If We Could Achieve This It Would Be A Real Step Forward! Evidence Based Policy Is Not A Strength Of The ADHA.

This appeared a few days ago:

Whatever happened to ‘evidence based policy making’?

Alf Rattigan Lecture 2018

26 Nov 2018

Gary Banks

Australia and New Zealand School of Government

Description

Few within government would deny that evidence-based policy-making is important to achieving good outcomes.  Australia’s history provides ample support for that. But it is also apparent that practice over the past decade has fallen short of the ideals espoused. 

In this, the third Alf Rattigan Lecture, Professor Gary Banks will consider why that has been so and what might be done, at the political and bureaucratic levels, to moderate the increasing tendency for policy to be made 'on the run’.

Here is the link:

http://apo.org.au/node/206646

You can download a short 11 page document:

In analyzing Evidence Based Policy (EBP) a set of 5 analytic questions were suggested to examine a policy direction / initiative:

Let us use the lens offered to look at the #myHealthRecord initiative.

Question 1: Is / was there evidence of a policy problem?

Australia, it is fair to say, was not crying out for a Secondary National patient controlled  Electronic Health Record System and still isn’t as far as I can tell. Answer No!

Question 2 :  Has there been an analysis for all feasible options?

Not as such, as far as anyone knows. The PCEHR fell on us all out of a clear blue sky after the HealthConnect program was cancelled years earlier as I recall. Answer No!

Question 3: Has / was the initiative ‘stress tested’ with stakeholders.

Nope, the whole thing was pushed forward at a dangerous, politically inspired, pace with many features / protections just skipped or omitted. Answer No!

Question 4: Was there effective public communication?

Again I think this came up rather short. Answer No!

Question 5: Has / Was there been sound execution and monitoring?

Not really. The strategic course has changed without warning and the actual progress has largely been in secret. Answer No!

So as an example of EBP the #myHealthRecord has been a shining example of how not to conduct policy.

What a shambles from beginning to end with $2.x Billion down the drain for what?

David.