Joint Media Release
The Hon Nicola Roxon MP, Minister for Health and Ageing
Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, Minister for Human Services
Federal - State collaboration advances electronic health agenda
12 January 2008
Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig and Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon have welcomed the signing of a contract between Medicare Australia and the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) for the development of a Unique Healthcare Identifier (UHI) service.
The UHI service will accurately and uniquely identify people who receive healthcare in Australia and the people who provide healthcare, as well as the places where it is provided.
The UHI program is being developed to support progress toward the proposed establishment of a national Shared Electronic Health Records System (SEHR), a system with the potential to save lives and reduce costs.
“One of the key building blocks for the establishment of this system is the means for uniquely identifying patients and health professionals, which will ultimately reduce the possibility of information being sent to the wrong health professional or being assigned to the wrong patient,” said Ms Roxon.
NEHTA is a not-for-profit company established by the Australian, State and Territory governments to develop better ways of electronically collecting and securely exchanging health information.
Under the contract with NEHTA, Medicare Australia will be responsible for the design, building and testing of the UHI service.
Senator Ludwig said Medicare Australia was uniquely placed to assist in accelerating the progress of e-Health in Australia.
“My agency is looking forward to working closely with NEHTA, the States and Territories, as well as other key health stakeholders in the upcoming months on the initial design and development of the UHI service,” Senator Ludwig said.
“This project is a significant collaboration between State and Federal Governments to provide the building blocks for Australia’s e-health future,” he added.
The UHI service is a Council of Australian Governments initiative.
Media contacts:
Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon: Sean Kelly—0417 108 362.
Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig: Barb Barrett—0448 469 787.