Ms Rachel Flynn:

Yes. We have found that predominately within a hospital, people will rely on some systems, including paper-based systems. The problem arises when one tries to transfer data across transitions of care. If, for example, a patient is being discharged back to a nursing home or back to their home, that is where the issue will arise. These transitions require standards to be put in place to allow for the safe transmission of data. When the systems are being procured by the HSE, which is the provider of services, it must stipulate within the contracts that these standards need to be adhered to. Other countries have done this, but they have done it by nationally mandating standards around health information.