Boost for e-health technology



By Fran Foo

The federal government will spend $467 million over two years to introduce individual electronic health records as part of a national health reform agenda.

Patients will control what is stored on their health records and will decide which health professionals can view or add to their files, the government said.

The government has set aside $185.6m in 2010/11 to establish the building blocks for an individual e-health records regime. In the following financial year $281.2m will be allocated to the program.

The funding would provide a personally controlled electronic health record for every Australian who wants one starting from 2012/13.

“This will mean patients and their doctors will have their health records at their fingertips — improving patient safety and health care delivery,” Treasurer Wayne Swan said as he delivered the 2010 federal budget.

The government believes e-health records can improve patient safety and health care delivery as well as deliver cost savings by slashing duplication.

Medication errors from multiple prescriptions could be reduced as there is only one channel for patient medical information.

Patients will be able to access their own medical history, including medications, test results and allergies, which will allow them to make informed choices about their healthcare, budget papers said.

Health costs overall have massively increased over the years and will only continue to grow. According to the 2010 Intergenerational Report, health costs are expected to increase from 15 per cent of all government spending, or 4 per cent of GDP, to 26 per cent by 2050, representing 7.1 per cent of GDP.

Article from Australian IT, May, 2010.