Health Minister Tony Ryall has directed the newly formed National Health Board to create the first national IT system for the sector based on achieving the "eHealth vision".
The vision states that to "achieve high-quality health care and improve patient safety, by 2014 New Zealanders will have a core set of personal health information available electronically to them and their treatment providers".
The plan was tabled at this week's Waikato District Health Board meeting where chief information officer Alan Grainer said his IT team had been asked to submit a comprehensive regional IT plan to the NHB by September 30.
"The national IT plan is a major undertaking and it has prompted a lot of discussion by Midland region CEOs as to how we can put something together within that timeframe," Mr Grainer said.
But board member Pippa Mahood urged Mr Grainer to concentrate on issues closer to home rather than putting too much time and energy into a project which she said should be funded at a national level.
"Words are easy and these are high statements that sound great but we need to take a realistic approach to this concept and work on things that are achievable," Ms Mahood said.
In a draft report National Health IT Board director Graeme Osborne said person-centred healthcare had been a mantra within clinical circles for more than 10 years but that supporting information solutions had not yet materialised.
"Every day clinicians are managing patient care, while working around the fact that information is held in separate locations, creating barriers to a better, sooner more convenient health experience," Mr Osborne said.
The report states that health IT solutions would play a significant part in supporting, enabling and in some cases creating, sustainable healthcare solutions for the future.
Waikato DHB runs software known as CapPlan which forecasts workloads covering long-term trends as well as short-term needs.
CapPlan was created by Christchurch software firm Emendo which recently signed multimillion-dollar contracts with 12 Australian hospitals.
Chief executive Dave Tinkler believes his firm can play a role in establishing the National IT infrastructure but said it was not necessarily a "one size fits all" solution.
"It could be introduced as a regional or DHB level and I think perhaps some aspects would be best run at a DHB level," Mr Tinkler said.
Whatever approach was taken Mr Tinkler said any chance to create connectivity had to be good for the health sector.
Yesterday the National Health Board released a new website dedicated to the national IT project ithealthboard.health.nz.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Maryanne Twentyman
Quelle/Source: Waikato Times, 14.05.2010
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