Frectally speaking

The launch of the Irish Health Service Executives Digital Academy Programme by Professor Martin Curley (Head of Innovation at the HSE) was an important effort to shift gears towards change in the Irish Healthcare system.

It was an important event for the Irish healthcare system, as it struggles from crisis to crisis with ongoing calls for improvement and reform. For now, the Irish healthcare culture and systems remain stuck in the last century, with little/no sign of shifting to the digital age to date.

Much of that is down to internal capacity and capability in the Irish public sector/ healthcare sector and the limited understanding of people , process and technology issues that are needed to develop a service fit for the 21st Century. So the push for a Digital Academy to tackle this lack of capacity and capability in the Irish health service is a good thing and full credit to the leadership of Prof Martin Curley for getting this important initiative off the ground.

Of note I thought it was worth pointing out several of the presentations that we’re made at the event as they shared an important message.

Dr Michael Harty , GP and Chair of the Healthcare committee and instrumental in the push towards Sláintecare made the case for a push for a more user centred design approach, agile development, a push for open standards and a call that 1% of current investment be used to progress these important principles to advance the digital aspect of the Slaintecare agenda that is required.

Professor Anthony Staines picked up a similar them with his clear call, “The Logic of Open” , again advocating a more open approach to health IT in Ireland and warning against proprietary technology that has failed elsewhere.

Here also is the SlainteCare Record demonstrator built for the event, on an open platform, to illustrate how an integrated care system could/should be developed in Ireland;

The Digital Academy will do well if it helps to educate the Irish healthcare work force in the key people , process and technology aspects of the changes required to bring the Irish healthcare system into the Digital Age, so we wish it well.

P.S. For those who have not been selected by their local Digital Academy to learn the basics of the elements involved.. you may find this resource of interest/value..