THE Gillard government's $500 million personally controlled
e-health record program has diverted funds and attention from other more
useful health IT projects, a Senate inquiry has been told.
"It would be most unwise to count upon the PCEHR implementation going to
plan,” HealthLink chief executive Tom Bowden and head of operations
Geoffrey Sayer say in a joint submission to the PCEHR inquiry.
"It is a high-risk strategy. Other centrally directed projects elsewhere (are failing) and in some cases have been halted.
"There are also mounting concerns that attempting to roll out a national
solution within a very tight timeframe is placing considerable pressure
on the sector, and may well hold back sustainable e-health service
development for a long time to come.”
Former health minister Nicola Roxon staked her political reputation on
having the PCEHR program available "to every Australian who wants one”
by July 1 this year, committing to an ambitious 18-month deadline for
delivery of the massive nationwide health IT and change management
project...
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