Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 March 2017
210. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of increasing the HSE information technology budget to bring it to the EU and OECD averages, respectively; the cost of increasing the HSE information technology budget by an average of 2%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12292/17]
View answer211. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of fast tracking the roll-out of the electronic health record; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12293/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 210 and 211 together.
The HSE have developed a business case for the implementation of an electronic health care record (EHR) in Ireland, building on the current platform of investments made in recent years in order to improve the penetration of ICT across the entire system. It also includes an integration capability to support new models of care - significant new systems deployments that can provide the necessary patient information across the continuum of care, particularly between Primary/Community and the Acute sector.
The business case sets out a number of investment scenarios including timescales for implementation and roll out. In the business case, a 5 year and a 9 year technology investment programme is developed but there is flexibility within its scope to stretch out timescales further. The total of all estimated costs including business change elements for a 5 year implementation are in the range of €647m to €875m respectively and the 9 year figure is between €609m-€824m. The five year scenario could be considered a ‘fast track’ approach. These costs would only arise if full implementation in all sites were to take place. The costs have been estimated based on market engagements in 2015/16.
A technology and business change project of this scale and scope has a number of inherent risks. Realistic timescales are important to ensure that the adoption of both the technology and the business change required by front line staff can be absorbed and managed in a coherent way. In addition to resourcing the EHR project with substantial manpower and financial resources, experience from other countries demonstrates that the vendor markets supplying many of these services needs to be carefully managed in terms of capacity and capability to deliver working tailored solutions in a satisfactory manner.
Cross country comparisons on ICT and eHealth spending are difficult to make due to the variety of health system arrangements. For the estimates below ICT spending is composed of Capital and Revenue. Based on current gross vote figures for HSE in 2017 of €14.6bn approximately, a 2% increase on the current level of HSE ICT spending would require an investment figure of €292m being made available. A mid term capital review is currently underway and the ICT capital component will be progressed further in that context.
