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Professor Michael Georgeff, counder and Chief Executive Officer of Precedence Health Care Pty Ltd and Director of the e-Health Research at Monash University.

The paper discussed the cost to the nation and the individual of continuing with Australia's current disjointed chronic health care system. It is estimated that improved knowledge sharing and better care plan management for patients with chronic diseases could generate direct savings to the health care system of $1.5billion per annum. Savings to the community from associated non-healthcare costs are of the same order.
 
         << Download The e-Health System Workshop Report ^NEW! [PDF 1.38MB]

Keynote speaker Prof Michael Georgeff has been an advisor to government and industry in the US, Europe and Australia on information technology strategy in health care and e-business. He serves on the boards of various companies and has over 25 years experience in software innovation and bringing these technologies to market.

Most of the participants endorsed the approach advocated in the paper. It was agreed that the ongoing development of e-health could reap enormous financial and health benefits and revolutionise the field of chronic health care. Much of the necessary technology, such as secure messaging systems, already exists. Most of the costs of e-health are incurred by changing business practices rather than purchasing new IT systems.
 
It was noted that clinicians have proved their willingness to embrace IT solutions when these are shown to improve patient care, and will amend their care practises in line with new data revealed by e-health provision. The adoption of a simple 'unique identifier' for every patient would greatly simplify the problems of identity management.
 
The creation of connectivity, rather than standards regarding content, was seen as the key to unlocking the future of e-health provision.

The GAP workshop on Implementing a Rational e-Health System in Australia was held on 19 September 2007 in Canberra, Australia.

Jointly hosted by GAP and the Australian National Consultative Committee on Electronic Health, the Congress brought together leading figures from Commonwealth, State and Local Governments, Industry and Academia in an attempt to find solutions to the management and long term funding of chronic disease in an increasingly ageing Australian population. Keynote speakers the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, and the Hon. John Brumby MP, Treasurer of Victoria and Minister for Innovation, contributed to the debate.
 
         << Download The GAP Congress on Wellness & Ageing Report [PDF 578KB]

The Congress promoted a holistic, patient-centric approach to chronic disease management, highlighted the role of technology, such as electronic health records, in delivering quality of care and stressed the role that prevention and health education can play in improving the health of a nation.

Sponsors of the GAP Congress on Wellness & Ageing 2007 were:

     • The Victorian Government
     • Roche Diagnostics Australia
     • Cisco Systems
     • Australian Unity
     • Intel Australia

This initiative was borne out of the GAP Forum on Better Health Care Through Electronic Information held in Sydney in September 2004.

The GAP Congress on Wellness & Ageing was held on 15 and 16 February 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.

Despite considerable work underway in the areas of health IT standards and the development of a national health data network, the lack of coordination between the States and stakeholders can significantly delay the prospect of fundamental health system reform. The GAP Forum on "Better Health Care Through Electronic Information" aimed to encourage Australian Government, Business, Research, Industry and the vendor community to foster national collaboration and develop a joint programme to move towards a sustainable and value creating electronic healthcare infrastructure.

<< Download THE GAP FORUM report [PDF 1.10MB]
 
<< Download Press release 17.12.2004 [PDF 90KB]
 
<< Download Press release 02.09.2004 [PDF 84.2KB]

The Forum featured Dr Allen Ausford from Canada as a keynote speaker. Dr Ausford has been involved in the design, building and implementation of the Alberta Electronic Health Record. His direct experience in the development and test-driving of the first Canadian EHR gives Dr Ausford a practical understanding of the system, its power, challenges and benefits.

<< Download Dr ALLEN AUSFORD's profile [PDF 199KB]

Sponsors of this GAP initiative were:

The Forum focused on new, preventive models of care and sought to identify digital technology that would enable more self-managed care and the use of primary care services over hospitalisation. The following issues formed the agenda for discussions over two days:

• National & international experience in EHR
• Costs & benefits - new models of care focused on people's
   wellbeing, selling the benefits of a national EHR system to patients
   and healthcare providers; costs and quality benefits; consumer
   focus and patient-centric approach
• 'Change management' strategy - centralisation and coordination of
   activities, interoperability and connectivity of healthcare providers,
   behaviour change
• Technological challenge - the industry perspective on infrastructure
   and technology capabilities, marketing of reliable IT products,
   identifying digital technology that enable more self managed care

The GAP Forum on 'Better Health Care Through Electronic Information' was held on 14 and 15 September 2004 in Sydney, Australia.

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