Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue. The Bill represents a key step in the Government's reform programme and will allow us to introduce a system of unique identifiers for the individual and those who provide health care services. It will lead to an improvement in the quality of care, better access to information and more joined-up thinking.

We all recognise the need to prioritise the safety of patient information. It is important to put things in context. The Acting Chairman and I share a common interest in the GAA. Within that organisation we have an ability to share information about club membership. I view the Bill's provisions as being similar to the club membership card. It allows for the streamlining of medical records, reducing duplication in things such as the diagnostic tests Deputy Naughten mentioned. Of course the Deputy should have concluded by saying that the Minister in introducing universal health insurance and free GP care for children under six is taking the first steps to allow us all have health check tests and access treatment fairly fast.

Tomorrow is rare diseases day and a unique conference on rare diseases will be held in Belfast.

Having listened to delegates this morning at the Joint Committee on Health and Children who made wonderful presentations, there was a palpable feeling that the system does not talk to itself, so to speak, and the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. I preface my next remark by saying that I am sure we are all aware of the tremendous work being done in our hospitals, but charts go missing, systems need to be upgraded and medical information needs to be shared. I understand the concerns of some people when they have seen what happened to Edward Snowden and others, but I give this example. If I were to walk into the emergency department of Cork University Hospital at 7 p.m. on Friday, I would have to fill out a form, get my chart, take my place in the queue and that is fine but if I have to go to the Mercy Hospital or the Bon Secours Hospital, which is a private hospital, the following day, there is no co-ordination in the sharing of information. In the context of this Bill, the sharing of information is important. The primary motivation for introducing this Bill is to bring about a better e-system of governance in our health system and make sure that medical and other information is shared, which is important.

The Bill lays out a clear framework for the setting up of a structure in regard to individual health identifiers for patients and service users while also setting up registered health service provider identifiers for health professionals and organisations. The idea behind this measure is about improving the quality and safety of care along with the modernisation, updating and reform of the system of record management and of the management of the system within our hospital network. Having listened to other speakers and the Minister, I note this measure will ensure there is a reduction in the repetitive and needless care, a reduction in organisational expenditure and that it will facilitate e-health projects which have been launched by the Government. On the same day this Bill was introduced in the Seanad, the Government launch its e-health initiative. That is an important step because it sets a target that must be attained and achieved on behalf of the patient or the service user. It indemnifies the staff in our hospitals who - as I know from talking to some of them - are looking for a change in terms of the system of operations.

Interestingly, the recent report from HIQA estimated that up to 30% of the health budget may be spent on handling, collecting, searching for and storing information. It is a large amount of money in the context of today's health budget of €13.2 billion. If one were to put the annual health budget under the microscope, this legislation would be welcome, necessary and considered to be innovative.

The health identifiers will form an integral part of the Government's planned e-heatlh agenda, which was launched by the Ministers. The strategy sets out a roadmap for improving the health and well-being for each citizen of the country through simple and cost effective means, for example, through the introduction of e-prescribing. I have met different pharmacists and GPs who have set up this system in their practices and at the click of a button on the computer they can send a prescription to the pharmacist without the need for paper or unnecessary toing and froing.

The introduction of health identifiers will allow this planned system to work more efficiently. It will mean the same information does not need to be collected on numerous occasions, which can be frustrating for both the patients and the people who are working in the system. If we are serious about our e-health project and about bringing in reform, and we have created new hospital trusts, new hospital networks and moved forward with the reconfiguration process, we must ensure the experience of the patient and the health care provider is enhanced and positive.

Deputy Naughten's remarks regarding diagnostic testing needs to be followed through. If we are serious about reducing the cost of health care, this is one area we need to examine forensically in the context of all the different types of tests being carried out by different health providers. If we have a unique identifier linked to the patients' records the multiplicity of tests could be reduced. This audit that the Minister, Deputy Reilly, speaks about in terms of health insurance will be a positive step in the right direction.

We are 13 years on from when this measure was first spoken about and we are now putting in place the structures on which to develop and implement it. The work being done by the Minister, Deputy Reilly, the Minister of State, Deputy White, and the Department of Health is to be commended because it will ensure we will have a functioning and operative period within which to put the provisions of this Bill into practice, and the savings that will be made will be part of this process. We hear a good deal about reform of the health service inside and outside this House and this measure is another example of reform of the health system which will provide better value for money and ensure that the quality of care is improved and that the experience of the person using the health system is also improved.

The health identifier is an exclusive, non-transferable, lifetime number assigned to all citizens, which is to be welcomed. Its purpose is to identify accurately the individual and enable health and social care to be delivered to the patient at the right place at the right time. Protection of patient privacy within the development of this Bill is vital. Public confidence in the protection of personal data online and on file, as we know, is diminishing and shrinking almost daily. We have seen people's information being hacked into and used for many different purposes. Genuine concerns in this respect have been expressed by people about this Bill and to that end we must strike a balance and ensure when we provide a health care system and service that in tandem we also protect our people from the misuse of their personal information. People will not object in my opinion to being part of this new e-health strategy. It is about the provision of information. Once we explain and demonstrate to people the rationale for having a personal identifier number unique to them in a simplified and easy way this will be a positive development for the future of our health system.

We have demonstrated that we have a very professional health care system with the men and women who work in it providing an exemplary standard of health care on a daily basis. In implementing this Bill we must ensure we can provide the same level of health care in a far more effective and efficient manner and in a reduced time period. This Bill is about ensuring progression and modernisation of our health system but in tandem with that it also must be about the patient, service user and those who work in our hospital system.

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