The PCEHR Enquiry Is Planning To Exclude The Public From Comment. Bad Early Signs.

I just found this:

Electronic Health Records Review Panel to Consult with Key Stakeholders

Department of Health

8/11/2013 1:51:00 PM

8 November 2013

Electronic Health Records Review Panel to consult with key stakeholders 

The Review into the operations of the troubled electronic health records scheme, commissioned by the Federal Minister for Health, the Hon Peter Dutton, met this week to determine its operating procedures.

Panel Chair, Richard Royle, said today that, due to the urgency of developing recommendations to improve the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (PCEHR) scheme, the Panel had decided to initially invite written submissions from those 210 organisations which have previously submitted to consultation on the PCEHR.

“In addition the Panel will have more detailed meetings with a number of key stakeholders to assist the Panel to gain the views of those people most closely involved with the system,” Mr Royle said. “These stakeholders will include IT, clinical, and consumer representatives.”

Review Terms of Reference

The panel will conduct a Review into the personally controlled electronic health record system dealing with implementation, uptake and including, but not limited to the following:

•          The gaps between the expectations of users and what has been delivered
•          The level of consultation with end users during the development phase
•          The level of use of the PCEHR by health care professions in clinical settings
•          Barriers to increasing usage in clinical settings
•          Key clinician and patient usability issues
•          Work that is still required including new functions that improve the value proposition for clinicians and patients
•          Drivers and incentives to increase usage for both industry and health care professionals
•          The applicability and potential integration of comparable private sector products
•          The future role of the private sector in providing solutions
•          The policy settings required to generate private sector solutions

Media contact: 02 6289 7400 

The release is here:

http://medianet.com.au/releases/release-details?id=788458

Interesting that the Ministerial announcement found here talked of Public Submissions:

See here:

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2013-dutton010.htm

To quote:

“The Review panel will invite submissions from the public along with key stakeholder groups including peak clinical bodies. The Review will report back to Minister Dutton by mid-December 2013 after which the government will consider the recommendations and respond.”

Seems they have already realised they have bitten off a good deal more than can be chewed in a few short weeks.

Again we see politics messing with a major Health IT Project. Will they never learn?

Also apparently the panel are going for the fix it option - so we now know outcome is preset since they are saying this absent submissions.

“Speaking at the HITWA 2013 conference in Perth on Friday, the lead of the PCEHR Inquiry, Richard Royle, made it clear that the desire of the inquiry is not to 'kill off' the PCEHR, but to ensure the system is a useful and workable clinical tool. 

Royle said the PCEHR is a genuine opportunity to set up a system that can help all Australians with their healthcare.  Usability and implementation issues need to be addressed to ensure clinicians have confidence in the information that is held in the system.”

From HISA link on Twitter

http://t.co/LQ3tsXcwUf

Really, really sad.

David.