The Department of Health Tasmania has published ‘Digital Health Transformation – Improving Patient Outcomes 2022 – 2032’, setting out their plan to improve patient care, deliver better health outcomes and increase capacity in the system by investing in digital health.
The document notes that the Tasmanian Health System faces structural challenges in the coming years due to an ageing population and increased rates of chronic disease. The investment in digital help comes as part of an effort to transform the existing system into a modern, integrated care system better-placed to meet the challenges of the future. It is expected that more than $475 million will be allocated to the project between 2022 and 2032. Additionally, the investment will bring together public and private health services to make Tasmania the first Australian state to deliver a fully integrated care system.
The strategy lays out a road map with three key horizons: to build digital foundations and targeted investments in modernising clinical information systems; to deploy a statewide electronic medical record (EMR) system; and to bring all digital benefits together in a modern, highly-integrated and patient-focused service.
The first of the horizons is set to be delivered over the next four years with a budget of $150 million. It will see procurement of the EMR; a new integrated electronic patient care record (ePCR); a statewide patient record viewer; improved compliance with national obligations such as Medicare revenue and ABF & National Safety and Quality Health Service standards; and an uplift to existing technologies to improve reliability and scalability.
“We have heard from our health professionals that too much of their time is spent chasing up paperwork, or duplicating tests, because our community health care and hospital sectors don’t interact with each other,” said Jeremy Rockliff MP Premier, Minister for Health and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing. “We also acknowledge that Tasmanians are having to spend time travelling to major centres for access to health specialists. Our Digital Health Transformation will change this and act as a circuit breaker to not only shift more care into the community and prevent unnecessary hospital visits but also to improve access to healthcare.”
To read the document in full, please click here.
