Media Releases
Health Online: A Health Information Action Plan for Australia, second edition
Australia is rapidly embracing new and emerging technologies to change the ways in which health care is delivered and managed, highlighted with the release of Australia's second edition of the national health information action plan.
19 September 2001
Health Online: A Health Information Action Plan for Australia, second edition
Australia is rapidly embracing new and emerging technologies to change the ways in which health care is delivered and managed, highlighted today with the release of Australia's second edition of the national health information action plan.
Launching Health Online: A Health Information Action Plan for Australia second edition, Professor Richard Smallwood, Chair of the National Health Information Management Advisory Council (NHIMAC), said that the new plan would help guide health information activities in the Australian health sector. "Health Online provides the basis for a nationally collaborative approach to using information in the health system, improving the delivery of health care and providing better quality of care and patient safety for all Australians," Professor Smallwood said.
"Health Online has been the vehicle to help bind Commonwealth, State and Territory thinking and activity in health information projects. Better use of health information can deliver real benefits to the individuals and communities that receive health services in Australia." Health Online identifies privacy and confidentiality as pivotal issues to be addressed as e-health is used more widely in the health sector. "Health Online has been developed in an environment where the privacy of individuals is regarded as paramount. Consumers must have trust that their personal information is valued, and kept secure," Professor Smallwood said. "Under the national action plan, Australians will have greater access to health information for themselves and those who depend on them. The plan aims to initiate projects that empower health consumers to make informed decisions about prevention, intervention and treatment options," he said. Speaking in Sydney at the '1st Asia Pacific Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care', Professor Smallwood highlighted the many developments in key areas since the first edition of the plan was released in November 1999, such as the steps taken towards establishing a world-class system of electronic health records (HealthConnect), a robust privacy framework and a plan for national health information standards.
Health Online has been developed under the direction of the National Health Information Management Advisory Council (NHIMAC), and with input from Commonwealth, State and Territory Health Departments and other key stakeholders. Input and comments on Health Online can be made to the NHIMAC Secretariat at nhimac.secretariat@health.gov.au. Health Online is available on the internet at www.health.gov.au/healthonline.
Media contacts: Sophie Davey, Department of Health and Aged Care, 02 6289 5651
