David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My other questions relate to health technology assessments. They are a really useful part of HIQA's work. We all value those data because they are the gold dust. Clinicians can argue all day long but once the data are put in front of them, that is it, it is the end of the discussion. That is why it is so important. We met the chair of HIQA yesterday in private session. I mentioned that it can be very frustrating for me and other members of the committee when we table parliamentary questions to the Department of Health or the HSE and, in some cases, the answer is that they do not capture those data, the systems do not allow for the capture of those data or there is no integrated financial management system. It is well known that we have deficits in technology in healthcare and so on. While the work HIQA does is useful, what impact does not having the appropriate investment in digital technology have? There is still discussion about unique patient identifiers and electronic patient records. Some systems do not speak to each other. The children's disability services is one area which is really problematic and in which data cannot be captured. As the software is outdated and the company that provided the software went bust, a whole new system must be built. There is an issue in relation to digital transformation in healthcare. In the absence of moving in this space, how difficult does it make HIQA's job in terms of the health technology assessment tool?