KEY ATTRACTIONS ON THE DARWIN HOP-ON HOP-OFF RED BUS - THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW ON-LINE INFORMATION LINKS
CAN ASSIST PROMOTE LOCAL TOURISM INITIATIVES - CLICK ON THE LOGO TO ACCESS THAT WEB-SITE
Home | Exec Sum | Intro | Importance Stds | Guidance E-Health Stds | Next Steps | Apx 1: Stds Orgs| Disclaimer | CopyrightIN THE PUBLIC INTEREST - IS MEDICARE GOING TO BE PRIVATISED OR ARE THE COSTS GOING TO ICT COMPANIES ?On 01 Jul 2016 the "National E-Health Transistion Authority [NEHTA]" vested all its Assets
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Here is the Blog of Dr David MORE MB PhD FACHI on Australian E-Health Standards
SURELY TAX-PAYERS OF EACH STATE & TERRITORY ARE DUE A SHARE OF THE ASSETS IN PROPORTION TO THE FINANCE PROVIDED !A NATIONAL E-HEALTH STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15 MAR 2006
This Management Framework has been developed by NEHTA to guide changes in the
Australian e-health standards development environment.
These changes include the establishment of a new national effort to develop,
maintain and disseminate a range of clinical data standards and terminologies.
Its purposes are to inform key stakeholders – the suppliers, purchasers and
implementers of e-health technologies as well as organisations associated with
standardization – and other interested parties about future directions for the
development of e-health standards in Australia, and to encourage wider participation.
E-health standards have substantial benefit potential on two fronts.
They underpin cross-sectoral health service improvement.
Until health information technology (IT) standards are more fully implemented, the
health care industry cannot ensure that its systems will be capable of exchanging data
with other systems when needed, and consequently will not be able to reap the efficiency,
clinical care, and public health benefits associated with interoperability.
Standards can also provide a lever for economic development via greater and faster expansion
of health software markets.
Standards development organisations (SDOs) worldwide are facing challenges to their
traditional modes of operation.
They are not restricted to e-health, but are associated with factors such as globalisation,
the increasing pace of change and greater use of market mechanisms by governments.
These challenges include perceptions that:
1 standards development is too slow;
2 over-reliance on “voluntary” involvement from individuals or organisations, and
3 steady, long-term declines in the resourcing provided by governments and large corporations.
There are also many different organisations engaged in e-health standardization, and their
activities are not always well coordinated.
An additional challenge for Australia is that a substantial amount of health software is
imported, embodying international standards and potentially requiring expensive modification
to meet Australian requirements.
Responses to these changes and challenges in Australia will include:
1 Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of standards development organisations,
particularly NEHTA and Standards Australia.
In managing clinical terminologies and clinical data sets for electronic communication
nationally, NEHTA is likely to become Australia’s largest source of e-health
specifications, and will publish, manage and maintain standards and related material
on an ongoing basis.
NEHTA will also develop or commission a range of technical specifications and a
standards catalogue, the latter providing national direction on standards adoption and
application.
Standards Australia will continue to develop health informatics standards through its
Health Informatics Technical Committee (IT-014).
2 Establishing an E-Health Standards Forum, involving the participation of peak agencies
engaged in standardization, to assist with ensuring a coherent national agenda that spans
the public and private health sectors as well as the health information technology
industry.
3 For standards required for national e-health infrastructure, encouraging strong adherence
to the disciplines of project management and the active engagement of all interested parties,
rather than just the more motivated.
Closer alignment will also be sought between health IT projects and standards development.
This will require suppliers, purchasers and implementers to schedule standards development
activities into their work programs, but is nonetheless more efficient and effective than
subsequent modification to incorporate standards.
4 Using existing international and national standards where feasible.
This means seeking to ensure that Australian requirements are incorporated into high
priority international standards, and that the multiple uses of standards e.g., as a
basis for administrative reporting and research as well as electronic communication and
decision support, are taken into account during their development.
Selecting the most appropriate standards products is also important.
Technical specifications and reports based on lower levels of consensus but delivered more
rapidly will be appropriate in some circumstances.
5 Resourcing standards development at a level commensurate with expectations.
This document is the first in a series of three outputs that will comprise NEHTA’s National
E-Health Standards Plan.
The others will address the support necessary for implementation of national e-health
standards, and provide a catalogue of standards to which public sector and publicly funded
health services will be expected to migrate.
Progress towards this Management Framework will commence with:
• Organising the first E-Health Standards Forum;
• Elaborating the arrangements between NEHTA and Standards Australia; and
• Raising awareness amongst key stakeholders (suppliers, purchasers, implementers
and SDOs) about standards development and the processes and mechanisms for participation.
GREATER STANDARDIZATION IS CENTRAL TO AUSTRALIA'S E-HEALTH AGENDA.