Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

90. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on progress towards the digitalisation of the health service overall; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34601/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030 reflects the changing landscape of health and social care in Ireland and sets out a roadmap to digitally transform health services and improve access for patients. This framework, combined with the corresponding HSE implementation roadmap, sets out a very clear path for the full digitisation of healthcare records and information systems in Ireland, as stated in the Programme for Government.Implementation of Ireland’s Digital for Care strategy is progressing at pace following its publication in May 2024. It sets out vision to enable better health outcomes through seamless, safe, secure, and connected digital health services that support both patients and providers. This vision is grounded in the principles of Sláintecare. Government has also reflected the need to support increased capital investment levels especially in health digitalisation through the review of the National Development Plan that is ongoing.

Ireland needs one digital health record for every citizen that can be accessed by health professionals across the service. The path to a one digital health record that covers the full health journey of every person living in Ireland consists of three key initiatives under Digital for Care (and the Programme for Government) proceeding concurrently and in parallel to achieve this for patients and the healthcare workforce:

1. The HSE Health App was successfully launched in February 2025, giving patients real choice and empowering their control over their health journey with further releases planned this year. The app, that has already won a number of technology awards, represents an important step towards making personal health information available, putting each patient at the centre of their healthcare journey. It empowers people by providing a single app to manage their digital health identity, personal health information, health and social care coordination, and access to services. It continues to evolve with more services, data and features planned in regular future releases.
2. The Health Service Executive (HSE) completed the procurement for the National Shared Care Record (NSCR) earlier this year. The NSCR programme has now been mobilized, with the contract for building the NSCR technology platform awarded to EY, Better and Kainos. The NSCR brings together healthcare information from various sources such as hospitals, GP practices, and Community care into a single place, making them available at the point of care and self-care in read only format. By having access to key healthcare information in one place means healthcare professionals will be able to make more informed, safer decisions and to focus more time on direct patient care while patients will be better informed and empowered to manage their own healthcare.

1. The Enterprise Electronic Health Record (EHR) is intended to support integrated care across all settings. A preliminary business case for the National EHR has been developed by the HSE, setting out the case for the most ambitious transformation programme in the history of the health service. It is currently subject to the External Assurance Process (EAP) as required under the Infrastructure Guidelines. The EAP report will then be issued to the Major Projects Advisory Group (MPAG) for advice to DPENDR and Government. A national enterprise EHR will allow healthcare staff to access a patient’s full medical history to support timely and appropriate care, with the ability to update information in real time. EHRs not only provide a complete digital health record of a patient’s health journey, recorded by healthcare professionals across all health and social care settings, they also incorporate workflow capabilities to automate the patient pathway and facilitate the implementation of standardised models of care. This means the EHR can map out the next steps in a patient’s treatment plan in the various care setting and support automatic referrals, ordering of diagnostics, lab tests, etc. To realise the benefits of an investment in EHRs, they must be underpinned by a clear roadmap, agreed up-front interoperability and data standards, appropriate governance and a robust business case. Deploying an EHR is not just about the technology. These are significant change programmes to transform and move from a paper based to a digitised care model.A PIN (Prior Information Notice) was published in June 2025 informing EHR suppliers about the health service's interest in a national enterprise-level EHR systems. This process is open to all potential vendors willing to engage through this process. The consultation seeks supplier input to inform the upcoming procurement, with a contract award expected by the end of 2026 and phased implementation through to 2032.