The following appeared as an apparent budget leak this morning.
Revealed: Rudd's $2b budget lure
PHILLIP COOREY CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
May 7, 2010
ANOTHER $2 billion in health funding is expected to be revealed at Tuesday's federal budget to pay for changes to primary care, increase the number of nurses and the duties they perform, and to introduce a long-awaited system of electronic health records.
The money would be one of the few new spending measures in what is otherwise expected to be an austere, pre-election document. It takes the total expenditure on health measures allied to the federal government's proposed reform plan for hospitals to $7.4 billion.
The Herald understands most of the $2 billion will be dedicated to out-of-hospital services, or primary care. The government has promised to fund 100 per cent of primary care and GP services.
The changes will involve expanding the use and co-ordination of allied health professionals and integrating them with GPs. Nurses will be at the forefront, with more needed to staff the expanded out-of-hospital system.
The funding, spread over four years, would not include anything for the Denticare system proposed by the health and hospitals reform commission. It is believed this measure was considered too expensive.
Electronic health, or e-health, which will be funded, allows for the easier sharing of a patient's medical records by health professionals who would be able to view a privacy-protected database.
It allows for an easy transfer of records when a patients shifts residence or changes doctor.
More here:
http://www.smh.com.au/business/federal-budget/revealed-rudds-2b-budget-lure-20100506-uh2b.html
While we have yet to see any details the risk here is that we get another ‘out of the blue’ announcement like so many others we have seen which have been developed in secret and really do not reflect what might actually be needed or actually work.
We will all have wait and see, but given the Government’s track record on the ‘health reform’ to date I find it hard to be all that optimistic.
David.
3 comments:
There is rumour that the RACGP has been working on a 'secret' project that involves NeHTA and an EHR. Maybe that is the 'grand plan'.
God save us! The RACGP has not covered itself in glory with pragmatic approach to eHealth. Them with NeHTA? Help us.
If this is true: Why is the RACGP trying to become The Pharmacy Guild of the GP world? The Guild own part of eRx and has its own software house with dispensing solutions. RACGP backing Medi-secure in spirit at least - sure we have been told that they don't have any financial interest. Now wanting to get into the software game if "rumours" are to be believed? I thought the RACGP was aimed at ensuring high quality of care by GPs and helping maintain that high quality of care - didn't realise the terms of reference had expanded into business enterprises. This can be dismissed with some clear statements from NEHTA and/or the RACGP of course. I suspect there maybe some confusion with NEHTA's announcement that they were pleased to see e-Health covered of in the recent GP Standards documents rather than more grandiose ideas that the rumour suggests. NEHTA and RACGP can confirm that up of course.
The RACGP is desperately trying to make itself relevant in the ehealth world before it gets rolled by the AGPN which is hoping to be the major influencer in the Rudd Government’s proposed Primary Health Care Organisations.
History shows the RACGP is a master at making a mess of itself in the healthIT world - look at what happened to GPCG - the concept was good, The Department of Health funded it, the RACGP got it up and going then let the AMA take it over in response to pressure from the Department of Health, where it then died after the Department withdrew funding around the same time as the Department set up its own HealthConnect project.
The wheel turns. The RACGP wants to be relevant again and it thinks NEHTA has the goods.
The wheel turns. How much longer will DOHA tolerate NEHTA’s antics? If the Article in Friday’s Australian is anything to go by “PRIME MINISTER DRAGGED INTO HEALTH CARE IDENTIFIERS LEGISLATION MESS: SENATOR SUE BOYCE” DOHA and the Jurisdictions should be on the verge of restructuring NEHTA by sending an Exocet missile deep into NEHTA’s bunker.
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