On 25th September 2024, Minister Donnelly brought the Health Information Bill 2024 through the Second Stage in the Dáil. The Bill will offer enhanced access to health information for patients in Ireland and lays the groundwork for a clear legal basis to digitise health records. It will allow for health information to be appropriately shared across healthcare settings. Subsequently, health professionals will be empowered to provide quality care to patients. Minister Donnelly underpinned this concept, stating that Electronic Health Records offer healthcare providers a “complete and holistic view” of the patients they are treating.
Minister Donnelly commented on the Bill, stating it will be “transformative” for patients and healthcare professionals. Speaking in the Dáil, he outlined a six-year approach to E-Health. €155 million in capital funding will be provided, followed by €270 million in recurrent funding. He expressed that the Bill is a “critical step” in building a health system, which is “fit for purpose, cost-effective and responsive”.
Digital for Care
Furthermore, The Bill is crucial to the successful fulfilment of ‘Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024 – 2030’ which focuses on:
- Patient as an empowered partner: A patient app will provide Irish patients access to digital health services such as Electronic Health Records and virtual care offerings.
- Workforce and workplace: The workforce will receive the necessary technology, systems and skills to deliver high-quality patient care in a modernised health system.
- Digitally Enabled and Connected Care: Healthcare professionals will be granted access to patient information when and where they need it.
- Data-driven services: Data analytics, business intelligence, visualisation and digital management tools will be utilised to develop a greater understanding of how the health system operates.
- Digital health ecosystem and innovation: Continued collaboration, improved procurement pathways, increased participation and the promotion of research excellence will be leveraged to enhance and innovate healthcare.
- Secure foundations and digital enablers: Strong governance, cultural change, standards, interoperability, infrastructure, architecture and legislation will be built upon to deliver digitalised healthcare and cyber resilience.
The European Union and Digital Health
The Bill will provide a pathway to meeting Ireland’s obligations under the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation, which will come into effect at the end of 2024. The European Health Data Space is a data-sharing framework for health data in the European Union which aims to:
- Provide EU citizens with access to and control of their Electronic Health Records.
- Develop a single market for Electronic Health Record systems, relevant medical devices and high-risk AI systems.
- Deliver a trustworthy and efficient platform to support the use of health data for research, innovation, policy-making and regulatory activities.
Regarding the EU’s Digital Decade programme, Minister Donnelly spoke of the “ambitious” targets set out by the plan, including the objective to ensure that all EU citizens can access Electronic Health Records by 2030. Notably, Ireland is a laggard in the digital health space, illustrating the importance of the Health Information Bill and Ireland’s E-health plan in revamping healthcare in Ireland.
