Useful and Interesting Health IT Links from the Last Week – 27/04/2008

Again, in the last week, I have come across a few reports and news items which are worth passing on.

These include first:

Lorenzo software almost ‘ready’ for use

21 Apr 2008

Senior NHS IT staff at two of the Lorenzo pilot sites have told E-Health Insider off the record that the initial version of the software looks promising and, subject to testing, is ready for use in the English NHS.

Following months of testing, senior NHS managers from two of the three initial Lorenzo sites, told EHI that after much configuration, the first limited R1 version of the software is now ready for use in the North, Midlands and East Programme for IT.

The R1 software, which is not spine compliant, is designed to offer trusts some initial clinical benefits. It is understood to offer requests and results reporting (though not requesting), some views of electronic patient records, and some elements of a patient administration system.

However, despite their positive assessment the contacts declined to discuss the software in detail or go on the record, telling EHI it would place them in breach of their contract with CSC. Similarly, CSC refused to comment.

The long-awaited software, developed by iSoft and delivered by the CSC Alliance, was first meant to be delivered by the end of 2004. The initial R1 version of the software is now promised by summer for initial limited delivery to four NHS organisations in three pilot sites: South Birmingham, Morecombe Bay, Bradford and Nottingham.

More here:

http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3671/lorenzo_software_almost_%E2%80%98ready%E2%80%99_for_use.

If true, this is really good news for the NHS. Time will tell I am sure!

Second we have:

State seeking e-health damages

Sean Parnell | April 22, 2008

THE Queensland Government has raised the stakes in its legal row with developer TrakHealth and is seeking almost $100 million in compensation for a failed e-health contract.

When Queensland Health scrapped a $30 million hospital software contract with TrakHealth three years ago, the company took Supreme Court action to recoup $18 million in losses and unspecified damages.

TrakHealth, which was to supply a patient administration system and a clinical information system, accused the government of compromising the project and damaging its reputation.

"Queensland Health's behaviour was unreasonable and unconscionable," a TrakHealth spokesman argued at the time, as the company sought work elsewhere.

In its defence, Queensland Health involved US-based InterSystems, which now owns TrakHealth, and database pioneer Terry Ragon, filing reams of documents in the Brisbane Supreme Court to demand $21.5 million in compensation.

Queensland Health argued that TrakHealth misrepresented itself and its product, MedTrak, ahead of an order being placed in 2003, while Mr Ragon, the founder of US-based InterSystems, failed to intervene to limit Queensland Health's losses.

Earlier this month, Queensland Health amended its defence and counterclaim to seek $98.2 million in compensation to cover the increased cost of delivering such software in the current market.

Continue reading here:

http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23576350-15306,00.html

This is a real mess. It will make a riveting story when it reaches the courts and we hear the ‘facts’ both sides put to defend themselves and try and win some damages. Stay tuned!

Third we have:

Healthbook could be online soon: expert

April 21, 2008 - 2:57PM

A national healthcare website proposed at the Australia 2020 summit could be set up by next year.

The proposed website, named Healthbook, would allow individuals to store their own health information electronically and share it with doctors, nurses or family members.

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researcher Professor Enrico Coiera said such a system could be in place by next year.

"This is exactly the sort of thing we are very keen to try and build," he said.

Professor Coiera and his team was currently working on a prototype website that assists people searching for health-related information and sharing it with others.

"We want to use smart search technologies to help everyone get the most relevant health information and make it Australian specific," he said.

"We also want to use the Facebook model to allow people to share it with each other."

More here:

http://news.smh.com.au/healthbook-could-be-online-soon-expert/20080421-27jy.html

It is good to see there is some work already underway in Australia. I guess we do, however, need to be careful not to ‘re-invent the wheel’. What is under discussion her is essentially a Personal Health Record with some Health 2.0 attributes and there are a wide range of models for this already developed both here and overseas. A blog later will address this is more detail.

Fourthly we have:

Cancer Council, Government make deal on cancer data

Article from the Courier Mail.

Janelle Miles

April 21, 2008 12:00am

THE State Government has backed down over its refusal to provide life-saving data to Cancer Council Queensland scientists who had been preparing for court.

Urgent talks at the weekend between Cancer Council chief executive Jeff Dunn and Queensland Health officials appear to have resolved the issue, which has hindered research for two years.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson yesterday said the council would no longer need Queensland Health approval to obtain and distribute information from the state's cancer registry to researchers.

The move came after examples of George Street's determination to hide details from the public were highlighted in Parliament.

The Courier-Mail on Saturday revealed 40 secrets the Government wants to keep, undermining Premier Anna Bligh's claims of being open and accountable.

However Ms Bligh, in Canberra yesterday, again claimed to be "at the national forefront of promoting continuing new standards of open and accountable government" when she spruiked the review under way into Queensland's freedom of information regime.

More here:

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23569069-3102,00.html

I note it took about 24 hours for the Health Minister to have his Department find a way to work in a more timely way with the Cancer Council – and a good thing too!

I must say the 40 secrets the Government wants to keep makes great reading – and some of them are genuinely ridiculous.

Fifth we have:

Health privacy 'at risk'

Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

Peter Rolfe

April 20, 2008 12:00am

THE Brumby Government has admitted its $323 million computer system for public hospitals may not protect patient confidentiality, a whistleblower doctor says.

The Melbourne physician says patient privacy is compromised in the overdue HealthSMART project.

He believes it will reveal intimate information "to literally anyone in the world".

Dr Peter Lazzari said personal records about abortions, suicide attempts and diseases could become public information under the system, to be launched in May next year, two years behind schedule.

Dr Lazzari was one of several doctors briefed on the project by the Department of Human Services late last year.

He said doctors had been told confidentiality problems were "under consideration" but were unlikely to be resolved.

Physicians, worried that patients' intimate details could be accessible to thousands of Victorians, had quizzed the Government about potential breaches of privacy. They were told it was not a priority.

"They had no answer to the concerns," Dr Lazzari said.

More here:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23565228-2862,00.html

I suspect this may be a bit of a beat-up, but if not, it is a considerable worry. It is clearly vital that there are clear and appropriate privacy guidelines in place to guide all system implementations. On a related matter I hear there is a privacy review regarding the NSW Healthelink project following some of the recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission recently. Does anyone know anything about this?

Sixth we have:

Audit Report Unduly Harsh: Analyst

A report into the $323 million Victoria’s HealthSMART project found the project was already $34.8 million over budget, a figure disputed by the government and Health Department

Sue Bushell 24 April, 2008 12:10:23

A Victorian Auditor-General's report that claimed lack of a detailed business case had led to project delays and budget blow-outs in Victoria's HealthSMART project has been criticized as being unduly harsh.

The report into the $323 million project, "the most far-reaching ICT change program ever undertaken by the Victorian Public Health System (VPHS)", found the project was already $34.8 million over budget, a figure disputed by the government and Health Department.

And Auditor-General Des Pearson said the project had been let down by the lack of a detailed business case, which in turn led to difficulties attracting skilled staff and in ensuring vendors performed and their contractual obligations.

He said the Department of Human Services needed a concerted focus on outcomes and benefits to ensure the state's investment in process engineering by harnessing technology is realized as planned.

Ovum public sector research director Dr Steve Hodgkinson defended the HealthSMART project team against the claim that it had failed to develop a business case

Continue reading here:

http://www.cio.com.au/index.php?id=262489251&eid=-601

This is interesting to see someone put the view that being over budget and late is OK for a project. Everyone recognises how hard these projects are to deliver, but the way they are planned should take that fact into account – not say ‘oops’ four to five years into it!

Last we have:

Study points to need for 40,000 more healthcare IT professionals

Healthcare IT News

By Bernie Monegain, Editor 04/18/08

WASHINGTON - As the nation's healthcare system moves toward automation, the need for healthcare information technology professionals in the workforce is growing. The need is deemed to be at almost 40 percent more - or 40,000 additional IT employees at U.S. hospitals, according to a new study.

William Hersh, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University, presented the findings Thursday at a meeting of the Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-Ore. ) moderated the meeting. Wu authored a bill (H.R. 1467) addressing the need to train more healthcare IT professionals, which the House passed recently. The bill is awaiting Senate action.

More here:

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9087

If the usual multiplier applies (the US is about 20 times the size of OZ), then this means we are short 2,000 in Australia. Time for a few proper courses and some proper career structures to be developed I think.

More next week.

David.