eHealth Implementation in NSW: A Report on the NSW State Health Plan

This report examines the implementation of eHealth approaches in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, based on the NSW State Health Plan. It highlights the growing need for digitalization in healthcare to improve access and delivery of services. The report discusses the strategies being adopted by the NSW government to integrate eHealth into the healthcare system, including centralization, localization, and innovation. It emphasizes the importance of communication between healthcare providers and timely decision-making. The report also touches on the economic prospects of NSW and the potential benefits of increased budgetary allocation for eHealth initiatives. Recommendations include cross-collaboration among stakeholders, user-friendly eHealth solutions, increased budget spending, electronic health record implementation, partnerships with telecommunication companies, and sustainable funding models. The report concludes that while the initial costs of implementing eHealth are high, the long-term benefits and improved quality of care outweigh the limitations.

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eHealth approaches in New South Wales State, Australia

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Summary
eHealth is a promising avenue which is geared towards improved access and delivery of
health care services across the population. The changing health care needs of the public
necessitate the adoption of effective approaches and strategies which eases the pressure
of doing work. In North South Wales, eHealth is envisaged to tremendous output in
health care. It is forecasted to ease communication among doctors, nurses, general
practitioners, patients and their care teams. This paper focuses on the need for
digitalization of health care reforms at NSW, strategies being adopted and cost-benefit
analysis of this tool in the delivery of healthcare. eHealth in New South Wales is geared
towards facilitating communication between health care providers and making timely
decisions based on health needs. For effective, implementation this paper has drawn on
effective recommendations which go in line with the implementation of eHealth
solution across the state of New South Wales.
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Table of Contents
Summery.........................................................................................................2
Introduction.....................................................................................................4
Discussions.....................................................................................................4
Recommendations ..........................................................................................5
Conclusion ......................................................................................................6
References.........................................................................................................6
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Running; eHealth care in NSW
Introduction
According to WHO, eHealth refers to the cost-effective and secure use of information
and communication technologies which offer support and facilitate health-related avenues in
healthcare surveillance and health education, information and research arena, (WHO, 2018).
This field has been shown as an emerging arena of enjoining medical informatics, public
health care, and business ventures. This avenue ensures that health care is delivered through
web-based technologies in the medical arena. The global world is shifting to incorporating
and digitalizing health care in a bid to offering quality health care, (Neter & Brainin, 2012).
Australia has not been left behind in this arena. The Government of NSW has adopted an
elaborate plan with an aim of ensuring e-Health is incorporated in the health care system.
The goals of NSW government are to roll out eHealth through centralization and
localization in a bid to promoting innovation as per the needs of the users. It is envisaged that
eHealth in NSW, is geared towards helping doctors, nurses and other service providers in
healthcare continuum to control their own health care related content which includes medical
records, digital images, patient administration systems, eHealth record system and electronic
prescription, (NSW, 2014).
The changing needs of health care and managing expectations of the community, care
and patients have promoted a focus on delivering eHealth which informs transparency and
offers shorter decision making process and creating connections across the different tier of
health care system in NSW has enabled this transition. e-Health is thus envisaged to offer
efficiency, enhancing quality, empowering healthcare staff, encouraging positive
relationships between patients and healthcare team, enabling information exchange,
enhancing ethics and ensuring health is equitable to all, (Kontos et al, 2014).
Discussion of the findings
With the changing needs and expectations of the citizen of NSW, the need to change
focus took center stage. The aim of delivering patient-centered care across the state has
enabled the state actors to think of creating a modernized health care system which addresses
the rising demands and expectation of the healthcare service consumers. It is with this view,
that the need for creating a health system which cuts across the different levels of healthcare
to be developed, (Gordon & Hornbrook, 2016). This is geared towards reducing unnecessary
hospitalization and need for emergency services.
In order to achieve this, various strategies have been put in place to ensure this is
achieved. These strategies include supporting and ensuring that there is the development of
the workforce, offering support and harnessing of innovations, enabling eHealth and
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designing and laying the ground for future based health infrastructure, (Cummings et al,
2010).
In enabling eHealth, recognizance of the rapidly evolving technology has been at the
forefront in motivating an adopting eHealth. Currently, the NSW health department has made
significant building blocks for rolling out eHealth. Coming up with a blueprint is a clear
indication on the shift direction of adopting eHealth in health care. this blueprint document is
key to ensuring that power governance is adjusted to suit the changing approach and form
partnerships with the key stakeholder who is the healthcare staff, (Liaw & De Lusignan,
2016).
The current economic prospects of New South Wales have seen a rise of 3% has been
increasing gradually. Hence it is with this view that eHealth can be the greatest beneficiary in
line with economic prospects in the future.
Recommendations
In order to achieve effective health care plans for the people of NSW, State health plan
has put in place key focus areas which ensure that the needs of the patient s are met. With the
changing focus in healthcare approach, a lot is desired on its outcomes. There is a need for
cross-collaboration between the key stakeholders who include patients, health care
practitioners and the state department of health. Survey and studies need to be undertaken so
as to come with user-friendly eHealth, which the consumers can engage with comfortably
while at the same time offering healthcare practitioners an opportunity to cross consult across
the different levels, (Girgis, Delaney & Miller, 2015).
With the current improved economic growth, there is a need to ensure that increased
budget spending is directed to the key strategies eHealth included so as to achieve quality
care and meet the expected needs of the consumers. Currently, the largest public spenders of
the NSW budget include household, infrastructure, business and growth of the export sector.
This shows that health care is not majorly highly prioritized, hence increase budgetary
allocation to boost eHealth approaches.
In NSW, it is paramount that electronic health records be rolled out across all health
facilities in the state. In this way, patient information sharing is much improved and sharing
made at ease. Electronic medical databases ensure that health care practitioners are able to get
accurate and timely information on their patients thus improving further quality of care.
Further implementing digital medical images for patients is crucial in ensuring that there is
sharing of information across varied regions with ease, (Grady et al, 2018).
NSW state needs to form partnerships with key stakeholder in telecommunication
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industry so as to enable effective coverage and platform for eHealth solutions roll out. In
order to ensure sustainability of these programs, there is a need for an effective approach of
funding and hiring information technology for regular maintenance of the systems, this can
be best done through creating collaboration among privates organization pursuing similar
arena. eHealth cuts across the different levels of health care thus no limitation is guaranteed
for such implementation.
Conclusion
Generally the overall cost implications for implementing eHealth are usually high,
however, the value of work done and quality of care is exemplary. Hence the benefits
outweigh the delimitations.
References
Cummings, E., Showell, C., Roehrer, E., Churchill, B., Turner, B., Yee, K., & Turner, P. (2010).
A structured evidence-based literature review on discharge, referral, and admission: eHealth
Services Research Group, University of Tasmania, Australia (on behalf of the Australian
Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, and the NSW Department of Health).
eHealth, online, (2018). Accessed at HTTP; http://www.who.int/ehealth/en/. Viewed on
04/09/2018.
Girgis, A., Delaney, G., & Miller, A. A. (2015). Utilising health to support survivorship
care.
Gordon, N. P., & Hornbrook, M. C. (2016). Differences in access to and preferences for using
patient portals and other eHealth technologies based on race, ethnicity, and age: a database
and survey study of seniors in a large health plan. Journal of medical Internet research,
18(3).
Grady, A., Young, S., Sutherland, R., Lee, H., Nathan, N., & Wolfenden, L. (2018). Improving
the public health impact of eHealth and mHealth interventions. Australian and New Zealand
journal of public health, 42(2), 118-119.
Kontos, E., Blake, K. D., Chou, W. Y. S., & Prestin, A. (2014). Predictors of eHealth usage:
insights on the digital divide from the Health Information National Trends Survey 2012.
Journal of medical Internet research, 16(7).
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Liaw, S. T., & de Lusignan, S. (2016). An "integrated health neighborhood" framework to
optimize the use of EHR data. Journal of innovation in health informatics, 23(3), 547-554.
Neter, E., & Brainin, E. (2012). eHealth literacy: extending the digital divide to the realm of
health information. Journal of medical Internet research, 14(1).
NSW Health. (2014) NSW State Health Plan: Towards 2021. Retrieved from
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/statehealthplan/Publications/NSW-State-Health-Plan-
Towards-2021.pdf
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