This appeared a few days ago.
AFP searches for digital health record system
Will replace disparate databases, paper-based records.
The Australian Federal Police is set to introduce an agency-wide electronic health records system to better manage the health information of its 6000-plus staff.
The national policing agency revealed plans for the “organisation health solution” in a request for tender on Friday in a bid to better identify officers at risk of injury or illness.
The solution, which will consist of a “central repository” for personnel health information, will replace “multiple disconnected databases, based on Microsoft Access, and paper documents”.
The AFP has blamed these “siloes of information” for “making it difficult for organisation health practitioners to obtain a consolidated single view of an AFP or family member’s health information”.
It is a view shared by the national auditor, which in 2018 found disconnected systems and multiple hard copy records contributed to major shortcomings in the way AFP mental health is managed.
“The AFP’s information on employee mental health is held across a range of disconnected information systems and multiple hardcopy records which makes it difficult for the AFP to monitor and respond to emerging issues in employee mental health,” the audit said at the time.
The audit recommended the AFP “consolidate disparate systems and hardcopy records in order to establish an electronic health records management system”.
The end-to-end solution is expected to help the AFP “better manage the information it holds about AFP personnel (and their family members where appropriate in order to identity and minimise as much as possible the risk of injury to them”.
“The AFP does not currently have a consolidated ICT solution for managing health related information and activities such as work health and safety, health record information, case management, workers compensation or return to work activities,” tender documents state.
The e-health record component, dubbed the One AFP health record, will be used as the AFP’s “single access point for all captured information pertaining AFP personnel health records, including historic case files”.
It is also envisaged that end users will be able to access to their personnel health information, as well as use the health record to submit health documents such as medical certificates.
More here:
I suspect this system is intended to be way different to the #myHealthRecord – even if that could be kept complete, accurate and current – but it also has a quite different purpose.
You can read – after registration – from the Austender site all the documents that comprise the tender and associated requirements :
Here is the link:
Reviewing the requirements found here it seems clear that when the term “health record” is used, what is intended is a record to manage occupational health, provide case management but not dive to deeply into clinical matters as such, – except for psychological matters which relate to employment etc.
The system seems also to anticipate a large number of users accessing the system.
Clearly this system will not be patient controlled and one really does wonder who are the intended users for what will be a mix of both clinical (from medical certificates etc.), psychological and occupational health and safety information.
The more you think about it the more complex issues of privacy and employee information security would appear to become and you really wonder just how access would be controlled, and who should access the system.
Thinking about it, the record, built up over years, may have a huge amount of personally very sensitive information on an individual. Just how they would feel about sharing and to whom is an interesting question!
Yet again we see how the sharing of personally sensitive information needs to be carefully thought through. I am not sure the AFP really understands how bringing all this information together may turn out to be a rather dangerous thing for officer privacy.
The intent is to get this new system up by September, 2020 and I have to say that also seems like quite a challenge! I can’t imagine there is an off the shelf application that will do what they need for a start…
Overall a slightly lateral tender to the ones we usually see on the blog.
David.
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