New bill aims to digitise healthcare information in Ireland
Under the bill, it is hoped that patients will have greater access and control over their own medical data and health professionals can gain a more complete overview of the patient.
A long-awaited bill to update "incoherent and unco-ordinated" health data will be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will bring his Health Information Bill to Cabinet today. It seeks to modernise and digitise healthcare information, and address the current system which has been described as "incoherent and unco-ordinated", while also bringing it in line with European regulations.
The Department of Health said the bill will be "transformative for patients and health professionals alike, as it combines patient information from the public, private, and voluntary sectors".
This would address the reluctance by some organisations to share information, which had been flagged by the department as an information "black hole".
Under the bill, it is hoped that patients will have greater access and control over their own medical data and health professionals can easily gain a more complete overview of the patient.
The bill, which will be published next week, would use an individual's PPSN as their unique health identifier. The population-based data would also aid the HSE in the planning and management of core functions and services.
Mr Donnelly will also tell Cabinet that under the HSE Urgent and Emergency Operational Plan for 2024, emergency department overcrowding fell by 14% (7,800 fewer patients) during the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2023. This reduction came despite a 62,000 increase (10%) in the number of patients presenting to emergency departments.
The most significant reductions in the trolley counts were in MRH Mullingar (down 63%), St. Luke’s in Kilkenny (down 55%), Mayo UH (down 45%), Portiuncula UH (down 40%), and Tipperary UH (down 37%); while Waterford UH and MRH Tullamore have remained at zero for the year-to-date.
The memo that is being brought to Cabinet says that "various factors" have contributed to the improved national performance, including more staff, more beds, and better rostering. However, it also points out that overcrowding in emergency departments remains a challenge.
Ministers Darragh O’Brien and Malcolm Noonan will also have an update at Cabinet on the new Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan 2024-2028 which will be implemented by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
A national survey in 2022 estimated there were only between 85 and 106 breeding pairs of the endangered ground-nesting bird in the Republic. If current trends continued, the bird could become extinct within 25 years. The plan aims to improve the long-term prospects for hen harriers.
Sports Minister Catherine Martin, meanwhile, will bring a plan that aims to see every person in Ireland able to have access to a swimming facility.
The National Swimming Strategy covers both indoor and outdoor swimming and takes account of all ages and abilities. It includes an Action Plan containing over 50 actions.
There has been a notable turnaround in the rate of payment of the Increased Cost of Business grant (ICOB), Enterprise Minister Peter Burke will tell Cabinet.
More than 83% of all approved grants have been paid out by local authorities on behalf of the Department of Enterprise.
To date, more than €120m has been administered to over 60,000 businesses.
The news comes after it emerged in May that a number of local authorities, including Cork County Council, had not made any payments.
Mr Burke wrote to the local authorities involved and told them to speed up the payments.
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