I wandered along to the Commonwealth Health Department Site earlier today and was greeted with a blizzard of press releases on the Wave 2 projects.
There is no doubt the Government is keen to play up just how wonderful they are for providing $55 Million for what are really glorified pilots and little else.
Here is the e-Health list:
29 March 2011
Brisbane leads the way as e-health super site
Brisbane will the lead the way as an Australian e-health ‘super site’ following new e-health projects announced as a part of national health reform.
29 March 2011
E-Health benefits spread as Canberra team chosen to lead roll-out
Aged and palliative care patients in the ACT will benefit from better integrated and safer care through e-health systems developed by a team from Canberra that has been chosen as one of nine new projects to lead the roll-out of e-health records.
29 March 2011
E-Health Benefits Spread as Nine New Sites Start Work
Mothers and new born babies, Australians suffering from chronic disease and patients in aged and palliative care are some of the first groups set to benefit from national health reform as nine new locations have been selected to lead the roll-out of e-health records.
29 March 2011
E-Health benefits spread as Sydney team chosen to lead roll-out
Patients are set to benefit from a better, safer and more integrated medical records system to be developed by a consortium of Sydney health providers that have been chosen as one of nine new projects to lead the roll-out of e-health records.
29 March 2011
E-Health benefits spread into Western Sydney
Mums and bubs, Indigenous Australians and aged, chronic and complex disease patients in Western Sydney are set to benefit from a new e-health project.
29 March 2011
Territory to Lead E-Health Records for Indigenous Australians
Northern Territorians will be one of the first groups of Australians to have access to e-health records thanks to a new national health reform e-health project announced on 29 March.
28 March 2011
E-Health benefits spread as Geelong team to lead roll-out
Patients are set to benefit from a better and safer medication system to be developed by a team from Geelong that has been chosen as one of nine new projects to lead the roll-out of e-health records.
28 March 2011
Tasmanian aged and palliative care to lead e-health roll-out
Aged and palliative care patients and their families in North West Tasmania will be one of the first groups of Australians to have access to e-health records thanks to a new national health reform e-health project announced on 28 March 2011.
----- End List.
This is certainly ‘bang for the buck’ for a quite small funding announcement in terms of the number of press releases!
I just love the way suddenly local members like Sid Sidebottom, Darren Cheesman, Ed Husic and Peter Garrett are spruiking the benefits of these funds to their local communities as though they are experts on the topic!
It is also fun to see how Mr Abbott gets a kicking in each release.
Most interesting is a paragraph found at the bottom of a few of the releases:
Media note:
All nine organisations were selected following a competitive process by the Department of Health and Ageing and National E-Health Transition Authority. All organisations managing these projects will now develop their final plans over the next eight weeks to ensure their work programs clearly meet national objectives before receiving final payments to implement the projects.
I only have one question. Just where can we read these ‘national objectives’ so we can all be sure that our taxpayers funds are not just vanishing into thin air. And I wonder what happens in the plans don’t pass muster!
It seems to me, reading about each of these that either we really are setting up a ‘playpen’ and that nothing more permanent will come from these pilots or we are trying to meet some ‘national objectives’ in which case there needs to be enough consistency and standardisation around what is done that the work is re-usable and replicable.
If it is to be the second - the deadlines are really too tight and there are going to be all sorts of issues around the ownership if the various software components that may be employed. From an IP sense this could get very messy indeed! Once a pilot is deemed a success how is it then procured nationally?
Enquiring minds would like to know.
Another issue is to wonder if these plans will actually see the light of day in eight weeks - with the associated objectives so we can see if they have been met?
I will take a small wager that will NOT be the case!
David.
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