The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) says it supports the call for electronic health records to be rolled out across the health service, including using funding from the €14 billion Apple ruling to invest in digital health.

The IHCA has also backed the substance of the Health Information Bill 2024, which is unlikely to be considered before the election.

IHCA president Gabrielle Colleran said recent reports that the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, wanted to use funding from the Apple ruling to invest in digital health were fully endorsed by the organisation.

“In productivity and patient experience terms, it would be transformational,” Professor Colleran said.

“Our health system continues to rely on an antiquated records model which is desperately inefficient. It also means healthcare professionals are unable to access and assess patient records in a joined-up, real time fashion.

“Clipboards, paper, pens, pencils and fax machines remain realities in Irish hospitals. IT hardware and software are dated and, in some instances, WiFi is not a given. The gap from where we are to where we need to be is stark.”

She also said was a time when governments around the world are turning their attention to how generative AI can transform health systems, improving patient outcomes and overall productivity.

On electronic health records, she said now was the moment to move on digital health records and applauded the debate on the Health Information Bill 2024.

She said IHCA believes that this is a “crucial” piece of legislation which will allow for the creation of a fit-for-purpose digital health records system, in line with other modern public health systems across the European Union and wider world.

She described the existing physical records model as antiquated, deeply inefficient, labour intensive and leads to a loss in productivity across acute hospital settings.

While it is unlikely that the bill will be moved forward in the near future, IHCA said the eHealth platforms due to come on stream this year and next would pave the way for phase three, which will see the roll-out of full digitalisation across the health service.

“In an era of exciting digital health innovation, it is clear that the existing reality of clipboards, paper, pens, pencils and fax machines across Irish hospitals is out of step with the modern world and represents a burden to both healthcare practitioners and patients,” Professor Colleran said.

“We fully embrace vital government efforts to digitise healthcare records in Ireland, in order to improve productivity and patient outcomes.”