This came across my desk last week:
Chief Executive Officer
Delivering the benefits of digitally enabled healthcare togetherOverview
The Australian Digital Health Agency (Agency) is responsible for national digital health services and systems, with a focus on engagement, innovation and clinical quality and safety. The focus is on putting data and technology safely to work for patients, consumers and the healthcare professionals who look after them. Established as a statutory authority in the form of a corporate Commonwealth entity, the Agency reports to State and Territory Health Ministers through the COAG Health Council.
Tasked with improving health outcomes for Australians through the delivery of digital healthcare systems and the national digital health strategy for Australia, the Agency commenced operations on 1 July 2016. The Agency is committed to the delivery of world leading digital health capabilities. Through an open, transparent and collaborative approach, the Agency is working with the health system to drive better health for all Australians, enabled by seamless, safe and secure digital health services and technologies.
Position
Following the recent resignation of the incumbent, on behalf of the Board of the Australian Digital Health Agency, we are now seeking expressions of interest for the position of Chief Executive Officer. This role will suit an experienced senior leader who can confidently articulate the potential of Australian Digital Health Agency, and who demonstrates the vision, skills and business acumen to secure the organisation’s reputation and to lead the organisation into its next chapter of development, execution and strategic delivery. The CEO provides reporting and assurance to high-level stakeholders (Board, COAG Partners, clinical professions, health sector and end consumers) regarding the safety, quality and risk management strategies, robust governance frameworks, clinical adoption, privacy and security which underpins the Agency’s work. Experience in developing and leading an innovation culture while maintaining optimum probity and governance will be well regarded. Some of the key attributes sought include:
About you
- Experience leading a service organisation with a complex stakeholder environment, with exposure to health, human services or relevant sectors.
- Strategic leadership and governance experience working successfully at senior levels and with the Board. Ability to identify and develop strategies aimed at business, operational and delivery improvement.
- Contemporary and highly empathic people leader with a strong track record of building a positive and collaborative high-performing workplace culture. Builds trust; inspires and motivates; is able to harness the collective capability of staff and key stakeholders to work towards a common goal.
- Ability to build organisational capability, drive results through accountability, ownership and innovation within a digital delivery environment.
- Significant exposure to the State and Commonwealth government or other regulatory environments where results have been achieved within regulatory boundaries.
- Extensive stakeholder engagement, influencing and negotiation in highly nuanced settings at senior levels with Commonwealth and State governments, peak bodies and membership organisations, clinicians, patients and consumers and other industry, business and community stakeholders.
- Sound knowledge of program delivery, cybersecurity, integrity, legal, risk, compliance and regulatory frameworks that impact your operating context.
- Gravitas, political nous and is an exemplar of trust and integrity.
Closing date: 8 February 2020
More here:
A few comments:
1. “Through an open, transparent and collaborative approach, the Agency is working with the health system.” Cough, splutter…..
2. “ Experience in developing and leading an innovation culture while maintaining optimum probity and governance will be well regarded” Well regarded??? Try mandatory?
3. “Gravitas, political nous and is an exemplar of trust and integrity.” That would make a change!
4. Where is the deep technical understanding of the place and role of Digital Health?
5. The Board seems to want all the soft skills whereas we know that does not work in this role (journalist, banker, journalist not a wonderful track record so far).
If it is not shut down – a real chance - the ADHA needs technical and clinical leadership as well as all the managerial and probity stuff.
Watermark and the Board should try again?
While you are here, if you need a reminder of things past - go here:
https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/about-the-agency/digital-health-space/message-from-agency-ceo-tim-kelsey
David.
24 comments:
Absolutely f***ing amazing.
They want a CEO with no knowledge or experience in medicine, healthcare, information systems, digital technology, business transformation or anything else that might be even slightly relevant.
They want someone who can lead from behind a desk. A big mahogany desk. A big mahogany desk in the Canberra bubble.
RIP Digital Health in Australia. It is going the same way as our so called broadband ranking:
‘Embarrassingly slow’: Australia’s broadband internet ranked fourth slowest in OECD
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2020/01/28/broadband-speeds-australia-oecd/
Australia has fallen to 68th in global internet speed rankings, making it the fourth slowest country for broadband in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
This government couldn't run a chook raffle, never mind anything to do with technology.
I’m going to miss that blue suit always reminded me of what Tit Tin would look like in his fifties.
Another two things stand out David
senior leader who can confidently articulate the potential of Australian Digital Health Agency. Just potential? Surely it would be the maintaining of the instilled and proven value proposition ( unless they have failed completely?)
And - Experience leading a service organisation - sounds like it retreating into just running the MyHR and everything else is to be left on the forest floor to one day ignite.
"They want a CEO with no knowledge or experience in medicine, healthcare, information systems, digital technology, business transformation or anything else that might be even slightly relevant."
Isn't it obvious?
If someone had experience in any of those areas, they wouldn't touch the CEO role with a barge pole.
Isn't it also obvious that the ADHA is not a stepping stone to greatness. Tim was a senior British civil servant in the UK. He comes to Australia, achieves nothing of note with My Health Record other than create millions of empty records, and slinks off into the night to become a talking head. He used to be in positions of power and influence. Now what is he?
If the people who apply for CEO at ADHA are not aware of the history of digital health in Australia they deserve everything coming to them. If they are aware, they deserve everything coming to them.
How does this job advertisement compare to any previous for NeHTA/ADHA CEO?
How does it compare to other similar government/QUANGO and commercial Health related businesses CEO's?
The only knowledge related to Digital Health was cybersecurity the rest is very generic.
The usual view is a CEO relies on those under them for job/industry specific advice before decisions and NOT BE the industry expert themselves. It is very hard to evaluate hiring an expert below you without having industry knowledge yourself. You can only evaluate technical knowledge directly if you have the same/better technical knowledge yourself. Without this knowledge, you heavily rely on the opinions of others (referees or other workers) regarding their past performance and then a tick-a-box style application (education, training, prior jobs, self-aggrandisement).
Business as usual, just keep the organisation afloat and the dream of nirvana can continue unchallenged.
Closing Date is 8 February 2020. I presume this advert has been widely circulated for more than a week or two.
They may want to appoint someone before Dr Brendan Murphy takes up his position as Department of Health Secretary on 28 February.
Sadly and not surprisingly, the ADHA Board has approved produced a job advertisement which is deficient - in relevance and substance whilst full of superficial niceties and fleshy buzzwords. Mention of pragmatism, tough-problem solving, strong disciplined leadership, and practical experience in health and information technology have been adroitly avoided. In summary, it's business as usual with no evidence that new thinking would be welcome.
It smells of caretaker mode. Rather like a hospice
Watermark international. That says a lot. They are looking overseas in the hope they can find applicants who have read the government's rubbish and have no idea of the reality of digital health in Australia
One would expect an intelligent candidate to research the organisation and the environment. Doing so with GOOGLE would instantly lead them to the aushealthit.blogspot. That alone would give them sufficient insight to know they would be entering a cesspool. What are the $$dollars on offer? $600,000? Tempting for anyone - conman or otherwise.
@1:05 PM Caretaker mode?!! No way, dream-on. If it were to be put into caretaker mode you wouldn't advertise the position - they would simply appoint an Administrator to manage the organisation down. It's a fairly straightforward process.
The Board' has to ensure it fulfills its governance obligations by appointing a replacement CEO without undue delay. It's in the Board's interest to appoint a CEO while Glenys Beauchamp is still Department Secretary before the new Secretary starts trying to flex his muscles asking difficult and embarrassing questions, provided he knows what to ask!
Is there a Board Director equipped to fill the CEO position?
@3:20 PM "before the new Secretary starts trying to flex his muscles asking difficult and embarrassing questions". True, otherwise he becomes just another Health Secretary.
They (ADHA/Health/CEO) may not realise it's in caretaker mode but it probably is. They've done everything they possibly can do to make it work, except for the one thing that would make it work - totally redesign it. And that won't happen real soon now.
They actualy don't need to redesign it, the original design was much better than the crippled load of rubbish they've ended up with. They just need a couple of little tweaks - proper NASH and proper interoperability.
No chance.
@ 3:51 PM "Oh, they don't actually need to redesign it". Is that so? Oh, all that's needed is "just a couple of little tweaks". Clearly you're a techo - you make it all sound so, so, easy. If you're not a techo then you must be one of those consultants who travel the world selling their snake-oil to bureaucrats.
The new CEO's marching orders will be to call for a reset. That should buy a lot more time (2 or 3 years), attract a whole lot more government funding, neutralise the critics and keep ADHA staff employed.
@3:51 PM
Your sarcasm detector must be turned off. Maybe I should be a bit more specific /s
Perhaps the inadequacy of the CEO job advertisement is simply a reflection of the Board Members' inability to understand what the CEO's job should really be given their inability to comprehend the departing CEO's deficiencies.
As someone mentioned earlier we need someone with presence not charisma. There is a significant difference between the two. That is dependent on the department and boards motives. As a wise person stated on this blog - it is a politic tool, not a clinical tool. If there is one thing ADHA is not short of it's...
bulls**t?
Tools?
I wonder if the Board is aware of the obfuscation going on with ADHA's published statistics.
The ADHA has updated its statistics page.
https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/statistics
They are now reporting for the period March to December 2019
Previously they reported for March to November 2019
They are doing their best to release meaningless numbers but claim they are keeping people informed.
As someone said Bulls**t
And the Department of Health's page where they used to release much more useful PHN statistics on MyHr is still stagnant.
https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/PHN-Digital_Health
Last updated May 2019
If they had any real good news they would be trumpeting it from the rooftops. The fact that they aren't speaks volumes.
Nothing wrong with that Bernard - https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/statistics - it's good marketing and they are being consistent. With respect I submit that on this point you are being pedantic and losing your objectivity.
On the other hand, I don't seem to be able to load any useful data with the links listed here:
https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/PHN-Digital_Health
Last updated May 2019
The only number with any real, objective, meaning is the number of Shared Health Summaries uploaded, preferably in a short time period such as a week - which they used to publish. That number provided a reasonable indication of the timeliness of the data and how quickly it was likely to age.
For example, you could work out how many SHS had been uploaded in the previous year.
This gave a maximum number of records with a SHS less than a year old. Any other records are probably highly suspect. The last "proper" statistics up until 13 January 2019, only 15% of records had a SHS less than a year old. That number would have dropped significantly (to about 5%) when the opt-out process had compledted.
Re the PHN data. Do you mean the link doesn't work?
https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/PHN-Digital_Health
or that the data in the spreadsheets isn't useful? It was much more granular that the ADHA data, especially the 4th page.
Remember this is an agency that is unable to track and report it IT expenditure, meet simple APS requirements and uses others efforts in the form of unkept out of date specifications and Australian Standards to mislead the uninformed into thinking positive progress has been made.
Post a Comment