Live Blog: Peter Fleming of NEHTA in Front of the Senate Community Affairs Committee.

The session ran from about 3:30 to 4:40pm March 9, 2010.

The speakers were Mr Fleming and Dr Mukesh Hailerwal.

It now seems reality has crept in. NEHTA now admits that there will be a set of ‘initial implementation projects’ of various components of the system (read pilots) for the first 18 months and that when these are run – they will then be brought together and re-tested as a whole before any national roll-out is undertaken.

It really is a pity we have not been provided with this level of honesty well before this.

We also learn that NEHTA is still hopeful they will get to create an Personal Controlled Individual Electronic Health Record for those who want one. Good to see they now say it will be opt-in rather than opt-out.

All in all very interesting. It did seem there were a lot of questions from the Opposition Senators. One really wonders if they are minded to pass this legislation at this point?

David.