Sometimes The Headline Does Not Quite Reflect What The Article Actually Says!

This appeared last week:

Hambleton gains industry’s approval

• The Australian
• July 01, 2014 12:00AM

THE appointment of Steve Hambleton as chairman of the ­National E-Health Transition Authority has been welcomed by the industry, which hopes for an overhaul of the agency that delivered the troubled $1 billion personally controlled e-health records system.

Dr Hambleton, immediate past president of the Australian Medical Association, replaces David Gonski, who completed the maximum two terms, or six years, as NEHTA chair.

Dr Hambleton was a panel member on the government review into the PCEHR.

The Consumers e-Health Alliance said it was interesting to contemplate the role Dr Hambleton needed to play as incoming chair of NEHTA.

CeHA is an unincorporated, not-for-profit organisation that counts chronic illnesses, disabilities and carer organisations as partners. They include Alzheimer’s Australia, Aged Care Association of NSW, Arthritis Australia, Leukaemia Foundation of Australia, Heart Foundation and Stroke Foundation.

“Dr Hambleton participated in the Gang of Three which reviewed the PCEHR and produced 38 recommendations,” CeHA convener Peter Brown said.

“The government has not yet decided what to do about them, but Dr Hambleton’s appointment, and his acceptance … it would be odd if these recommendations were not to be adopted in some agreed way.”

Mr Brown said comments by NEHTA that Mr Gonski was “responsible for revitalising its board, and galvanising co-operation between the governments of Australia to deliver urgently needed infrastructure and standards for health information” were inaccurate. “Neither of these claims are supported by evidence. I’d suggest they are based on misinformation,” he said.

“I don’t believe Mr Gonski would support such claims. I have no doubt he tried hard, but it would not have been possible to revitalise the NEHTA board as by its very nature it was inadequately equipped to do its allotted job.”

Mr Brown said the NEHTA chair had no control over the composition of its board, whose members are mandated to comprise representatives of federal, state and territory governments who provide its equity funding with each appointing a board member.

“The appointees, in the event, were the chief executives of each government’s health entity, none of whom were likely to possess the required experience, and in any case were likely to be ­replaced with each cabinet ­reshuffle, entity restructure or change of government,” he said.

Lots more here:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/hambleton-gains-industrys-approval/story-e6frgakx-1226972811773

What I found very interesting here was the view that essentially the previous Chairman had essentially failed and that there was little chance of change into the future - without the dissolution of NEHTA which puts Dr Hambleton out of a job. Does that mean he will have a role in the new structure?

It is also of interest that it is not NEHTA but rather the Department of Health that owns - with Human Services operating - the PCEHR. Just what influence NEHTA has had in recent times on the PCEHR seems to have been rather constrained.

I just get the feeling there is a bit of woolly thinking about how e-Health governance is now operating - and with the lack of clarity as to what the future looks like until we see the much delayed response to the PCEHR Review.

David.