Deloittes Discussion Points for the National E-Health Strategy – Initial Comments.

As reported late last week, on Wednesday July 30 2008, NEHIPC convened a forum to review their latest draft of the National E-Health Strategy being developed by Deloittes.

I have now had a chance to browse the slides and form some preliminary views as to where this is up to.

Before saying anything I must point out that the slides are still strictly discussion drafts only and all subject to change.

First the good.

1. There are actually the germs of a real plan contained in the slides.

2. They are working on it!

My comments thus far (and I am still thinking about it all) are as follows. These are encapsulated in an e-mail to Deloittes sent on August 3 2008 are.

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I have reviewed the document provided to the NEHIPC on 30 July.

Attached is a commented file with about 30 comments and suggestions.

A core issue you face right now is alignment of all that is going on in a totally strategy free - NEHTA inspired - environment from where we need to be and how the migration to a more sensible guided but still innovative outcome can be achieved. The balance between controls, incentives and involvement is difficult indeed!

I also worry the depth of the current state and strategic option development process have both been a little blinkered - especially the latter.

I am also deeply worried about all the repository proposals contained in this before we have decent information in the operational systems at the coal face - this issue is a 'show stopper' I believe unless carefully rethought.

Lastly the lack of detail on planned applications, timeframes etc I assume is because the work has not been done yet..but a business case for the entire process requires clarity as to what is really planned - not the 'fudge' that NEHTA tries to perpetrate with diagrams with no axes and no meaning.

Happy to discuss. Acknowledgment you have received the comments appreciated.

Cheers and thanks for reading

David.

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Frankly – right now this feels to be a too centralised, too controlling approach to me.

I wonder what others think?

David.