People with disability - Julian's Key Health Passport

What is Julian’s Key Health Passport?

Julian’s Key Health Passport (Julian’s Key) is a patient/carer-controlled communication tool co-designed with consumers. It aims to improve communication between people with disability and their health care providers by capturing important information about the person. This information supports healthcare professionals to provide personalised treatment and care that is specific to the person’s needs.

Download a copy of the current Julian's Key here Passport (PDF 1201kB). This can be edited electronically or printed.

Although Julian’s Key is primarily designed for people with intellectual or cognitive disability, anyone who may have difficulty communicating in a hospital setting could also benefit from its use.

Background

Julian’s Key was originally developed by West Moreton Hospital and Health Service in memory of a young man with intellectual and physical disability, Mr Julian Klass, who developed aspiration pneumonia at Ipswich Hospital and died in 2011. In 2019, Julian’s Key was adopted by the Department and an implementation trial took place at Ipswich and Logan hospitals. In 2021, an independent evaluation report was published.

Key recommendations from the evaluation can be found in the Julian’s Key Evaluation Factsheet.

Update

In April 2023, the Department of Health released its first Disability Service Plan 2022 -2024. The plan captures the commitment for the state-wide implementation of Julian’s Key. To support this commitment, alongside Queensland Health’s commitment to address the findings of the Julian’s Key Evaluation Report, a project team has been working on an updated paper-based version focused on improving usability and accessibility.

The project team has been engaging with consumers via Queensland Disability Network to understand the challenges and needs of people with disability when accessing healthcare. Communication with healthcare staff has been a key part of the discussions and feedback from this engagement has helped inform the direction of the revised paper-based version which is expected to be published in early 2024.

Contacts

If you have questions about Julian’s Key Health Passport, please don’t hesitate to contract System Policy Branch within the Department of Health via DisabilityPolicy@health.qld.gov.au.