When I was checking out E-Health systems from around the world, one of the things I liked about what the United States has done, was the fact that they are providing financial incentives so that the healthcare sector will be more inclined to implement the system.
I have just found an article on Pulse+IT which suggests that this could be what is missing from our own system, particularly in relation to the aged care sector.
Financial support the missing link for aged care PCEHR uptake:
According to the article, the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council (ACIITC) is urging the government to consider financial incentives so that they can be PCEHR-ready, claiming that lack of important software has forced a slow uptake in the aged care sector.
Aged care is one of the areas that I believe would gain the most from the E-Health system- so this is something that I believe should be considered. Patients in this sector are often on countless medications, see several healthcare practitioners and are in and out of nursing homes and hospitals. I know I would struggle to keep up with all this information if this were me. PCEHR would make things a lot easier but if the aged care industry does not have the key software- everyone cannot get involved and the system won’t work as effectively as it could. Funding for this could help with the uptake of the system.
ACIITC chair Suri Ramanathan claims that because pharmacists receive a PBS dispense fee for dispensing medications- they should be receiving incentives too. He says that they are one of the largest industries in the country and “facilities operate on a paper-thin margin, so for them to adopt the change, they need a little bit of a hand.”
Mr Ramanathan said that financial help is the “missing link” for E-Health to really get moving in the aged care industry. However, why stop at aged care? Surely many areas in the healthcare industry could use some financial help to get E-Health up and going.
From a pharmacist’s perspective, the more people healthcare industries that get involved in E-Health, the better. Like I have said previously, PCEHR is meant to provide a whole picture of a patient’s health and the key to this happening is getting all areas of the healthcare industry involved. If funding will inspire more to get on-board, then I believe it is something to really think about.
Do you think funding would encourage more healthcare professionals to implement E-Health?
E-Health Blog 2013 