E-health benefits spread to older Australians

Australians suffering from chronic disease and patients in aged and palliative care are some of the first groups set to benefit from national health reform as nine new locations have been selected to lead the roll-out of e-health records, the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, has said.

She has announced the second wave projects that have been selected as e-health lead implementation sites for the Gillard Government’s $467 million national personally controlled electronic health records (PCEHR) project.

“E-health is one of the critical elements of the Gillard Government’s efforts to modernise our health system through national health reform,” Minister Roxon said.

“In these nine projects we can see practical examples of how e-health can improve heath care for patients. Most importantly, these projects can help to reduce the chance of medical errors and save patients from having to repeat their health history every time they visit a new doctor.

“These projects will lead the roll-out of e-health records for a wide range of patients, including Indigenous Australians in the NT, WA and SA, chronic disease patients in Western Sydney and aged care and palliative patients in NSW, the ACT and Tasmania.”

Aged and palliative care patients and their families in north west Tasmania will be one of the first groups of Australians to have access to e-health records. Aged and palliative care patients and their families as well as palliative care medical specialists and clinical nurse consultants will be targeted.

“In this project, we can see a practical example of how e-health can improve heath care for aged and palliative care patients and their families,” Minister Roxon said

“A key feature of these projects is that they can help to reduce the chance of medical errors and save patients from having to repeat their health history every time they visit a new doctor,” she said.

The 12 e-health lead implementation sites are aiming to have more than half a million Australians enrolled before the national launch of e-health records next year. Brisbane will become an ‘e-health super site’, with both north and south Brisbane and maternity at the Mater Hospital to be covered.

Minister Roxon made the announcement at Medibank Health Solutions, where Medibank Private’s managing director, George Savvides, explained how their e-health project will initially focus on members enrolled in their Health Management and Chronic Disease Management programs enabling them to record their own health data.

“Medibank Private members will be able to access their own Health Book, which will combine their health records with a personal health diary and help them better manage and understand their own health care needs,” Mr Savvides said.

“Over time, Medibank’s Health Book will help members better manage their chronic disease by also including health management plans, medical test results and prompting them with reminders about appointments or other health events.”

The Minister also announced the outcomes of the successful national e-health conference held in Melbourne last year, which have been released through the National e-Health Conference Report.

“The conference provided an important opportunity for collaboration between clinicians, health consumers and the IT industry around the design and implementation of a PCEHR system,” Minister Roxon said.

“This report reveals how participants thought we should approach the opportunities and challenges ahead for e-health, and in particular discusses some of the innovation potential for the sector. This will be a useful report in the ongoing implementation of e-health records.”

The Gillard Government is investing up to $55 million in these nine lead implementation sites as a part of its overall investment of $467 million so that patients will be able to sign up for a personally controlled electronic health records from 1 July 2012.

Further details on the PCEHR and the first wave of lead implementation sites is available from www.yourhealth.gov.au and the National E-Health Transition Authority website: www.nehta.gov.au/ehealth-implementation/pcehr-lead-sites