Accenture | August 17, 2011 | Press Release
SYDNEY, Australia; August 17, 2011 – Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing has selected Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to design and implement the country’s Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) system. The initiative will span all Australia-based health systems and enable patients with a single record to manage care.
The PCEHR effort will enable patients with a greater level of direct involvement in their own healthcare plan while clinicians will be able to make more informed decisions with easier access to key medical data such as health summaries, resulting in medication errors being reduced and a significant reduction in the time and costs associated with redundant tests and retrieving disparate information.
“Accenture is proud to lead Australia’s PCEHR effort, a key initiative for delivering efficient, insight driven healthcare.” said Brad Cable, who leads Accenture’s Health & Public Service in Australia. “Patients will have greater control and access to health information, while providers have greater insight and context to make informed health decisions.”
The Department of Health and Ageing awarded Accenture the contract as a result of the company’s global PCEHR implementation experience, ability to tailor Accenture’s Connected Health Solutions to the specific needs of the Australian healthcare system, along with the company’s previous experience in executing large scale programs for the Australian government.
“Accenture has a demonstrated track record in the successful delivery of what is a very sophisticated system. Singapore’s national electronic health record announced earlier this year was an important factor in our selection, as it shows a true understanding of what is required for an effective system,” Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon said.
The Accenture team will be supported by Oracle in the management of patient records and Orion Health for the consumer and clinician portals, while Telstra will provide the Cloud IO hosting model through the Telstra and Accenture alliance.
Clinicians, citizens and health administrators will be able to register and begin using the PCEHR system from 1 July 2012.
As announced last year, Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing is investing $466.7 million over two years to establish the PCEHR system, which is available by registration. The effort will allow patients to control what is stored in health records, manage provider access and connect medical records across national health systems.
