No. 23

$3 MILLION TO ADVANCE E-HEALTH IN THE ACT

More than $3 million has been provided in the 2006–07 Budget to assist the ACT’s participation on the National e-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA).

e-Health is the electronic management of health information to deliver safer, more efficient, and better quality healthcare.

“Electronic health information (or e-Health) systems that can securely and efficiently exchange data can significantly improve how important clinical and administrative information is communicated between healthcare professionals,” Health Minister Katy Gallagher said. 

“As a result, e-Health systems have the potential to unlock substantially greater quality, safety and efficiency benefits.

“This funding which provides $0.687 million in first year, will go towards ACT Health’s costs for participation and engagement with several national e-Health initiatives including NEHTA, the e-Health Implementation Group in the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, and HealthConnect.

“This figure will increase over the next four years, rising to $0.808 million by the 2009-10 financial year, which ensures the ACT’s participation on these important health initiatives.

 “The benefits of the ACT’s participation on this national body include access to critical pieces of e‑Health infrastructure that we do not have the resources to develop on our own.

“It also allows us to access further funds from the HealthConnect project which we can put towards the implementation of our e-Health systems.

“Ultimately, our full participation in the e-Health movement allows us to maintain the good health status of the ACT as a whole.”