Lib's e-health scrap risks "thousands of lives"
- 22 July, 2010 12:40
- Comments 1
The Opposition’s pledge to crush the Government’s national e-health scheme will risk "thousands of lives" and waste millions in taxpayer funds, according to a former advisor to the scrapped Access Card.
The Liberal Party has pledged to axe the troubled e-health project to save some $2 billion, but has yet to announce a health policy of its own.
Australia’s first e-health scheme was crushed when the Rudd Government tossed the deeply unpopular Access Card that promised to replace the Medicare card and integrate components of Centrelink and social services, along with personal biometric information.
The Gillard Government’s e-health scheme includes the recently introduced unique health identifiers, but it is behind schedule and has suffered problems of integration and vendor support.
The Labor Government has also committed $467 million over the next two years to the development and implementation of voluntary, personally controlled e-health records.
Yet former lead advisor to the Access Card - Booz & Company consultant, Klaus Boehncke - said lives are being placed at risk while e-health is used as political fodder.
“I hope the Opposition does not make the same mistake as the Government did with the Access Card by scrapping e-health because of some controversial components,” Boehncke said.
“More people die from errors in medical treatment than traffic accidents. They put air-bags in cars, seatbelts… yet thousands die because health care is full of avoidable errors. Frankly it is a disgrace.”
A spokesman for shadow health minister, Peter Dutton, said the Coalition had not released its health policy and would not confirm if the party will replace the scrapped e-health system with its own, should it win the election next month.
The Government’s e-health scheme could save $7.6 billion by 2020, according to a report by Boehncke released in March this year.
Boehncke said e-health should remain intact under both governments, and recommended e-health components be introduced to the mature Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme.
He said the most advanced e-health systems exist where governments have remained stable, and pointed to the Italian regional government of Lombardy.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email Computerworld
- Follow Computerworld on twitter
-
Amazon Web Services personalizes CloudFront web hosting service
-
CeBIT 2012: Will NBN speed up freight delivery times?
-
Coalition NBN better or worse?
-
Coalition NBN better or worse?
-
CeBIT 2012: Will NBN speed up freight delivery times?
-
Windows 7 for Seniors for Dummies®
-
Office 2007 for Dummies
-
Windows 7 for Dummies® Dvd+book Bundle
-
Office 2007 All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies
-
Teach Yourself Visually Windows 7
-
Windows 7 for Dummies®
-
Microsoft Office
-
MYOB Software for Dummies 6E Australian Edition
-
Computers for Seniors for Dummies, 2nd Edition
Comments
Anonymous
I agree that it is a disgrace that so few die on the roads compard to avoidable deaths in hospitals and yet untold amounts of money can be thrown at the "Road Safety" message but we have been universally brainwashed to accept the givens so ofetne rolled out in the name of road safety.
If only we could get so enthused about patient safety we would have a world class ehealth system in 5 years. But alas thery can't raise revenue by fineing us mere mortals in the name of patient safety so commitment will always we politically expedient!
Post new comment