National e-health system edges closer
The Federal Government has accelerated its national e-health journey with the introduction of key legislation into parliament this week.
The Federal Government has accelerated its national e-health journey with the introduction of key legislation into parliament this week.
The Rudd Government needs to boost its leadership and learn from other countries implementing e-health strategies, according to a leading healthcare industry CIO.
Open source software could provide a model for better e-health collaboration, but should not be seen as a panacea for addressing the interoperability challenges in healthcare, according to a leading healthcare industry CIO.
The Federal Government and healthcare industry bodies should abandon proprietary software and embrace open source if Australia is to have a successful national e-health platform, argues e-health academic, Professor Jon Patrick. Professor Patrick, who heads up the health information technology research laboratory at the University of Sydney, said the existing proprietary software used in the health industry lacked the flexibility and cost-effectiveness to meet the demands of emergency department clinical situations.
Seven hospitals, 1000 beds, 7000 staff, 9000 babies, 35,000 theatre cases and 90,000 emergency attendances is all in a year’s work at Queensland’s largest independent hospital group.