We published our recommendations to support the implementation of a national electronic patient summary in Ireland for the Minister for Health last month, a high priority of the Sláintecare plan and the culmination of two years of research and public engagement.
A national electronic patient summary is used internationally by healthcare providers as a snapshot of a patient’s essential clinical information. Also known as a ‘summary care record’, it brings together information from various IT systems into a single place to support a patient during an episode of unscheduled care. It summarises the patient’s relevant demographics, health conditions, current medications, allergies, vaccinations and any procedures in the last six months.
Rachel Flynn, our Director of Health Information and Standards, said: “Electronic patient summaries have the potential to make healthcare delivery safer and more effective by ensuring healthcare professionals have access to a patient’s information, such as medical history and prescribed medications, at the point of care.”
The recommendations outline best practice for the implementation of a national electronic patient summary, covering themes such as policy and legislation, governance structures, phased implementation, sources of information, the need for national health identifiers, and the approach to engagement with stakeholders. In order to ensure that individual rights are protected and that any implementation of the national electronic summary complies with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation, we also recommended that a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) should be carried out as an early priority.
Ms Flynn continued: “The implementation of a national electronic patient summary stands the best chance of success if all the recommendations made are implemented in a clear, timely and transparent way.”
The recommendations are available to read here.
To understand more about a national electronic patient summary, watch our animation. You can also learn more about eHealth terms in our quick guide on Key eHealth Terms and eHealth in Ireland Frequently Asked Questions.