Tas govt to integrate e-health systemsBy Colin Ho,...

Tas govt to integrate e-health systems
By Colin Ho, ZDNet.com.au
08 February 2010 01:57 PM

Tasmania's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has released a request for tender for the implementation and support of a system to pull together data from various legacy systems into one electronic health record.

The contract will be for five years, and will commence this year in July and last until the end of June 2015.

"The Department of Health and Human Services invites tenders to engage a strategic partner who has the capacity to deliver and implement a longitudinal Electronic Health Record foundation, with sector-wide health information exchange and clinical and business intelligence capability," DHHS said in its tender.

Tasmania's hospitals and health professionals have been running multiple systems for different requirements, such as iSoft's iPatient Manager and Homer for patient administration, as well as iSoft's EDIS system for the emergency departments.

"[New] systems being sought are not to replace the range of clinical systems, rather integrate the information within existing systems, and present information for clinicians and managers to interrogate and interpret easily," the tender said.

The idea was to have a single view of Tasmanian patients. Integration, ease of navigation and user interface were key for the tender. The finished product will serve as a foundation for the three areas of health services, statewide and mental health services, Tasmanian Ambulance Service and other business units within DHHS.

Submissions close on Wednesday, 17 March at 2:00pm.