Health industry CIOs have a real opportunity to drive innovation and break down siloes of information in light of the federal government's allocation of $467 million to electronic health records over the next two years. Health industry CIOs have a real opportunity to drive innovation and break down siloes of information in light of the federal government’s allocation of $467 million to electronic health records over the next two years. FCC Mobile Network Plan Could Revolutionize HealthcareVidyoHealth Enables Remote Medical ExaminationsSpeaking at an AIIA CIO e-health forum in Sydney, CIO of St Vincent’s Health Australia, David Roffe, said one of the most important aspects of e-health is change management. “Before we put anything in we need to find out how we will change processes,” Roffe said.Roffe is supportive of the government’s decision to invest more in e-health. St Vincents has been investing in and developing IT health systems for at least 25 years and has re-written its own patient records system three times.“Seven years ago we started working with electronic medical records and it was the most difficult project I have ever done,” Roffe said. “Now, the work we have done is being used by the NSW and Victoria governments and that’s fantastic. We need to learn from each other.”Roffe said NETHA, the National E-Health Transition Authority, has worked on connectivity between health systems in the past and few software vendors participated.How do CIOs know they are on the path to best practice with e-health systems? Roffe said best practices can be taken from innovation within the organisation itself and with industry standards.“You can be pragmatic and say is there a champion to communicate the benefits,” he said. “If it does show benefits then we do research. I have a small sandpit of funding that will allow me to do innovation internally.”Adam Powick, leading e-health consultant at Deloitte, said governments should not design and build IT systems and the private sector can’t sit back and wait for the government to “tell it what to do”. “Health IT is not special, but the real challenge is how fragmented it is and the preciousness and sensitivity of the stakeholder groups,” Powick said.“Anyone with closed or proprietary standards is dead. We are a fragmented industry and need a unified voice.”Powick said it is time to push e-health to the next generation of health professionals.Industry experts recently told CIO that a successful e-health strategy would require a bottom-up approach in addition to more funding. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP Innovative integration drives automotive group to SAP awards Using SAP Build Process Automation, China Grand Automotive Services Group Co., Ltd. accelerated and streamlined processes for its 700+ dealerships, saving time and costs while earning recognition for its innovation. By Tom Caldecott, SAP Contributor Dec 11, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation news Concerns remain even as the EU reaches a landmark deal to govern AI Experts believe the new regulation would add a significant compliance burden on businesses as some argue it could even stifle the growth of the rapidly developing technology. By Gagandeep Kaur Dec 11, 2023 7 mins Regulation Artificial Intelligence feature CIOs grapple with the ethics of implementing AI With ethical considerations around AI use increasingly top of mind, IT leaders are developing governance frameworks, establishing review boards, and coming to terms with the difficult discussions and decisions ahead. By Esther Shein Dec 11, 2023 13 mins Generative AI Data Governance IT Governance feature Reed Smith turns to AI for lawyer staffing solution The legal firm’s Smart Resourcing tool helps balance workloads and ensure partners find associates with the right skills and experience, while empowering employees to make connections across the firm’s global footprint. By Sarah K. White Dec 11, 2023 8 mins CIO 100 Legal Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe