Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Members of this House for their contributions to the debate and I look forward to their support as this Bill is further considered on Committee Stage. Throughout the development of the new digital health framework and the Health Information Bill, we have listened carefully to the voices of patients, professionals and other stakeholders across our health services. It is clear that patients want online access to their health records.

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By and large, the public is ready to embrace digital in health and the law is playing catch-up in this area. The move to digital health records will undoubtedly be a cultural shift. Successful implementation must be underpinned by engagement, transparency and robust data protection measures. In this regard, I particularly thank the Data Protection Commission for its detailed engagement on the provisions of the Bill throughout the drafting process. Consultation with the Data Protection Commission is a key feature of the Bill and we remain actively engaged with the commission in our implementation of digital healthcare.

The Minister for Health earlier outlined the major initiatives coming on stream in respect of digital healthcare. Our transformation to digital health and social care services is being rolled out in three phases, the first of which is nearly complete. Before the end of the year, all patients can have a patient app which is a safe, secure and convenient way to access their personal health information. Next year, we will roll out the national shared care record. This will enable health services to gather patient data from primary, community and acute settings and present it as a unified digital health record. Patients and clinicians will access the data via the patient app and a secure clinical portal. For the first time, everyone involved in a patient's care will have access to the same information in a timely manner. The goal of the third phase is an electronic health record. This will provide a complete digital health record of a patient's health journey recorded by healthcare professionals across all health and social care settings. It will allow for automation of the patient pathway in various care settings; for example, referrals, ordering of diagnostics and lab tests. The phased approach provides a balance between the need to make progress in digitising patient health records while managing the scale, complexity and risk involved in the roll-out of a national electronic health record.

Ultimately, the ambition is to provide a single digital health record for each of us which will be core to achieving improved health outcomes and to supporting health staff in delivering high-quality care. I acknowledge that much is asked of the HSE in this legislation but it gives the HSE a clear basis in law to achieve this vital step forward in our organisation of health information. With legal authority comes great responsibility but also opportunity. The Bill will enable the HSE to connect health information and modernise our delivery of person-centred healthcare. I commend the great progress by the HSE in the HSE live online advice services. These digital developments will allow for big steps forward in the delivery of personalised care and health advice. I assure the House that the Government is committed to the delivery of integrated and effective health and social care services. We look forward to working closely with the HSE and all health and social care services to improve patient care and population health outcomes. I thank Deputies again for their contributions on the introduction of this Bill to this House and look forward to working with colleagues across the House to progress this important legislation through the Dáil, on Committee Stage and through the Seanad as quickly as possible.

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