Health Online: A Health Information Action Plan for Australia,
2cd edition

(click to read the full report)

Health Online: A Health Information Action Plan for Australia is about the better use of information technology in the health sector. It is both a national strategy for information management and the use of online technologies within the health sector, and a set of action plans for nationally significant projects. The innovative ways to manage information proposed in Health Online are aimed at improving the delivery of health care and achieving better quality of care and health outcomes for individuals and communities.

Health Online was first launched in November 1999. Since that time, governments, consumer groups, health care providers and others, working together, have made substantial progress towards better managing and using health information for the benefit of Australians. This second edition of Health Online reports on the key activity areas described in the first edition and incorporates new strategies and projects that are planned for the next five years. 

Health Online has been developed by the National Health Information Management Advisory Council (NHIMAC) in collaboration with the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and other stakeholders. 

The main focus of Health Online continues to be on nationally significant action plans. These plans, which are complemented by many more projects that are under way in the States and Territories, cover: the building blocks for future online activities, including data protection and other legal/security issues, standards, infrastructure issues, change management and training, and research and development; information and services tailored to meet consumer expectations for more information, more choice and a greater say in their own health and well being;  support for clinical care by sharing information with the aim of providing coordinated care, decision-support services and better access to current practice information; efficiency gains through the use of electronic data transfer in areas such as hospital supply chain activities, Medicare claims and electronic prescribing; better clinical and administrative data for research, policy and planning purposes to inform governments about health needs and about how the various initiatives are performing so that health resources can be applied to maximum effect; and export of Australian health services.

Since its release, Health Online has already had a significant impact in promoting a nationally uniform approach to using information and communications technologies in the health sector. It has helped bind Commonwealth, State and Territory thinking and activity by drawing the health information management agenda under a unified framework. Major achievements of the Health Online strategy over the past two years are: 

Endorsement of the report of the National Electronic Health Records Taskforce by Australian Health Ministers in July 2001. The report recommended the development of a health information network for Australia, named HealthConnect.  Establishment of the National  Health Information Standards Advisory Committee (NHISAC) in October 2000. NHISAC is responsible for overseeing the development, coordination and implementation of health information standards.  Development, publication and release of Setting the Standards: A National Health Information Standards Plan for  Australia in February 2001. 

Establishment of the National Health Supply Chain Reform Task force in June 2000 and the ongoing development of the National Action Plan for Introducing E-Commerce in the Hospital Supply Chain. 

Convening the National Health Online Summit in August 2000. The summit provided the opportunity for individuals with an interest in health information to meet and discuss information management issues in the health sector. Summit proceedings have been published as Proceedings from the National Health Online Summit, Adelaide, 3–4 August 2000.

Health Online has been developed in an environment in which the privacy of individuals is regarded as integral to all the activities it encompasses. Health consumers can be confident that their personal
information will be valued and protected.

Further information

The second edition of Health Online: A Health Information Action Plan for Australia and other publications referred to above are available at www.health.gov.au/healthonline. For further information, contact the NHIMAC Secretariat: Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, MDP12, GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601. Fax: (02) 6289 4083 Email: nhimac.secretariat@health.gov.au