Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House. My question relates to patient safety, clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness and the evaluation of telecommunications, in other words, GPs using telecommunications for giving one-to-one advice over the Internet. What regulation exists on this and how are we going to develop this area, which would be of benefit to GPs, especially in rural areas where patients would be able to access doctors without having to travel long distances to meet them? We talk about developing primary care centres where there would be a far bigger number of GPs working, but they would be a greater distance from many people in rural areas. It is in that context that I raise this matter. It is important that we roll this out and regulate it properly to ensure that it works and patients are safe. As I understand it, there is nothing to prevent someone from starting such a service under the current legislation.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Burke for raising this important matter. I welcome the opportunity to outline the current position. I assume the Senator is referring to the clinical and cost effectiveness and patient safety aspects of the teleconsultation services which are remotely delivered online rather than traditional face-to-face consultation. It is important that the value of these services is given the full consideration in view of the increasing availability and also demand for such services. The importance of ehealth or digital health to support health care reform and its role in the delivery of a modern healthcare system has been recognised for some time. My Department published an ehealth strategy in 2013, which outlined a roadmap to improve the deployment of information technology in the health service to support health care efficiency, patient safety and care. Delivering ehealth in Ireland means the digital transformation of a health care model that exploits the digital infrastructure to enable commonly shared capabilities and access to services and information throughout the health system.

Ehealth has the capacity to provide the building infrastructure and the technology needed to facilitate the wider use of technology to enhance patient safety and patient care in any health care setting. As new technologies emerge, they provide opportunity for different approaches to the treatment of patients, offering alternative health care models of integrated care that can contribute to better outcomes, patient safety and achieve coat efficiencies in the delivery of health services. The Sláintecare report, published in 2017, also emphasised the importance of health information and ehealth as critical enablers to implement the change required to deliver an integrated, high quality health system. The report advocates continued strong support of the ehealth strategy and in particular ensuring the necessary funding for the timely roll-out of an electronic health record, EHR, system.

On the use of teleconsultations in healthcare delivery, there is emerging evidence that telemedicine teleconsultations can be implemented to support an integrated healthcare approach. TeIeconsultations between GPs and patients can provide benefits in certain circumstances, such as the provision of care in remote locations or for chronically ill patients, providing a service in alternative settings that are more convenient for the patient. Such consultations offer alternative channels of service and enhance patient choice.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and assure him and the House that as this is an emerging area of service provision, it will be closely monitored by my Department.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

What are we going to do to try and progress the matter and what are the Department's plans? Especially in rural areas where we are talking about primary care centres which would lead to the centralisation of GPs creating longer distances for people to travel, is there an overall plan to deal with this issue?

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have not seen any overall plan yet but it is something that I will bring to the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, and exert some pressure with regard to it. It is an important, new modern aspect of delivering our health services and it is something that should be taken seriously by the Department and the HSE.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State.