It Seems The NEHTA War-Room Has Gone Into Overdrive. Maybe They Have Realised The Jig Might Be Up!

That there has been not much news out of the Senate Legislative Committee’s PCEHR Enquiry should not leave anyone with the impression that nothing is happening.

Indeed the absolute reverse is true and there is a lot of not very edifying activity going on behind the scenes.

In the Australian yesterday we had this article appear in the Predictions 2012 section:

Creating record system a huge task

• by: Karen Dearne
• From: The Australian
• February 14, 2012 12:00AM

• INFLUENCER: PAUL MADDEN, CHIEF INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND AGEING

A HUGE overhaul of federal IT systems in support of national health reform has begun, putting Health chief information officer Paul Madden in the hot seat with several big-ticket programs.

Under the Gillard government's shift to activity-based funding for public hospitals, new agencies, including the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, National Health Performance Authority and National Health Funding Body, will between them set prices, monitor performance and ensure accountability.

The agencies need a common IT platform that ultimately ties the commonwealth, state and territory health departments into a unified system.

"We've recently awarded Accenture a contract (worth $111 million) for an enterprise data warehouse to support the information management and performance reporting that is part and parcel of activity-based funding," Madden says. "The same EDW will also support information management for the department."

Because all of the information will eventually be held in the one system, Madden will establish an enterprise data governance framework and enterprise information management plan "to ensure everyone is reporting on the basis of the same approach".

Madden is also looking for an enterprise documents and records management system, and an enterprise capability for grants management. "Part of my approach is to look at more expedient ways of doing things," he says.

"We can't afford multiple investments in what is essentially the same capability but supported by a different system.

"You're paying for the same thing more than once but, even worse, we've got people in different divisions using different work practices because they're on a different system. Staff should be using the same systems to do the same basic functions."

Madden is still developing a long-term strategy for the department's information systems but expects to have some conversations with the jurisdictions on aspects of data management along the way.

Lots more here:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/in-depth/creating-record-system-a-huge-task/story-fnc20bhu-1226269945442

And guess what not a single comment on the PCEHR and NEHTA. I wonder why?

Also of note is that we are seeing increasingly excited attacks from the NEHTA paid blogger ‘journalist’ on just what an awful collection of souls make up the MSIA and how the executive must be ‘unrepresentative swill’!

As an extra we have the last of many so far side swipes at me as well - saying I am not equipped in any way to be commenting - and presumably wondering why anyone reads the blog. (About 300 people per day do bye-the-way).

Incidentally I am also told that there is a chance there might be a short delay in the report of the PCEHR Committee Report and that the Committee would probably be able to consider additional submissions for the next week or two.

I note a new submission appeared as late as yesterday so input is still arriving and being considered!

Here are the contact details:

“For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone:  +61 2 6277 3515

Fax:        +61 2 6277 5829

Email:     community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au”

If you have any views from any perspective get writing and submitting! Comments to the Committee addressing issues of patient safety, program governance and other issues I bang on about would be especially welcome!

What does all that is going on mean? From what I describe here and from a range of other sources what is actually happening is an attempt on the part of NEHTA to ensure any independent review of their activity and any independent scrutiny of the outcomes they create is simply suppressed or at best ineffective in causing any change to their plans - and especially their budget. If this is not true why all the public abuse rather than private e-mail and calls. I, and indeed the MSIA, are very easy to find!

NEHTA knows it is hanging on by a thread in terms of reputation and funding and is lashing out trying to protect its position. - it is as simple as that I reckon!

I can also tell you it is all getting pretty nasty and I don’t expect things to get better until we see the PCEHR report from the Senate!

David.