It Should Be Virtual Health Reform Too

No matter what you-or each State Premier-thinks about the proposed changes there's one subject that seems to be getting very little attention, and that's E-Health.
 
There's been scant information on this in the whole debate, despite previous promises by the Government that digital health is a major priority.
 
It's also particularly strange to me that one of the major aims of this latest round of health restructuring is supposed to be the delivery of integrated and coordinated services, something that electronic and digitized technologies could clearly support.
 
While a lot of the push for technologically smart health has been about digital records and interconnected services, there's a whole lot more that could be achieved.
 
Online connectivity promises to really deliver on seamless, targeted and personalized medical services with the added bonus that it can be done remotely in many cases. And that has cost and carbon savings at the same time.
 
This will not only have to mean much smarter hospitals and GP offices, but our homes as well. Residential connectivity is undergoing a revolution already as we get much faster broadband and our homes fill up with a whole range of multifunctional, digital devices.
 
Which means the basis for real E-Health is now here and any changes to the broader health and medical environment must begin to build on to this reality, or should I say, virtual reality.
 
But looking around the Australian health eco-system doesn't suggest we're heading there in any coordinated or urgent fashion. Just from personal experience I know how many medical and other support services still rely on paper, snail-mail, repeated physical visits to different doctors or specialists, and prolonged phone calls.
 
It's also my understanding that all governments here still haven't signed on to establishing a national health record system, and that seems to be the bare bones of what's electronically needed.
 
This is not a situation we should prolong with lengthy debates either. Just the sheer size of our aging population should be a cause for a bit more urgency.
 
We already have the technologies to really create a vibrant and integrated E-Health system and in the next decade our homes will largely be on board as well. Let's really make health reform a digital revolution too.
 
John Fennell
jjfennell@copperdev.com