Mr. Fran Thompson:

In terms of the areas that are deficient, I would start with us providing data. We have a lot of data and information and the issue is to provide that directly to the patient. We are definitely behind other countries in that regard. I went on a trip to Finland to have a look at its portal. The Finnish portal allows people to book appointments, see their record and engage with their clinician electronically and digitally. Telephone support is provided for people who cannot communicate electronically and digitally.

This is an area of real concern because most patients want access to their record. There are other areas in the core with regard to the EHR. In order to manage care successfully, digitising the process at every level, including in hospital and community settings, is really important. That is why we are looking at the EHR. I will invite Dr. Murphy to contribute on this because he has real experience of digitisation within the hospital setting.