Health Identity Programme to issue RFP for Infrastructure Services this week

Wednesday 2 February 2011

The Health Identity Programme kicks off in earnest this month when a Request for Proposals (RFP) for hosting and support of the new health identity application is issued this week.  This technology platform is needed early in the programme to allow testing and production of technical environments in preparation for first deliverable of the programme in the middle of this year. 

IBM has been contracted to provide the software and implementation services for the system.  It is now necessary to procure the hosting and support services for the system to run on – the subject of this RFP which will be released on the Government Electronic Tender System (GETS).  Selection of a preferred vendor from the RFP is expected in March.

The system needs to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The National Health IT Board recognises that commercial providers are best placed to provide this level of service as they have the requisite experience and economies of scale.

Since January this year the programme has been engaging with key stakeholders from all parts of the sector seeking nominations for both the Programme Governance Board and Sector Advisory Group.  The first 3 months of the project will focus on the design of the services and include how the system will interface with users and other systems in the sector.

Background
The Health Identity Programme will deliver a single integrated system that will lay the foundation for a secure and transferable electronic shared care record.  It will replace the existing technology platform supporting the National Health Index (NHI), Health Practitioner Index (HPI) and associated address services using a distributed approach based on interoperability standards. The resulting improvements in data quality will enhance person-centred care and enable secure access to an individual’s own electronic health record

Further information on the Health Identity Programme is available on the National Health IT Board Website: http://ithealthboard.health.nz/health-identity-programme

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

The Health Identity Programme was previously known as the Recipient and Provider Identity (RPI) programme, which was one of the six workstreams funded by National Systems Development Programme.

The Health Identity Programme will not change the existing NHI and HPI numbers. The programme will replace the technology platform supporting these identifiers

The Health Identity Programme has been redirected to support Workstream 8 "Safe Sharing Foundation" in the National Health IT Plan.

The National Health IT Board published the 2010 version of the National Health IT Plan online on its website at www.ithealthboard.health.nz on 3 November 2010.

New Zealand has been a world leader in establishing unique identifiers to facilitate the safe sharing of health information. In the early 1980s New Zealand recognised the foundational nature of these identifiers and established identifiers for patients, practitioners, and facilities. In 1990 the NHI was established for the patient identifier, and in 2005 the HPI was established for practitioner/health worker, organisation, and facility identifiers. Other countries recognise the importance of these identifiers in e-health solutions and services (for example Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom) and have committed to building this capability.

Please direct any enquiries to Peter Abernathy, 021 366 111