It Looks Like NEHTA has Missed Out on Shared EHR Funding!

In December last year we were told:

http://aushealthit.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html

NEHTA HERALDS E-HEALTH MILESTONES

and announces its action plan for adoption success

17 December 2007

Australia's e-health reform agenda took a forward step today with the release of an action plan by the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA).

The Board of NEHTA also endorsed a business case for developing a national platform for personal electronic health records to be put to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) early next year.

The NEHTA action plan outlines key areas for ensuring the successful adoption of measures to improve the electronic communication of critical health information.

"After working to build foundations for electronic health since the organisation was established in 2005, we are now in a position to begin to deliver some concrete applications of our work," NEHTA's Chair Dr Tony Sherbon said.

"The new Federal Government has signaled health reform and improvements in state and federal relations as major policy objectives," said Dr Sherbon. "Given also the government's emphasis on

the provision and use of broadband communications, NEHTA is well-positioned to play its role in advancing e-health as part of this new agenda," he said.

"The recent independent review found NEHTA had made significant progress on our goals to date and made a number of recommendations about NEHTA's future. The action plan we are announcing today flows directly from our acceptance of all the recommendations in the review," Dr Sherbon said.

Dr Sherbon identified the action plan as also being an acknowledgement of where NEHTA now needs to go in order to expedite e-health reform in Australia.

"We have come to a point where many of the foundations to enable e-health are in a position where we can now move towards implementation and adoption. Seeking funding to establish a national system of personal electronic health records is also on our immediate horizon. The action plan that we have released will assist this process," he said.

Dr Sherbon said the case for personal electronic health records was compelling. "The safety and quality benefits are manifold. We understand the issues of equity and privacy and firmly believe that

the approach developed by NEHTA will address these to the satisfaction of all our stakeholders and the Australian public."

NEHTA's Action Plan for Adoption Success and the independent review of NEHTA conducted by the Boston Consulting Group are available on the NEHTA website at www.nehta.gov.au.

----- End Release.

Well the March COAG meeting has come and gone..lots on Water and Health as you will know already..but not a peep on e-Health.

See:

http://www.coag.gov.au/meetings/260308/index.htm

The relevant parts are:

COAG Reform Agenda: Reforming and Investing for the Future

All Governments today made an historic commitment to a comprehensive new microeconomic reform agenda for Australia, with a particular focus on health, water, regulatory reform and the broader productivity agenda.

On health and hospitals, the Commonwealth agreed to commit an immediate allocation of $1 billion to relieve pressure for 2008-09 on public hospitals. This $1 billion is made up of the indexation of the previous Commonwealth allocation for 2007-08 plus a further $500 million in additional new money. Overall this means an increase in Commonwealth funding for public hospitals for 2008-09 of 10.2 per cent. This decision reverses the national trend of Commonwealth cutbacks to hospital funding over the past five years.

COAG also agreed that in developing the new health care agreement there would be a review of the indexation formulas for the years ahead. COAG also agreed that the new Australian Health Agreement should move to a proper long-term share of Commonwealth funding for the public hospital system.

COAG agreed that the new health care agreement would be signed in December 2008 with a commencement date for the new funding arrangements of 1 July 2009.

COAG also agreed for jurisdictions, as appropriate, to move to a more nationally-consistent approach to activity-based funding for services provided in public hospitals – but one which also reflects the Community Service Obligations required for the maintenance of small and regional hospital services.

COAG agreed to the introduction of a national registration and accreditation system for health professionals and steps to address health workforce skills shortages.

And:

Health and Ageing

In addition to the decisions on health funding already described, COAG agreed to the implementation of health reform in three stages.

• The first stage involves immediate action on Health Workforce Registration and transitional arrangements for the current healthcare agreement. These lay the foundation for longer term reform of the health system.
• The second stage involves COAG consideration at the December 2008 meeting of the new National Healthcare Agreement as part of the broader SPP Financial Framework. There will also be potential NP payments for medium-term health reform from July 2009.
• In the third stage, when the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) report of June 2009 is available, COAG will consider additional longer term health reform to be implemented either as updates to the National Healthcare Agreement or as new NP agreements over time.

COAG also took a major step towards improving Australia’s health system by signing an Intergovernmental Agreement on the health workforce. This agreement will for the first time create a single national registration and accreditation system for nine health professions: medical practitioners; nurses and midwives; pharmacists; physiotherapists; psychologists; osteopaths; chiropractors; optometrists; and dentists (including dental hygienists, dental prosthetists and dental therapists). The new arrangement will help health professionals move around the country more easily, reduce red tape, provide greater safeguards for the public and promote a more flexible, responsive and sustainable health workforce. For example, the new scheme will maintain a public national register for each health profession that will ensure that a professional who has been banned from practising in one place is unable to practise elsewhere in Australia.

In another boost to the health workforce, COAG agreed that Skills Australia would be asked to advise COAG at its July 2008 meeting on the possible allocation of up to 50,000 additional vocational education and training places over three years from 2008-09 for areas of national skills shortage in health occupations (including vocationally-trained nursing, emergency care and allied health occupations).

COAG also agreed key health reform priorities for further work ahead of consideration of proposals by COAG no later than October 2008.

----- End Release

Seems sanity has prevailed and we will at least wait for the National E-Health Strategy before rushing off…thank heavens! The December 2007 blog archive explains my relief in detail.

David.