Press release
Minister for Health publishes ‘Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030'
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is launching ‘Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030’. This framework sets out a roadmap to digitally transform health services in Ireland and improve access for patients.
This year will see the roll-out of a patient app that will provide people with important medical history and records. Next year will see the rollout of a ‘Shared Care Record’ to integrate patient records no matter what part of the health service they engage with. A longer-term deployment of Electronic Health Records (EHR) is also included.
Given the critical role existing, and technologies of the future, digitalisation and data will play in shaping the Irish healthcare service, the purpose of this framework is to:
Minister Donnelly said:
"Digital technology now extends throughout most aspects of our daily lives. We use it at work, at home, in our social lives, when we look for information, book flights or pay for goods or services. The public demand no less in healthcare.
"This Digital Health Framework for Ireland (2024 - 2030) sets out a clear ambition for the future. A future that harnesses the power of data, digital technology, and innovation, to widen access to health and social care services, provide improved affordable and equitable care, better patient safety and greater productivity."
Highlights in the new Framework for 2024 and beyond include:
Minister Donnelly added:
"Digitising services across health and social care is a priority for myself and my department. Through successive budgets, Government has consistently increased both capital and revenue funding for digital health. The health service now has an ambitious forward-looking digital pipeline to deliver on the vision of this strategic framework."
Damien McCallion, Chief Operations Officer, HSE, said:
"While Ireland has made significant technological strides in healthcare to date, we are not where we would want to be, the publication of the Department of Health’s Digital Health Framework and the imminent approval of the HSE’s Strategic Implementation Digital Health Roadmap promises to foster innovation and strategic investment towards the provision of effective and safe delivery of the Health Service.
"We have worked closely with the Department of Health, patients as empowered partners, and other stakeholders over the past year to begin making this digital health vision a reality. New initiatives have already been implemented that are transforming the way we work across our health service, ensuring we provide safe, seamless and efficient care for everyone. Patients are already seeing the benefits of new digital health initiatives such as e-Prescribing and remote health monitoring.
"Looking to the future we are now embarking on a journey to establish a universal digital health record system, in line with the EU Digital Strategy and by the end of this year the initial version of the HSE App will be available. Our aim is to put patients and the people who use our services at the centre of their own care journey and enhance their overall experience of our health service."
This new Framework was developed through extensive consultation with key stakeholders across the health and social care service including patients, healthcare professionals and staff, industry, and innovator groups. The approach has been shaped by the challenges and demands the health service faces, feedback from patients and our workforce, research of other healthcare systems, global trends, and emerging opportunities. This Framework also has taken on board experience from other countries, developments in the digital health industry, the expectations of patients and healthcare professionals, national and EU and international obligations.
The Framework defines a Vision and Mission for Digital Health in Ireland. These are supported by six principles that describe how we will deliver on this vision which will guide investment and provide clear direction in building up strong digital health infrastructure and capabilities.
The ICT environment supporting the provision of health and social care services to the public in Ireland is the largest of its kind in the State, providing 24/7 services to over 70,000 people across 2,000 interwoven systems and applications.
There are six principles to the Digital Health Framework.
Patient as an Empowered Partner: We will empower patients by giving them broader access to their own health information through a patient app, provide access to more digital health services, including virtual care offerings, whilst enabling greater autonomy and choice over their care options.
Workforce and Workplace: We will enable our workforce by providing them with the technology, systems, and skills they need to deliver the best possible care and services to patients in the modernised healthcare service.
Digitally Enabled and Connected Care: We will drive future investment and make architectural decisions based on the ability of systems to share clinical information and deliver connected care. We will make it possible for healthcare professionals, and others who support delivery of care, to be able to access the information they need about their patients when and where they need it, regardless of where those patients were treated previously.
Data Driven Services: We will leverage data analytics, business intelligence, visualisation, dashboards, and other digitally enabled management tools to provide greater insights into the health service and its operation. This will create opportunities for increased productivity, efficiency and more precise direction of resources to areas of greatest need, and where they will have the maximum impact.
Digital Health Ecosystem and Innovation: We will embed continuous improvement within the health and social care service. This will be enabled by innovation via improving ongoing collaboration, improved procurement pathways, increased participation, and promoting research excellence. This strategic principle also details key considerations for the digital health ecosystem as we prepare for the technologies of the future.
Digitally Secure Foundations and Digital Enablers: We will continue to build cyber resilience and put in place the key enablers needed to deliver this digital health strategic roadmap, underpinned by strong governance, culture and change, standards, interoperability, infrastructure, architecture, and legislation.
The Programme for Government and the Committee of Future of Healthcare - Sláintecare Report, states that to deliver universal healthcare digital health services are key enablers for reform, to deliver care more effectively, for empowering patients to access their own medical records, managing their own care, providing more services in the community, and accessing health services closer to home. The role of digital in delivering health services is also articulated in Government's “Harnessing Digital - The Digital Ireland Framework.”
In parallel to this Framework, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has developed a Digital Health Strategic Implementation Roadmap 2024 - 2030 which provides details on the various initiatives under each of the six principles, and the programmes, systems and services that need to be put in place in order to bring about the level of digital transformation required of the health service. The HSE’s roadmap will be published shortly.