The Federal Government’s $466.7 million e-health records scheme will shortly start to surface in patients lives in the real world, with Health Minister Nicola Roxon this morning announcing three trial general practitioner networks that will start to implement the technology.

Labor allocated the money in the last Federal Budget after years of the health industry and technology experts calling for development and national leadership in e-health and health identifier technology to better tie together patients’ records and achieve clinical outcomes.

However, the Opposition has pledged to cancel the scheme.

The three GP networks will be GPpartners in Brisbane, GP Access in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley and the Melbourne East GP Network in Victoria.

“This is an important step forward in allowing online access to health records for each Australian that chooses to,” said Roxon in a statement this morning, noting the networks were chosen because they already have strong e-health capability within their communities.

In addition to building e-health records, the GP networks will use health care identifiers for the patients — the health identifier database was recently created by the Government — and will electronically send discharge summaries and referrals using national specifications.

The two-year trial project will cost up to $12.5 million in total. And the NSW and Queensland State Governments will also kick in $1.2 million each to help the project.

The news comes as Prime Minister Julia Gillard has recently been dramatically ramping up Labor’s focus on electronic service delivery, announcing yesterday that Medicare rebates would be provided for online consultations across a range of specialities — and describing Labor’s National Broadband Network as core to the vision.

However, much of the details around how Labor’s $466.7 million in funding will be used remain scant.

In June Roxon said the easiest way to think of the project was similar to how bank customers accessed their account online. It would be “at least two years” before patients would be able to use the system to access their information, the minister said at the time.

Long-time e-Health pundit and industry veteran David More this week wrote on his blog that it was positive that e-health was a bit more “top of mind” in the Federal Election than it had been in the past — but he noted the community was still “in the dark” about much of Labor’s actual e-health plan.

Image credit: Wojciech Wolak, royalty free

Related posts:

1. Industry ‘confused’ on e-health funding, says Ovum
2. Health ID bills pass Parliament
3. How will Australia’s e-health record work?
4. Budget 2010: E-Health gets $466.7 million
5. Failing Qld e-health system needs $439 million fix

1. Me
   Posted 18/08/2010 at 11:31 am | Permalink | Reply

   Interesting article Renai. I wonder if insurance companies will be able to access these records before deciding on whether or not they’ll issue someone medical insurance.