The ABC News has just confirmed Australian Health Ministers are meeting tomorrow.
This means we will soon know if e-Health gets a serious boost in 2008 or we have to wait till who knows when to see some action.
It seems very unlikely, with the silly season upon us, we will see much happen after this meeting for the year.
As they say! – Stay Tuned!
David.
7 comments:
Is this a planned meeting or a one-off? Who initiated it - The Federal Minister or the State Ministers? With the Infrastructure Funding Bill passing the Senate last night one must assume that will be high on the Agenda?
The meeting was planned a while ago and I believe it is a post COAG meeting for Health Ministers to - at least in part - work through the details of the Health announcements from COAG.
I agree with the Infrastructure Funds now passed there is a new relevance that might not have existed if the bill had failed!
What happened at 1am or so was the government's bill passed and established the Building Australia Fund, and the government's multi-billion dollar Education Investment Fund and Health and Hospitals Fund.
The rules for the use of that fund are now of some interest!
David.
Details of the Fund are announced here:
http://www.alp.org.au/media/0508/msheag150.php
David.
It is just possible, albeit remote, that the NSW Special Commission of Enquiry may prod some of the Ministers into action over the unbelievably appalling state of IT throughout the NSW hospital system. But then, none of them are responsible for the State of NSW Health, bar one.
The report urges major major upgrading of IT infrastructure in NSW, although NSW is not alone in this. Add that to whatever may also be recommended by the National eHealth Strategy and what they have just given NEHTA and the Ministers have good cause to shake their heads in amazement at what they have already spent and what they have not got in return. Not a good time to be holding one's breath!
I would really like to know if the business case submitted to COAG actually got up. My understanding was it did not. The business case apparently requested 'serious' funding. Looks like COAG have approved funding to ensure NEHTA continues at the same 'pace'.
I think this makes it pretty clear.
Following is a statement from our CEO Peter Fleming
NEHTA Chief Executive Peter Fleming has welcomed the COAG funding extension of $218million announced on the weekend.
“We now have guaranteed funding for three years which ensures we can continue to develop the essential infrastructure projects necessary to support an individual electronic health record in the future,” he said.
“This is a strong endorsement of e-health as an essential component of health reform.”
He added any future consideration of funding an Individual Electronic Health Record (IEHR) for Australians was appropriately the responsibility of governments.
Thanks
Gabrielle Lloyde
Communications Manager
nehta National E-Health Transition Authority
Web www.nehta.gov.au
David.
My understanding was a business case was developed for an amount in excess of $1.2 billion. This did not get up. They did receive a lot less - $218 million. Perhaps NEHTA could confirm that they received what they asked for and did not submit (or even develop) a proposal for over $1 billion. Just seems that with the economic crisis and the way the Federal government is spending our money, it is unbelievable that we received such little funding if a sound business case had already been developed and was on the table.
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