IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Victorian Premier Ted Ballieu said yesterday that the Budget "delivers the right economic strategy to put Victoria's finances onto a stronger foundation for the future, while managing the tight financial constraints imposed by international economic uncertainty, a weaker national economy and consequent declines in state revenue".

The date represents "our big chance to make a difference", and apparently we have to compare it to "putting a man on the moon". Exciting, isn't it? Surely we are finally going to Mars, initiate world peace or establish brotherhood amongst men? Or not, of course.

RDAA has joined a range of other medical organisations in calling for better support for doctors and practices in implementing the new system.

“RDAA strongly supports the PCEHR system—it will bring enormous benefits to patients and the health system, and we want to see it work” RDAA president, Dr Paul Mara, said.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs is seeking a replacement for the aging information management system used by the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS).

There are 15 VVCS Centres, and in 2010-11 the centres co-ordinated some 60,000 counselling sessions and group programs involving some 4000 individuals

When the government announced the e-health record system in 2010, it was vague in detailing exactly what would be on offer from July 2012. The intention was that personally controlled electronic health records would be "rolled out from July 2012", but what the Australian public would actually be able to do from day one was a mystery.

CEO of Carers NSW, Elena Katrakis, stated: “The Mental Health Foundations for Carers resource sets out some of the issues carers of someone with a mental illness may face and the types of support they may need in their caring role.”

Australia has maintained its place as the second-best country for e-government in the biennial United Nations e-government survey.

It took out second place to the United Kingdom — which shot up the ranks thanks to early adoption and a concerted focus on digital by the British government — on both this year’s e-government development index and e-participation index.

With e-health one of the topics ‘du jour’ in health and aged care, an Australia-first study conducted by the University of New South Wales has found “an incredible result” in terms of a reduction in medication prescribing errors from electronic prescribing technology in hospitals.

The study of the technology in two hospitals found procedural errors such as incomplete, unclear medication orders fell by more than 90%. Serious errors, including the prescription of incorrect drugs or doses, fell by 44%.

The results of the study, by a team from the University of New South Wales, are published in the journal PLoS Medicine today.

More functionality is expected later in the year, provided the government-funded National eHealth Transition Authority (NEHTA) can placate various interest groups including the doctor's lobby group Australian Medical Association (AMA).

"Given what was attempted in the timeframe, it wasn't reasonable to expect a sophisticated solution would be available by July 1," says Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA) President, Jon Hughes.

In the 2010-11 budget the Labor government allocated $466m over two years to set up a national system of electronic medical records, which it said would cut waste such as duplicated tests, and improve care by allowing doctors faster access to patient histories.

But Newspoll research for Inquirer suggests nearly half of Australians may consider boycotting the voluntary system when it launches in July next year amid concerns the government may find it impossible to guarantee private medical details remain private.

An innovative, interactive mobile display is touring Australia to showcase the Federal Government’s $465.7 million national Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) system, which will be available from July 1.

Now touring Australia, the National E-Health Transition Authority’s (NEHTA) Model Healthcare Community truck has been designed to outline the eHealth story and its initiatives, ranging from reception to consultation, specialists, pharmacy, diagnostics and hospital.

People sometimes talk about eHealth in technical terms, but when I spoke to Parliament about it a couple of weeks ago, I found that the best way of understanding eHealth was to realise Mrs Douglass's experiences of being treated without electronic health records.

One of the great challenges for eHealth is to convince governments, healthcare organisations, practitioners and the general public that it is worth the investment.

This involves first of all working out whether anyone is actually using the technology, then determining what they are using it for and finally trying to judge whether this use has any positive outcome.

The members of the vendor panel are AutumnCare, iCare, Leecare, EOS Technologies (part of the Silver Chain group) and Database Consultants Australia.

NEHTA CEO, Peter Fleming, said the panel’s primary aim would be driving the uptake of the PCEHR among residential and community aged care providers.

It’s 2025 and you’re on the light hover-rail to work. The trim of your Samsung Glass glows green indicating an incoming message. Into your visual field, your doctor pops up to tell you that the remote sensing of your general health signs - blood pressure, aerobic capacity, weight, and cell count all suggest the optimum period for reconstructive work on your busted leg has arrived.

With the federal election coming in September, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) is continuing to push for national curriculum reform, saying that there needs to be more support for teachers in ICT and efforts to promote tertiary study of technology among high school students.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the government would soon introduce the e-health records, which would be personally managed by patients. For now, the system is on the papers and has been sent in to the parliament for approval, which they think would get a green signal soon.

The potential benefits are significant: better and more timely access to centralised, comprehensive and accurate patient information.

But more comprehensive records won't be stored in one central location.

Rather, patient information will be kept by individual doctors, pathologists and chemists across the country.

It will only be brought together electronically when patients or their doctors search the planned national e-health system using a 16-digit identification number.