This appeared last week:
04 October 2024
Lighting My Health Record’s interoperability capabilities on FHIR
The Australian Digital Health Agency has put out a request for tender for a $50 million contract to boost My Health Record’s connectivity.
The Australian Digital Health Agency has put out a request for tender for a $50 million contract to boost My Health Record’s connectivity.
The federal
government’s $2.5 billion My Health Record has repeatedly come under fire in
recent times, particularly regarding its interoperability with other software.
Even the federal health minister Mark Butler admitted to the platform’s
technology being “ordinary”, earlier this year.
As such, the ADHA is on a mission to revamp Australia’s medical data storage
and sharing service capabilities, as it plans to make it mandatory for
pathology providers to upload results to My Health Record from December this
year.
Last week, the ADHA issued a $45-50 million tender request to expand My Health
Record’s interoperability capabilities.
This will involve increasing the internal technical platform capabilities and
integration to facilitate FHIR interoperability, moving away from the current
Clinical Document Architecture-based document repository.
Both FHIR-based datasets and the current CDA datasets will need to coexist during the transition.'[good luck with that]
The tenderer
will also need to provide support for FHIR interoperability for future
components of the national digital health infrastructure.
The tender sits within a broader $429 million program to modernise My Health
Record, announced in the 2023 budget.
The wider aim is to move My Health Record from a document-storage platform to a
FHIR-enabled personalised health record system that enables close to real-time
access.
The request for tender will close for applications at 2pm (AEST), 1 November
2024.
Speaking at ADHA’s industry briefing on the tender today, chief financial
officer Christopher Davis said evaluation of the tender and completion of
internal governance and approval requirements was scheduled to be completed by
January 2025.
“We would be looking to commence the project as soon as possible after that
evaluation period and discussions with the preferred tenderer or tenderers, but
it will depend on, specifically, negotiations and progress formalising
contracts with those preferred tenderers through that process as well,” he
said.
“But certainly, from the agency’s perspective, we are keen to get moving as
quick as we can.”
Tenderers may be asked for technical demonstrations during the request for
tender, added Mr Davis. [oh, I wonder what they will be 'demonstrating'?]
“This will be at the agency’s discretion, depending on responses received and
how we go during our evaluation process,” he said.
Mr Davis denied that the agency had a preference for a particular
product when it was suggested that the wording of the statement of
requirements “overlaps greatly with a certain product in the market”. [could
that possibly be Epic or InterSystems?]
“The agency is certainly product agnostic here, and we are looking for
something that maximises the value for money for the agency, government
and community as well,” he said.
“I think if there are any similarities, it would be coincidental in nature.”
When asked by an attendee whether the agency had an expectation of the
potential consumption increase through My Health Record as a result
of the work – which would assist with pricing, the agency said this would be
taken on notice. [sounds like it will be very tasty]
Mr Davis reminded tenderers to monitor AusTender for the most up to date
documents when preparing tender responses.
The Australian Digital Health Agency told Health Services Daily that there was
a “positive” response from the 260-strong attendees at today’s webinar.
“The FHIR Server Solution request for tender is intended to play a vital part in
the modernisation of the My Health Record system,” it said.
“This modernisation and other national digital health initiatives including the
Health Information Exchange require advanced technologies such as FHIR
because they enable interoperability, providing secure access to a consumer’s
healthcare information across care settings.”
A recording of the briefing will be available on the ADHA website soon. The
timeframe for the delivery of the tender is three years.
Here is the link:
Does everyone realize we have been on this myHR journey since 2012 and as far as I can tell e have yet to see any enthusiasm for what it offers. Would anyone notice if they quietly shut is down and saved $400M a year?
David.
The bureaucrats don't understand the problem they are trying to solve. They never have and they never have.
ReplyDeleteThe large consulting firms don't understand either. Even so, they are very skilled at winning big government tenders, selling overseas solutions, milking the government goldmine, and delivering a solution the bureaucrats and government say they want ..... even though none of the parties know how to solve this hugely complex problem, know where to start and where to end.
$50 million is merely the entry ticket to the next $ billion+ pipeline.
Tick box dressed as good governance run by accountants. The curse of healthcare.
ReplyDeleteNone of that makes any sense and I cannot find a thread. Just seems random statements and aspirations. I am sure as a slide deck it is pretty.
ReplyDelete