Last week we had many of the NEHTA Clinical Leads resign from the program - despite being is receipt of some significant payments for the services they were offering.
You can read about the evolving story on these links.
See here:
and here:
and here:
and finally here:
The question is simply “If these experienced clinicians and e-Health ‘experts’ thought the PCEHR was a winner would they be bailing out at this time?
Surely they would want to be around for the kudos and rewards that would flow from a successful program?
Clearly they don’t see that happening!
Let’s keep this simple. If the clinicians who are close to the program want out just why would you want in and why?
The answer is really easy. Those who are leaving know vastly more than you about the program and its risks and benefits - and yet they want out. It makes it totally clear this is a lemon on which no more time should be wasted by you or your colleagues until the RACGP and the AMA are convinced - and say so and it is properly redesigned and fixed, so that the PCEHR is now both useful, safe and fit for purpose.
Until then stay well away as those on the inside are.
I will cover all the commentary on this in coming days but as you read the NEHTA press release keep the question above in your mind.
Statement from Dr Mukesh Haikerwal AO
Created on Friday, 16 August 2013
On Tuesday 13 August 2013, I tendered my resignation from NEHTA effective Thursday 22 August 2013.
I have been with The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) as National Clinical Lead since the 2007 Boston Consulting Group report.
I am a passionate advocate for health and healthcare and maintain my fervent belief that eHealth will transform the way we receive care and practice medicine. My decision to move on from my role with NEHTA has not been made lightly, and of course there is never a ‘good time’ to take this step.
However, with the eHealth system now in its current place and moving into a different phase, this is the right time for me to step aside.
NEHTA’s focus has moved from designing eHealth systems to them now being tweaked to encompass utility, usability, usefulness and meaningful use in the products to be rolled out into the healthcare sector. There have been discussions with NEHTA and the Department of Health and Ageing about the best way for this to occur.
I am assured that the rigour provided to the nationwide consultation leading to the PCEHR Concept of Operations with continued engagement with healthcare providers, peak bodies, consumers, vendors and other key stakeholders which is critical, will continue.
We are just at the beginning, and there is a long way to go on the eHealth journey. I will continue to be a strong advocate for continued consultation and involvement from people using eHealth systems on the ground. I believe eHealth and the PCEHR will be the way of the future and I will continue to encourage my patients and my clinical colleagues to consider taking advantage of the benefits of these systems.
I am enormously proud of what my teams at NEHTA and the Clinical Leads group and Clinical Unit have achieved. These professionals were instrumental in making eHealth a topic of conversation in the community, in bringing together a significant agreement and vision for the use of technology in the Health sector. They have made Clinical safety a part of the “eHealth build”.
We, as a community, have a useful, usable vehicle which will make healthcare safer and more effective. I have confidence that the vision I have long believed in is achievable and that with ongoing dialogue between clinicians, the broader community, NEHTA and the governments of Australia this vision will become a reality.
On a personal and professional note, I would like to thank the marvellous stakeholders of the health sector who so willingly gave of their time, knowledge, wisdom, energies and goodwill over the six years I have been involved. I have very much enjoyed working with and learning from you, I certainly hope our paths cross again.
The statement is here:
Turn on the spin detectors as you read and ask the question I mention above.
Time will be the judge if I am right or wrong.
David.
5 comments:
The good Doctor in making this statement, is way off the mark, just like the PCEHR, DoHA and NEHTA.
This statement did it for me -
"We, as a community, have a useful, usable vehicle which will make healthcare safer and more effective"
One word - Clueless
Pleased he has moved on, he has done us all a favour.
I am sure he has been leaned on heavily to make that statement. I would imagine lots of high level pressure has been applied. I can imagine the ministerial directives to just make it work. Sadly computers are a bit autistic when it comes to bending the truth and projects as badly conceived and executed as this have a very low risk of success. Denial of reality is not a good strategy, other than perhaps to get you past an election. The fallout gets bigger and bigger the longer you wait however. When you are not spending your own money its pretty easy however and that's the moral hazard.
A large project in a conceptually difficult space, with social contentious elements, and a fixed budget and stupidly short deadline...
The fact that anything at all came out of the pcEHR project is a testament to how hard and well the participants worked.
K, I can only imagine what comments may come out of your statement
Yes I am sure people worked really hard, to screw the tax payer.
For a Billion dollars and you state "the fact anything came at all", only says to me that too many people involved in this project have been drinking there own bath water.
"K said...
A large project in a conceptually difficult space, with social contentious elements, and a fixed budget and stupidly short deadline...
The fact that anything at all came out of the pcEHR project is a testament to how hard and well the participants worked"
ah yes our first post from the national excuse authority!
You can hear them now..."We worked so hard on the white elephant, we deserve our bonuses"
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