This blog is totally independent, unpaid and has only three major objectives.
The first is to inform readers of news and happenings in the e-Health domain, both here in Australia and world-wide.
The second is to provide commentary on e-Health in Australia and to foster improvement where I can.
The third is to encourage discussion of the matters raised in the blog so hopefully readers can get a balanced view of what is really happening and what successes are being achieved.
The question is just what, in some detail, is that new 0.5 Billion Dollars to be spent on and what will be the outcomes from the spend. It is very easy to see another 1/2 Billion $ wasted if there is not a clear plan!
One might also ask Is the ADHA worth 0.3 Billion a year!
Any suggestions welcome!
David.
For an organisation focused on contract management for a managed data repository. 0.3 Billion a year seems a lot. If that includes hosting fees and outsourced service management, then you have to ask - show me the expenditures. Accenture was not cheap, but this latest agreement seems far more significant.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice summary of over all IT spend in the budget
ReplyDeletehttps://www.itnews.com.au/news/the-full-list-of-it-projects-in-the-2023-24-federal-budget-594172?eid=1&edate=20230510
If government IT is your business then business is good
@John - and how much of that goes into the local IT sector and economy?
ReplyDeleteIt does show possible reasons why some believe a large central data repository is the answer - that seems to be the standard architecture and procurement approach.
David asked "One might also ask Is the ADHA worth 0.3 Billion a year?"
ReplyDeleteI suggest the answer is only yes if MyHR and ADHA's Digital Health initiatives had an obvious payback to the government of more than 0.3 Billion a year, never mind the accrued debt of 3 Billion.
This morning on RN Life Matters Mukesh Haikerwal said the My Health Record is used to provide clinical care for 85 to 90 percent of people!!!! I am flabbergasted by such a bul-sh-- claim.
ReplyDelete.3 billion a year - no can’t say I can see the worth in that. What do they actually do these days? Seems we have multiple competing entities these days.
ReplyDeleteThe comment from Dr Haikerwal is clearly rubbish in case anyone was wondering! Usage is no where like that!!!!
ReplyDeleteDavid.
Dr Haikerwal has been playing health politics for a long time. I am sure there is little sincerity or belief it that statement.
ReplyDeleteSadly Dr Haikerwal and the AMA in general have become opinions for hire. There needs to be disclosure of income sources, both direct and indirect when the press print this type of statement, but the media are no longer watchdogs for the truth
ReplyDeleteIf proponents of Digital health keep promising its wonderful benefits decade after decade but never deliver, there's something seriously wrong with the promises.
ReplyDeleteThis is a contribution on InnovationAus.com from Bronwyn Le Grice the managing director and chief executive of digital health commercialisation firm ANDHealth.
An answer to our troubled health system
https://www.innovationaus.com/an-answer-to-our-troubled-health-system/
Here's a couple of paragraphs:
"We commend the government and Minister Butler for tackling what is an immensely complicated, and highly political issue. The $950 million to be invested in this year’s federal Budget into Australia’s digital and connected health infrastructure, including upgrades to the My Health Record and continued funding for the Australian Digital Health Agency, will be essential to creating the foundations for a healthcare system of the future.
In “The Creative Destruction of Medicine”, Dr Eric Topol noted that the engaged patient would be the blockbuster drug of the century. Evidence-based digital health technologies, including digital therapeutics, patient engagement and remote patient management technologies, offer a new way of delivering significantly improved patient outcomes, whilst improving accessibility, equity, affordability and effectiveness of care."
MyHR was launched in 2012 and she is still talking about "creating the foundations for a healthcare system of the future". What has the government been doing for over ten years? Apart from claiming that they have already built the foundations?
“The Creative Destruction of Medicine” by Dr Eric Topol was published in 2011 and there's still no evidence any of his promises and predictions have eventuated.
In 2005 the RAND published an article asking the question "Can Electronic Medical Record Systems Transform Health Care? Potential Health Benefits, Savings, And Costs"
In it they stated:
"It is widely believed that broad adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) systems will lead to major health care savings, reduce medical errors, and improve health.2 But there has been little progress toward attaining these benefits.
Barriers to adoption include high costs, lack of certification and standardization, concerns about privacy, and a disconnect between who pays for EMR systems and who profits from them."
They predicted that "The adoption of interoperable EMR systems could produce efficiency and safety savings of $142–$371 billion."
In 2010 Booz and Company produced a report
Optimising e-health value
http://ict-industry-reports.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2010/06/2010-optimising-e-health-value-booz-apr-2010.pdf
"Booz Allen found that the successful rollout and adoption of core EHealth capabilities in Australia are expected to be worth an estimated AU$7.6 billion annually by 2020."
This report was used by NEHTA to justify the PCEHR in the first place and in the review which led to MyHR and opt-out.
Nothing changes. The same predictions and promises, the same failures.
In an industry that favours evidence based decisions, there is one thing there is little of and that is the evidence of benefit of widespread use of Health/Medical Records outside the very specific use at the time and place of point of care.
Except all those vendors who continue to make promises and make money.
The aged care sector is the new host. MyHR, ADHA and it's many satellites can now feast for another ten years, deficating broken promises and half truths on the Australian public.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks on and it seems ADHA is almost having to start again from a organisational perspective. Such a high turnover and all focused on the document repository as being the digital system. They are not even sport anymore
ReplyDeleteIf the ADHA is the "State of the Art" wrt government capability then we are in serious trouble, which I actually think is the case. It's quite depressing that our taxes fund so much incompetence, that is a net negative for the community at the communities cost....
ReplyDelete