What is eHealth?

The combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector

World Health Organisation

Imagine having access to your personal health information, whenever you need it. Imagine all of your healthcare team having, with your permission, access to your health information when they need it.

Technology is part of daily life for most people. Whether you are at the checkout buying groceries using a card instead of cash, sending an email instead of posting a letter, or paying your bills online instead of by cheque, the best uses of technology improve the quality and safety of the service, and might save time and money. In the Australian healthcare system, people of all ages interact with technology when they visit their doctor, get a blood test or a scan, go to their chemist to fill a prescription, or spend time in hospital.

While our healthcare system is among the best in the world, some of our ways of collecting and sharing health information—such as medications, test results, scans, or hospital discharge reports—can be improved. Many clinical communications, such as referrals and prescriptions, are still completed on paper.

eHealth aims to introduce electronic services to improve upon some paper-based systems. With the right protections in place, the electronic management of your health information has the potential to transform the way we do things now, by improving the quality and safety of our healthcare system.

Why do we need to change the way we do things?

It’s been estimated that for every dollar invested in eHealth in Australia, we’ll see more than two dollars back.

Deloitte Consulting, report for the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference, 2008

Australia is not alone among OECD countries in projecting unsustainable growth in expenditure on health services. So it’s essential that we find ways to make our health dollars stretch further without compromising the quality of healthcare.