Read the outcome here:
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/healthcare_identifier/report/report.pdf
The key is here:
Recommendation 1
1.1 The committee recommends that NEHTA, in partnership with the Department of Health and Ageing and Medicare Australia, take steps to more effectively engage all healthcare stakeholders in the establishment of the Healthcare Identifiers Service. These steps should include at least the following elements:
(a) involvement of key healthcare stakeholder groups, including state and territory governments, private and community health providers, and healthcare consumer groups, in the development of a Healthcare Identifiers Service implementation plan which covers the period from the successful passage of the bills to 30 June 2012;
(b) the publication of this plan for public comment prior to its finalisation; and
(c) the development and implementation of a targeted education and communication strategy which targets both healthcare providers and healthcare consumers, and which clearly lays out the facts behind healthcare identifiers and provides contacts for people to access further detailed information. This strategy should be implemented prior to the Healthcare Identifiers Service coming into effect on 1 July 2010.
It is pretty clear the Committee is not happy with the implementation planning and communication with the public. What a surprise!
It is really pretty sad that the Senate has not taken more seriously the advice of those who point out the lack of implementation skills and privacy understanding of those who contributed.
My view is still that this is a fatally flawed organisation attempting something that is way beyond its competence and that still does not understand what it exists for - serving the Health Sector. We shall see if I am right or wrong - but not soon - given what we will see in the implementation plan is hardly a beginning by 2012.
Passage of this legislation, with the recommendations, might give us a fighting chance of getting it right, but sadly I doubt it. We shall see and will be watching!
David.
I would have thought most people would think Medicare has a good track record for implementation. Given the brand recognition Medicare has, I'm surprised you call it fatally flawed.
ReplyDeleteThere are two sides to every story. Is the report by the dissenting senators available?
ReplyDeleteThe e-commerce initiatives undertaken by Medicare Australia have had very variable levels of success and have often been badly planned, suffered very slow adoption and have been delivered in ways that have been overly bureaucratic.
ReplyDeleteThis initiative is the largest, by far, they have ever attempted and the signs so far have been very worrying, in terms of consultation, technical interactions with the industry, lack of implementation planning and openness of approach.
David.
The opposition did have significant concerns. They are at the bottom of the report I provided the link to. All in the same document.
ReplyDeleteDavid.
I think David you are unable to distinguish what is "way beyond their competence" and what "given appropriate resources would be withing their competence". Medicare is the largest entity of its kind in the nation. It will and it has got things wrong. At times it has been very disruptive and painful for everyone while it has stubbornly refused to 'change' but in the end, most of the time, it has got things right. It is no different from other big, big, big, projects - look at the ticketing systems in Sydney and Melbourne - and they still aren't right. I guess you have to put a stake in the ground somewhere with someone. So, I think Medicare is as good a choice as any unless you want to build a whole new organisation from the ground up! They might be lousy implementers but hey, that reflects inadequate management culture. Improve the management and build the skills and you should see improvements. So fatally flawed is, I hope you agree, both negative and self defeating. Perhaps on this occasion you could think about being a little more positive.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said, we can just all wait and see. The issues I raise in the blog before this suggest to me we will have a very long wait.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I see part of the reason for the blog is to try and warn when I see things proceeding in ways that are heading in the wrong direction - in my personal view - and that is all it is - a personal view.
We will all have a much clearer view once we see the implementation plan the Senate Committee has requested.
David.
And when is the Senate voting on these Bills?
ReplyDelete