It seems that the Labor Party recognises that there are some pieces of technical infrastructure that require an element of Government funding to bring into existence, but that once implemented there will be ongoing benefit for the nation.
The essence of their internet broadband announcement is as follows:
“Federal Labor will revolutionise Australia’s internet infrastructure by creating a new National Broadband Network.
It will connect 98 per cent of Australians to high speed broadband internet services – at speeds over 40 times faster than most current speeds.
With the rollout of a new ‘Fibre To The Node’ (FTTN) network, Federal Labor will increase speed to a minimum of 12 megabits per second – so fast that household entertainment, business communication and family services will happen in real time.
The remaining two per cent of Australians in regional and rural Australia not covered by the FTTN network will have improved broadband services.
New services and benefits of the network – particularly in rural and regional areas – include:
• Slashed telephone bills for small business;
• Enhanced business services such as teleconferencing, video conferencing and virtual private networks;
• Enhanced capacity for services like e-education and e-health; and
• High definition, multi-channel and inter-active TV services.
It is estimated that the new National Broadband Network will deliver national economic benefits including:
• Up to $30 billion in additional economic activity every year;
• Making Australian small businesses more competitive;
• Creating new markets for businesses and new jobs for Australians; and
• Extending media diversity.
A Rudd Labor Government will:
• Partner with the private sector to deliver the national broadband network over five years;
• Undertake a competitive assessment of proposals from the private sector to build the network;
• Ensure competition in the sector through an open access network that provides equivalence of access charges and scope for access seekers to differentiate their product offerings;
• Put in place regulatory reforms to ensure certainty for investment; and
• Make a public equity investment of up to $4.7 billion.
This commitment will be financed from existing government investment in communications, including the $2 billion Communications Fund and through the Future Fund’s 17 per cent share in Telstra, which will earn dividends and be sold down to a normal market level after November 2008.”
It seems to me this is just the first step. No point in having train lines (i.e. the broadband network) if you don’t have trains (e.g. e-health) to take advantage of it!
Given that there is a clear business case for increased spending in the Health IT domain – with net benefits estimated at up to $A5.0 Billion per annum or more (based on studies undertaken in the US, UK and Canada) what could be a better use of a little more of the Future Fund than to kick start e-health with an investment designed to deliver a real return once implemented?
A sensible approach would to be develop a National E-Health Strategy, Business Case and Implementation Plan as a first step and to then establish an highly accountable implementation organisation – maybe modelled on the UK or Canadian models or a mixture of the two – with a focus on making sure the lessons learnt from both are properly absorbed. (While I plan a separate article on this area in the future the need for local involvement, ownership and choice in the context or appropriate standardisation and central direction setting now seem obvious for any national initiative.)
The Future Fund has as its objective a return of 7.5% + inflation over the long term I understand. It would seem this return could be achieved with expert project management and the deployment of Health IT is a way that is known to have beneficial impacts (i.e. use of advanced clinical workstations, in depth automation of investigative services and supply chains, improved secure messaging and the use of systems wherever possible with advanced clinical decision support). Measurement and well as realization of the return on investment I recognise will be a considerable challenge but should not be impossible. There is no doubt the econometric tools exist to undertake such work exist.
The main issue that will almost certainly emerge will be how the benefits achieved will be cashed out for return to the Future Fund – given the tendency of the Health Sector to aim to expand services when efficiencies are obtained rather than take the cash benefit.
I believe the scale of the return on investment in this sector is likely to mean that both some service expansion as well as cashing out of benefits will be possible – to everyone’s pleasure.
Health IT is an ideal candidate for a major planned capital investment and will both make a profit and do good things for the users of, and workers in, the Health Sector.
Let’s give it very careful thought.
David.
0 comments:
Post a Comment