Senior doctors have backed a “transformational” attempt by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to secure some of the Apple tax windfall for investment in electronic patient records.
With the Government set to announce principles about how the €14 billion windfall will be invested on budget day, Cabinet Ministers have been readying proposals for projects and investments within their briefs.
Mr Donnelly is understood to be pushing for digital health records to be rolled out across the Health Service Executive, something clinicians have long sought amid an ongoing reliance on paper and pen which critics say is damaging performance and efficiency in the health service.
In a statement on Friday, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said it supports the call. Prof Gabrielle Colleran, the IHCA president, said the doctors “fully endorse Minister Donnelly’s efforts to invest in a proper digital health system. In productivity and patient experience terms, it would be transformational”.
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She continued: “Our health system continues to rely on an antiquated records model which is desperately inefficient. It also means healthcare professionals are unable to access and assess patient records in a joined-up, real-time fashion.
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“Clipboards, paper, pens, pencils and fax machines remain realities in Irish hospitals. IT hardware and software are dated and, in some instances, wifi is not a given. This is at a time when governments around the world are turning their attention to how generative Artificial Intelligence can transform health systems, improving patient outcomes and overall productivity. The gap from where we are to where we need to be is stark.”
Earlier this week, sources close to Mr Donnelly argued: “These are digital proceeds. Parts of the HSE are still using clipboards, pen and paper. Many of our hospitals have no access to wifi. We are asking our doctors and nurses to still use fax machines, pagers and queue up to use still too few terminals.”
Mr Donnelly has told colleagues that this is a huge frustration for staff and interrupts time with patients, instead wasting time on solving “process problems”. He will argue the lack of technology is having a big impact on improving efficiency in the health service.
It is unclear how specific the Government will be about the destination of the €14 billion on budget day, with senior sources of the view that projects without planning permission or a firm budget, cannot realistically expect to be allocated money.
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