'Very little has moved' on planned digital healthcare system

Under the planned digital healthcare system, staff in a hospital emergency department could access a patient's GP records, pharmacy data, and information on previous hospital visits.

Digital healthcare will be a “game-changer” for patients but concerns about the slow pace of progress have emerged.

The Oireachtas health committee heard that a projected cost for the system cannot be shared yet. Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Department of Health officials said this is due to ongoing negotiations with IT vendors.

Frustration was expressed by some committee members, including Fianna Fáil TD and GP Martin Daly.

“Ten years ago, I sat in the Department of Health and we talked about all of this, and very little has moved, to be honest with you,” said Dr Daly.

Department of Health assistant secretary Derek Tierney said the department is working towards a shared care record as a first step. This will join up existing IT systems, with plans to build a unified single system.

This means, for example, if patients go to a hospital emergency department, staff could access their GP records, pharmacy data, and information on previous hospital visits.

“We’ve appointed a vendor, work is underway,” said Mr Tierney. The plan is to run a pilot in Waterford and its surrounding community this year. “And then widen that on a national basis over 2026 and 2027,” he told Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane.

It is also expected to link up with digital health systems already in place in the North, which Mr Tierney said will be “a game-changer” including for children.

“This takes time and effort, and funding commensurate with that time and effort.”

The committee stage discussion of the Health Information Bill 2024 also focused on sharing of data between patients and healthcare workers.

Questions were raised about a section which could allow doctors or institutions to withhold records temporarily.

Ms Carroll MacNeill pledged to work on this, acknowledging that a specific time limit may be needed. Examples included where a scan shows a patient has cancer, this would be better disclosed in person first.

'Significant capital investment'

During discussions on finance, she said “very significant capital investment” will be needed to build a single system.

“We are in a live procurement process. It would require very significant capital expenditure,” she said.

She said public expenditure minister Jack Chambers is supportive of their plans.

Over time, they expect services such as Camhs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) to be included. The system will cover medical card and private patients for GPs, she told Labour health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock.

The committee also heard that the new national children’s hospital will be the first paperless hospital in the State.

Questions were raised about how records will transfer to adult hospitals still relying on paper charts.

Maternity hospitals have seen benefits of a partial roll-out, with University Maternity Hospital Limerick the latest to go live. It is expected that 70% of women and their babies will have digital records by year’s end.

Department of Health assistant secretary Muiris O’Connor said patients will identify themselves in the system using PPS numbers.

The HSE App is part of the overall plan, and the minister said 80,000 people have now downloaded the app.