The Department of Health and the HSE have come under fire from the Oireachtas Health Committee for the delay in publishing the new national digital health strategy.
At a sitting of the committee on in early May, Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt and HSE chief operations officer Damien McCallion were grilled by Social Democrats TD Roisin Shortall as to why the Digital Health Strategic Framework – which was promised eight months ago – has still not been published.
“This committee has had two sessions over the past year or so on digital health and the importance of it,” Deputy Shortall said.
“We were told the framework would be published in September. Then we were told it would be March. We are now into May. We still do not know the reason for the delay.”
Mr McCallion said the framework is now complete and he expects it to be put to government “imminently”.
“The HSE and the Department of Health have worked together to finalise a digital health and social care framework that will guide priorities, development and investment,” he said.
“This is underpinned by a more detailed roadmap which sets down a clear path for the integration of digital technologies in the healthcare system and marks a crucial step in the journey towards a patient-centred and digitally enabled health and social care environment.”
Mr McCallion added that although the document has not yet been published, work is already progressing on a number of initiatives set out in the framework.
“We are advancing the implementation of a new patient app in 2024, the development of electronic patient records in key areas, such as the children’s hospital, and the development of a national electronic health record,” he said.
“In addition, we continue to implement solutions to support hospital and community services in their day-to-day operations across services such as laboratories, mental health, disabilities, older persons, primary care and palliative care. This includes the innovative use of robotics and exploring the use of artificial intelligence.
“Effectively, we have not waited for the framework to be signed off. We have continued to progress the work around each of the key initiatives.”
Mr Watt said while the strategy was ready, it has not yet been published. “The strategy is developed and has been circulated. Even though the overall strategy has not been launched … most of the key elements are being worked on and advanced.
“This is important. I do not want people to have the wrong impression,” he said. “The key projects encompassed within the strategy and a whole number of e-applications are being pursued. We are now developing a proposal with regard to electronic health records and tenders are going out. Many activities are happening.”
