcare for your whānau with the family ‘Care Circle’
  
• See your upcoming recalls
  
• Send secure messages to the clinic

The Vensa portal works on any device - no app required. Just use your preferred browser.

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Our decision-making process

Before connecting with Vensa, we carried out a careful review of how their system interacts with our clinical database, especially given recent sector‑wide breaches. This included reviewing an independent security assessment. At present, there are no high‑priority or critical issues in Vensa's systems.

We have worked with external IT providers to understand how data is accessed, stored, and transferred. Vensa has confirmed that the portal does not copy or sync QMC's full patient database — information is accessed only when needed and only for the services we choose to enable. We also reviewed Vensa’s published privacy commitments, including strict data‑minimisation, encryption, and hosting within Microsoft’s approved Australian health‑grade cloud Microsoft Azure environment, which is approved and used by Te Whatu Ora. While no digital system can ever be 100% impenetrable, we have taken a thorough and cautious approach so we can offer the portal in a safe, transparent, and well‑controlled way, with patients retaining clear control over what they choose to share.

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Update on MMH

As many of you may remember, at QMC we took swift action to stop QMC consult notes and lab result data from transferring to MMH as soon as we became aware of the breach, in order to allow for greater protection of our patients.

We followed advice and instructions from MMH to disable the data flow.

We have now discovered that the data did not stop flowing, and the instructions given by MMH to QMC were incorrect. MMH have now confirmed that the only way for this data to stop flowing, is for us to completely disconnect, which we are doing on 9 April, or for patients to close their own MMH accounts.

This discovery has been frustrating and further validates our decision to leave MMH. We have received apologies from MMH for the incorrect guidance given to us.

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How to close your MMH account

We highly recommend that patients begin closing MMH accounts either now, or from 20 March - the date that we have Vensa switched on.

Once we disconnect from MMH fully on 9 April, your MMH account is still technically open unless you personally close it. This means MMH will continue to store your data until the point that you close your account.

Patients can close their MMH accounts at any time by:

• logging into MMH
• clicking on profile
• close account

If you are doing this on your mobile app, you will need to first click "help & support" then click the outline of a person at the top of the screen, select "my profile" then the option will become available to close your account.

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Key dates

Go Live with Vensa

20 March

Patients will be able to sign up to the Vensa portal

MMH appointment bookings switched off

20 March

MMH repeat scripts & secure messages switched off

27 March

Disconnection between QMC & MMH

9 April

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How to sign up to Vensa

From 20 March, we invited patients via email to sign up to Vensa.

Understandably, given the recent MMH breach, some people may feel uncomfortable clicking on the link within the email sent by Vensa. This is by far the quickest way for patients to sign up, but there is a secondary option, which is to sign up through Vensa then request a connection to QMC. Please be aware that this requires us to work through connection requests one by one if you choose this option and so there may be several days' delay to completing the process.

If you do prefer this option, please sign up through Vensa's website: https://login.vensa.com/sign-up

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FAQ's

1. Do I need to download an app? 

No, Vensa works in your browser. There are no apps avaliable for Vensa in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

However, you can add a shortcut to your home screen for quick access.

For iPhone (iOS)

1. Open the browser: Launch the Safari app on your iPhone.
2. Go to the Vensa login page: Navigate to login.vensa.com/home.
3. Open the Share menu: Tap the Share button, which looks like a square with an arrow pointing upwards.
4. Select "Add to Home Screen": Scroll down the menu and tap on the option "Add to Home Screen".
5. Name the shortcut: You can change the name of the shortcut from its default to something simpler.
6. Add to Home Screen: Tap "Add" in the top right corner to place the shortcut icon on your home screen.

For Android

1. Open your browser: Launch the web browser's on your Android device and go to the Vensa login page.
2. Open the menu: Tap on the browser's menu icon (often three dots).
3. Add to Home Screen: Find and select option to "Add to Home Screen" or "Add Page To"
4. Confirm the addition: A dialog box will appear, allowing you to name the shortcut. Tap "Add" to place it on your home screen.

Note: In both cases, the shortcut should be added prior to you logging in.

2. What security features does Vensa offer?

• Two-step sign-in (PIN or One-time code being sent to your email)
• Account temporarily locked after multiple failed login attempts
• Email notifications for failed login attempts
• Secure messaging between you and your GP
• Encrypted data storage and transmission

3. Where can I learn more about Vensa works?

Vensa has dedicated help pages for almost any topic. You can see this here.

4. Where can I get support?

If you are experiencing any technical issues, you can contact Vensa directly at patients@vensa.com.

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5. What happens to my medical records with this change? Do I lose them?

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No, you do not. All QMC patient data is held in our patient management system (PMS). Patient portals are a way for patients to see some of the data that we hold for them, for example, regarding lab results and consultation notes. Visibility for patients of their own health records via the patient portal is entirely optional and patients go through a consent process with Vensa, as to which parts of your health data you would like to be able to see. 

QMC will not upload any clinical data for you to Vensa without your express consent, as this is an agreement between you and Vensa.

The only data that will not be in the new portal is any documents that you yourself have uploaded to MMH in the ‘my health documents’ tab. Anything stored in the "my health documents" module is uploaded by the patient, not by QMC. We therefore do not have access to this data. 

If there is anything you are worried about not being available once your MMH account is closed please email a copy to patient.admin@qmc.co.nz and our patient admin team will happily add these documents to your file in our PMS.

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Vensapay

One feature that Vensa offers to patients who do not pay on the day of their consultation is automated invoicing with built in payment links. Understandably, in the current climate, many patients prefer not to click on links. The solution to this is to pay for consultations at the time of the service being delivered (as per our Terms of Trade). We currently use Medeor to send these links to patients with outstanding balances. Once we are live with Vensa, we will be using a combination of both of these payment platform services.

In-person payment is possible at all three practices, as well as calling and paying over the phone 03 441 0500.

We will only send these links to you for payment if you have not paid at the time of the service being delivered.

Please get in touch if you have any questions, or read Vensa's info about how Vensapay works.

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We look forward to setting the new patient portal live on 20 March and allowing our patients to have greater visibility and control over their health data.

Please get in touch on info@qmc.co.nz if you have any questions about the contents of this blog.

Ngā Mihi Nui,

QMC Team