Investment in eHealth will improve care
Patients in NSW will benefit from safer and more coordinated care, as paper files are phased out and patient data goes online.
eHealth is revolutionising healthcare by storing and delivering health information efficiently and reducing errors by clinicians.
The NSW Government is investing $536 million over eight years in IT infrastructure and systems to support the healthcare sector, including:
- digital infrastructure supporting the clinical and other health-related systems across NSW
- digital patient records to ensure patient records are easy to read, accurate and instantly accessible whenever needed.
- a central repository for patients’ public hospital pathology results
- rollout of the Electronic Medications Management System statewide.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said research showed electronic systems can reduce medication errors, which could result in significant patient harm, by more than 50 percent.
“Notes might be illegible, errors can be made transcribing medication charts, or charts can be lost but this technology helps ensure patients get the right medication at the right time,” Mr Hazzard said.