Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2017
374. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the way in which the HSE plans to develop a patient-based information technology system on a national basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49161/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI presume by "a patient-based information technology system on a national basis" that the Deputy is referring to the HSE’s plans for the phasing in of a national Electronic Health Record (EHR). It should also be noted that the HSE is delivering a wide range of technology enabled programmes which support the delivery of Electronic Health Records.
The EHR business case, which has been developed by the HSE, highlights a number of optional timescales and investment approaches. The scale of the task to implement a national electronic health record programme is very large, challenging and requires a complex planning, approval and tendering process. It is a five to ten year programme of work depending on the scale of resources deployed. We must also be cognisant of the delivery of an EHR in the context of the work being planned for the New Children’s Hospital, which aspires to be the first digital hospital facility in the country.
I welcome the recognition of the priority required for investment in the EHR Programme in the Sláintecare Report which recommended “continued strong support of the e-health strategy - particularly ensuring the necessary funding for timely roll-out of the EHR system".
For a programme of this scale and scope, realistic timescales and funding options 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. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) as defined in the high level strategic business case has 4 main elements - the Shared Care Record, the Community & Primary Care EHR, the Acute Operational EHR and the EHR integration suite. The Strategic Business Case is published on the eHealth Ireland website. The HSE appointed a programme manager to oversee the implementation of the Electronic Health Record in May 2017 and work is continuing with the HSE and my Department on progressing the business case with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The next phase of the EHR programme is to develop detailed business cases for each component, specification of requirements, procurement documentation and support during the procurement process.
The HSE sought and received conditional sanction from my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to undertake 4 tenders, utilising the Office of Government procurement framework, to provide them with external support for the programme. The 4 tenders are for the delivery of support for the following areas:
- programme office;
- acute EHR;
- community EHR; and
- Shared Care Record and Integration.
The tender documents were published in August and the tender process closed mid-September. To date, one contract for this work has been awarded for the acute hospital EHR in view of the requirements for the National Children's Hospital. In the case of the other two lots, a re-tendering exercise is underway. The outputs from this work will allow greater clarity on the scope of the individual components for what is being procured and the detailed costings for each of the areas that will make up the electronic health care record. Only when this detailed work is completed can the procurement process be considered for submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and prioritisation assigned to the work. The work in relation to EHR will continue and feed into the implementation response to the Sláintecare report being prepared by my Department .
