The NSW Government is going to invest AU$536 million over eight years in IT infrastructure and systems to support the healthcare sector, including:
- digital infrastructure supporting the clinical and other health-related systems across NS
- digital patient records to ensure patient records are easy to read, accurate and instantly accessible whenever needed
- a central repository for patients’ public hospital pathology results
- rollout of the Electronic Medications Management System statewide
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said research showed electronic systems can reduce medication errors, which could result in significant patient harm, by over 50 percent.
“Notes might be illegible, errors can be made transcribing medication charts, or charts can be lost but this technology helps ensure patients get the right medication at the right time,” Mr Hazzard said.
The NSW government has a program called ‘eHealth Strategy for NSW Health 2016-2026, identifying key eHealth goals for NSW. The Strategy established seven key focus areas to support the delivery of effective eHealth across the state: 1) Core clinical systems 2) Integrated Care Solutions; 3) Workforce and Business Management Systems; 4) Data and Analytics; 5) Access to Information; 6) Infrastructure, Security and Intelligence; and 7) Innovation. Priorities within these focus areas include delivery of accurate ‘paper‑lite’ information systems, enhancing robust communication systems to support increasingly integrated care for patients and developing minimum standards of infrastructure and network capability so that electronic systems are highly available, reliable and secure.