The United States - Meaningful Use: quality, safety and efficiency of care

The U.S. HITECH Act of 2009 has provided an extraordinary catalyst for clinician adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) across the United States. Delivered in three phases, the US$40Bn in funding encouraged organisations to capture and share health information electronically, and ultimately, organisations were richly rewarded for demonstrating ‘meaningful use’ of health technology (EMRs), particularly in relation to quality, safety and efficiency of care.

What about Australia

So what about Australia, what have we learnt from the US experience and outcomes? Have we learnt anything? Should we be learning from a health system that is twice as expensive as other developed nations, yet has poorer outcomes? Like it or not Australia is well on the path to EMR adoption, from GP practices to large tertiary public hospitals. Even private hospitals are understanding the value of standardized care that can be measured and improved, both from a patient outcome perspective and from an efficiency perspective.

Vitro Software will be hosting a live webinar presented by Mal Thatcher on June 5th at 12noon, Sydney local time (GMT +10). Mal Thatcher has been in IT for 35 years, with a range of roles including Chief Health Information Officer for Queensland Health; interim CEO and CIO; as well as executive director, information and infrastructure and CIO for Mater Health Services. Since leaving Queensland Health in February 2017, Thatcher has focused on completing a book, based on his PHD research and industry knowledge, titled 'Digital Governance Handbook for CEOs and Governing Boards'.

About this webinar - The Australian Health System's EMR Journey

This webinar will take a look at the Australian Health system’s EMR journey and provide some insights into:

• Why implementing EMRs is so difficult and expensive
• Why organisations should NOT focus solely on EMRs in relation to digital transformation
• My predictions for future digital disruption in healthcare

Webinar details & how to join

• Date: June 5th at 12 noon Sydney local time (GMT +10)
• Register: Register for this Vitro Software Webinar
• Joining: Anyone is welcome to join, although participation numbers are limited so we advise that you register
• Details: It will be an interactive webinar introduced and hosted by Berne Gibbons of Vitro Software. Mal Thatcher will talk about the Australian Health System and provide some insights. Berne will be hosting a questions and answers session, which participants can contribute towards the end of the webinar

CIO Australia Interview: Malcolm Thatcher reveals ‘insider’ perspective about IT failures, www.cio.com.au/article/621703/malcolm-thatcher-reveals-insider-perspective-about-it-failures