Checked the NEHTA Web Site today. Silly me..just made me grumpy!
Seems the money wasting will continue!
Peak Body Summit: 18 June
Hits : 474
NEHTA is hosting a summit with Peak Bodies that represent consumer and clinician interests in the healthcare sector. NEHTA is inviting non technical audiences to participate in discussions on the introduction of the Individual Electronic Health Record (IEHR) for all Australians and non technical issues relating to e-health and the IEHR.
The topics that will be discussed include:
- Preparedness to introduce e-health and an overview of IEHR;
- Issues around the introduction of unique health identification for clinicians and patients;
- Governance, privacy and other policy matters;
- Implementation and business adoption issues; and
- Management of public consultation.
The event will be held at Rydges Lakeside in Canberra.
Location: Rydges Lakeside in Canberra
Contact: kate.ebrill at nehta.gov.au
Just what is going on here? We have a National e-Health Strategy and Implementation Plan being developed at a cost of $1.3 million and NEHTA is trying to pre-empt it with all the ill considered and non-consultative nonsense they keep putting out. Raising expectations that have already been dashed by the Health Minister (no Shared EHR until 2012 at earliest) is just stupid.
All these topics needs expert input – and we know NEHTA certainly does not have any monopoly on expertise. The arrogance is just breathtaking and frankly offensive.
This meeting should be cancelled and the money saved until something concrete has been worked out, agreed and funded!
David.
I would like to see Andrew Howard make a formal public statement justifying NEHTA's position on this particular subject and to lodge that statement on your Blog site. In the absence of any such statement I think you will find most informed people would agree with you.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I agree with you; that it is somewhat premature and quite unnecessary for NEHTA to be holding this Summit until after the National eHealth Strategy and Implementation Plan have been published.
Why is NEHTA still promoting on their RSS feed their call for "Clinicians are invited to provide input into the development of a national e-health system".
ReplyDeleteThe advert "NEHTA calls experts to assist in health reform" states that "Initial applications close on the 29th February 2008."
Todays date is 15 June 2008.
Does this mean NEHTA didn't get a very good response? or was it so overwhelmed with applicants it hasn't had time to disconnect - update - the RSS feed?
And if it has been overwhelmed the successful applicants should have their names made known by now. Or will that information be kept secret?
Just like who the new Board Members are to be.. a bloody shambles in my view.
ReplyDeleteDavid
Under the Constitution Board Members are restricted to the CEOs' of each of the Jurisdictions. Until the Constitution is changed appointment of 'other' Board members cannot occur.
ReplyDeleteI note a change to the Constitution, or perhaps a new Constituion, was notified to ASIC on 2 May 2008 (24 pages!!!). So something must be afoot.
It frustrates me that HENTA is still at the visionary stage and pre-empting a review by DeLoitte which in their early feedback brief will focus on how to harness improving connectivity leveraged on existing resources while working towards a longer term road map.
ReplyDeleteConsumer and some stakeholder feedback was that we could partial SEHR on an optin consent model now for target groups siuch as children, birthing mothers, chronically ill and the aged today using small enhancements to existing technolgies if we could effect urgent legislative change to let consumers access their Medicare/PBS data as a base data set.
I think even the inventing of new terminology such as the IEHR is offensive - what is it a glorified facebook, an PHR or and SEHR?
It might be helpful if your correspondent (Monday, June 16, 2008 8:45:00 AM) could expand a bit further on the comment "to let consumers access their Medicare/PBS data as a base data set".
ReplyDelete1. How do you propose that would work?
2. Would they be given the data on paper or in electronic format?
3. How would the data be sent to them?
4. If they could access the data what would they do with it once they had received it?
5. Would the data be reliable after the consumer had 'dealt' with it?
Would you please inform us what you have in mind. Thanks
Damned if they do, damned if they don't...
ReplyDeleteSo Dr More, NEHTA starts holding meaningful consultations on SEHR, and you still find fault?
I get the impression that you won't be happy until they consult with you and only you on everything.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWrong,
ReplyDeleteI want NEHTA to take notice of what is happening outside their tiny enclosed world and not fly people all over the country to be consulted on something that may or not happen! We are already one month into a 4 month National E-Health Strategy Process. They should just back off and wait till it is done!
I also want not to have NEHTA staff turn up and promote ideas and concepts they happen to like but which may or may not be supported by many other stakeholders. We still have no idea just what of EHR, SEHR IEHR or whatever it now is they are planning. I find that absurd - as do many others.
I want proper stakeholder consultation not this distorted approach. And I could not care less if they ask me or not.
David.
I think commentator (Monday, June 16, 2008 12:47:00 PM) is being a tad unfair. Yes, dammed if they do and dammed if they don't but really look at it this way:
ReplyDelete(a) David More is not the only person with whom NEHTA should be genuinely and openly engaging with in order to get some seriously practical advice from people with extensive experience in this highly complex industry sector.
(b) To have a summit which excludes health informatics knowledge and experience from which to draw upon in the 'discussions' is folly in the extreme. It is from such 'summits' that the ball starts rolling and grows and grows like a snowball until it gets so big that it becomes out of control leading to another ill planned and ill conceived disaster that could have been avoided if expertise had ben tapped into earlier.
(c) NEHTA is not unique in this failing.