A New And Very Interesting NEHTA Document Has Come To Light. The Number Of Copies That Have Arrived Here is Amazing!

The document is entitled as follows:

Specifications and Standards Plan

PCEHR System

Version 1.1 —30 September 2011

For Discussion

You may download your own personal copy from the link below.

http://moreassoc.com.au/downloads/NEHTA%20Specifications%20%20Standards%20Plan%20v1%201%20For%20Discussion.pdf

What the document is proposing - in response to the fact that Standards are not ready for many aspects of the PCEHR - is a process involving the formation of Tiger Teams. These teams will produce Draft Standards for Trial Use (DSTU). These will essentially be the NEHTA specifications as previously developed.

The Tiger Teams will be made up as follows:

“It is proposed that the Tiger Teams are co-led by PCEHR participation and an IT-014-XX representative(s). If more than one of the IT-014-XX committees are involved, one would take the co-lead on behalf of the IT-014 community.

Tiger teams must also include suitable representation from the National Infrastructure Partner, Change and Adoption Partner, and the Benefits Evaluation Partner, as well as contribution from the Lead Implementation Sites.”

It is intended, apparently that this work will be finalised before November, 30 2011, so that all the Wave Sites and Accenture can get on with implementation.

In the meantime it is planned that the DSTU is tidied up, formatted and published, later, as an Australian Standard. This does rather seem to be a cart before the horse approach if we are to have a standards based PCEHR.

It will be very interesting to see the response of the IT-14 Committee Members to this approach. I get the sense they are not thrilled with what they are reading. Time will tell I am sure.

As far as I am concerned this is just politically driven nonsense which quite severely distorts Health Informatics Standards creation in OZ. But in these crazy times - so it goes!

David.