The Chief Information Officer of the HSE Richard Corbridge has launched a public consultation process on a range of matters regarding a new national Electronic Health Record (EHR). A national EHR is a comprehensive and combined solution that supports the creation, management and sharing of key patient information. The national EHR will consist of core operational solutions (with functions such as ePrescribing and Case Management), along with the ability to aggregate data from these systems into a comprehensive national summary record, accessible to health and social care professionals who are providing care, and also to patients, service users and carers. The opportunity afforded by a national EHR is to create a future Healthcare environment that is integrated and information rich, supporting improvements in care, and making a step change in the availability of patient information across organisations with a legitimate reason to do so within the HSE.
Speaking at the launch Richard Corbridge, Chief Information Officer and Chief Officer of eHealth Ireland said: "We are now looking for the public's feedback on a range of matters such as: what will make the EHR successful, and where the EHR should be prioritised (the community, hospitals etc). We want to know your views on data privacy and accessibility to the EHR and how consent should be managed. A consultation period is now open and your feedback is needed. A feedback form is available for you to enter your thoughts and views. A short video is also available to give you some background and understanding for the EHR. We will all have an EHR in the future, so it is important we have our say now at this early stage so that we get this right for our healthcare system. We know that other jurisdictions often did not ask the public for their views and therefore implemented solutions without matching them to the wishes of patients and the public. We want to get this right."
Dr Áine Carroll, National Director, Clinical Strategy and Programmes Division said: "The EHR will mean that healthcare professionals will have access to their patients’ healthcare record or chart electronically at the right time in the right place in order to deliver the care needed to the patient. This will also mean that communication between healthcare professionals when caring for their patients will also be easier as the healthcare record will be available to the professionals when needed. It is important that both service users and providers give feedback and have their views heard so that we get this right for the Irish healthcare system."
The Electronic Health Record (EHR) programme within eHealth Ireland has engaged with EHR vendors from across the globe in the first part of 2015. The purpose of this engagement has been to enable Ireland to build a case for change; a document that describes what an EHR deployed in Ireland would bring to the delivery of care, what the value would be of such a system and an approach that Ireland could take to adopting such a system. Over twenty five vendors have provided insight into this document as has a wide ranging clinical community.
With the Vision and Direction approved and published, the team have moved on to the three next stages:
- the creation of a business case for the EHR by the end of January 2016
- the delivery of three key projects that will ‘shine a light’ on what an EHR does for Ireland and
- a public consultation into the delivery of an EHR.
To provide your feedback please visit:
http://www.ehealthireland.ie/Strategic-Programmes/Electronic-Health-Record-EHR-/Consultation/
The consultation period is open until Sunday 31st of January 2016.
For further information on EHR and other eHealth Ireland projects, please visit:
http://www.ehealthireland.ie/Strategic-Programmes