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$15-million investment in national health IT systems

Fri, 03/12/2010 - 12:42

Graeme Osborne, Director of the National Health IT Board, today announced a $15.3 million investment to allow patient information to be shared in a safe way as well as increasing the overall efficiency of the health system.

The investment for the Health Identity Programme will see the replacement of the National Health Index (NHI) of patient identifiers and the Health Practitioner Index (HPI) with an upgraded national health identity solution by 2012. The investment has been endorsed by the National Health Board, and has cross-Government support.

Graeme Osborne says, 'The Health Identity Programme is a vital foundational investment for the National Health IT Plan'.

The Health Identity Programme also has the backing of the clinical community. National Information Clinical Leadership Group Chair, Associate Professor Peter Gow, says 'When health professionals use personal health information to help them treat a patient, they need to know that the information is accurate, protected and trusted'.

'To do that, we need to know the identity of the patient and the care provider, and from where the information has come. For the person receiving health care this is a critical safety issue.'

The Health Identity Programme will be led by the Ministry of Health on behalf of the sector. Specifically, the Programme will:

  • upgrade/replace the NHI, HPI, and associated address services with a single integrated system
  • provide a secure, robust infrastructure that will support person-centred care
  • lay the foundation for a safe, shared and transferable patient electronic record.

-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 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.
  • To ensure that health information shared or exchanged within the health and disability sector is accurate, protected, and trusted, the participants must be able to verify three things:
    • The identity of the person to whom the information relates - the "patient identifier"
    • The role or authorisation level of the requestor to access the information, and the identity of the person who has created the information - the "practitioner/health worker identifier"
    • The identity of the facility and organisation from which the information has originated - the "facility and organisation identifiers".
  • 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.

For further information, please contact Peter Abernethy, 021 366 111.