Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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149. To ask the Minister for Health the online or video general practitioner services operating here; the regulations governing ehealth, telehealth and teleconsultations; the standard of best practice these companies must abide by; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44173/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy is referring to the eHealth related telehealth and teleconsultations services that are remotely delivered using online means as opposed to a traditional face-to-face consultation.

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, my Department published an eHealth strategy, which outlined a way forward to improve the deployment of information technology to support health care efficiency and patient safety and care.

There has been some progress made since the publication of the strategy including the establishment of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and eHealth Ireland, the publication of the Knowledge and Information Plan, the establishment of the eHealth ecosystem, the development of the Electronic Health Record business case and the implementation of the Individual Health Identifier (IHI).

The Sláintecare report advocates the “Continued strong support of the e-health strategy" and in particular ensuring the necessary funding for the timely roll-out of an EHR system. The report 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 delivery of eHealth in Ireland effectively means the digital transformation of a healthcare model that exploits digital infrastructure to enable commonly shared capabilities and access to services and information throughout the health system. eHealth has the capacity to provide the enabling infrastructure and the technology needed to facilitate the wider use of technology to support patient care in any health care setting. New technologies facilitate different approaches to the treatment of patients, offering alternative health care models of integrated care that can contribute to better outcomes and achieve cost efficiencies in the delivery of health services.

There is emerging evidence that telemedicine/teleconsultation can be implemented to support an integrated healthcare approach. Teleconsultations can provide benefits in certain circumstances, such as the provision of care in remote locations or for chronically ill patients and provide care in alternative settings convenient for the patient. Such consultations, as currently available, can provide alternative channels of service to enhance patient choice. Where these services are offered they must support current best clinical practice and patient safety care protocols and should only be provided where direct patient access on a face to face basis is not readily available or suitable. In delivering remote health services, providers must also ensure the integrity of patient data, as required by current data protection law and the forthcoming implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018. There will also be a need for guidance and clinical protocols around the appropriate use of teleconsultations to be developed as well as retraining and education of staff and patients.

While my Department is aware that some general practitioners and providers are offering video and online services these are in general enhancements and alternatives to current provision of existing services. Any deployment of telemedicine/teleconsultation in primary or other care settings must be provided on the basis of ensuring that the same level of care and treatments as are also available from non digital based services. While some teleconsultation solutions are currently being offered in the private health sector, GPs are private contractors and my Department does not routinely collect information on teleconsultation services that may be offered by particular GPs or private companies. This emerging area of service provision will be closely monitored by my Department.