Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Thank you deputy for your question. You reference 'technology' in your question, which is a very board term in healthcare, that can include medicines, diagnostics and genomics etc. . In my answer, I have taken your question to mean a focus on the ICT aspects of technology.

First of all, its important to recognise where there is strong utilisation of ICT and where we are well advanced in terms of utilisation of technology. Some very obvious examples include the National Medical Imaging System (NIMIS), that covers all the major imaging modalities and enables Ireland’s health professionals to collaborate, seamlessly and securely sharing patient imaging data electronically, thus improving the speed and accuracy of clinical decisions.

Another useful example is the Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System (MN-CMS), which supports the delivery of safer care by using electronic health records to ensure all maternal, newborn and gynaecology information is available in real time to doctors and nurses responsible for providing care to patients on sites where MN-CMS is deployed already.

However, we must acknowledge that Ireland is still significantly behind peers internationally in terms of digital health maturity, with OECD reports issued prior to the pandemic indicating Ireland was placed 21 out of 27 EU member states.

In response to this, and recognising that investing in this area is very expensive, this government has provided capital to ensure the new Children's Hospital will open as a digital first hospital, with an enterprise level EHR system and all the ICT infrastructure needed to operate as a world class facility.

My department is also finalising a refresh to our digital health strategy, that sets out a clear ambition for the greater utilisation of digital technology, and provide a roadmap for the future. I will be discussing this with Government, but progress will still be dependent on the how much future governments choose to invest in this important area.