Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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1022. To ask the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding hospital records; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41618/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for this question and I share his urgency and his appreciation for the vital importance of electronic health records in supporting integrated patient-centred care and in strengthening patient safety and health outcomes across the entire health and social care system. This is an area of significant priority that my Department is actively progressing in partnership with the HSE and the health services.

The importance of, and the opportunity for, eHealth or digital health to support health care reform and the delivery of a modern health care system has been recognised for quite some time. In 2013, the Government approved and published a strategy for developing eHealth capability in the Irish health system called the eHealth strategy for Ireland, 2013. This strategy sets out a number of objectives and a road map for the delivery and implementation of eHealth for the benefit of patients. The Government eHealth strategy draws heavily on and incorporates many aspects of the work done by the EU Task Force set up in 2011 to look at the potential for eHealth. A number of the elements of the strategy have been progressed with the recruitment of a Chief Information Officer within the HSE to lead out on eHealth initiatives, the development of a system of identifiers with a legal basis with the passing of the Health Identifiers Act 2014 and the development by the HSE of an EHR (Electronic Health Record) business case.

The Health Identifiers Act, passed in July 2014, provides for a system of identification for patients, professionals and providers in support of patient safety and administrative efficiency. The implementation of an Individual Health Identifier (IHI) for Ireland will allow the identification of patients in multiple health settings, both public and private, in a secure and confidential way and will support improved patient safety.

A core deliverable for eHealth is the development of a longitudinal patient record that incorporates a patient identifier. The Electronic Health Record programme has a number of components to allow for patient information to be shared across the primary, community and acute care settings to deliver modern, safe and efficient patient care. Utilising the Individual Health Identifier to integrate the information, they can underpin a more sophisticated and patient-centred model of connected health. With regard to Electronic Health Records, the Office of the Chief Information Officer has submitted a detailed business case for a national electronic health record programme for Ireland. My Department is currently evaluating how this might be progressed particularly in delivering an EHR in the context of the work being planned for the New Children’s Hospital which aspires to be the first digital hospital facility in the country. In developing a national electronic health record programme we must build on the progress to date in ICT deployment and also the lessons learnt from other jurisdictions in developing an optimum solution for Ireland. I hope to bring proposals to Government shortly on how this plan might be progressed.

My Department currently participates in a number of forums including the EU eHealth Network in the context of digital services in support of the Cross-Border Directive (Directive 2011/24/EU) on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare and furthering the eHealth agenda on issues such as interoperability and common standards for the exchange of information in support of patient care.

The delivery of digital health care services and the roll out of an electronic health record (EHR) will require a robust legal framework to ensure confidentiality and security of patient data consistent with the new EU data protection regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The new EU regulations (General Data Protection Regulation) will have a significant effect on how and where data is gathered and the purpose for which it is used. My Department is currently examining the appropriate information framework that will provide the optimum environment to support eHealth and the deployment of electronic health records in the future. The health care delivery system requires a robust information governance environment to ensure the right information about the right patient is available securely, in the right place and at the right time. The confidentiality of health data and the right of citizens to privacy must always be respected while at the same time be balanced against the health needs of the individual and the use of health data for the greater good of society. These are complex and demanding issues which must be addressed in the context of the Health Information and Patient Safety Bill, national and health sector implementation of the new Regulation and existing health legislation including the Health Identifiers Act 2014.