Casemix and E-Health – enablers of health reform

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Casemix and E-Health enablers of health reform
Casemix Conference Fran Thorn Secretary,
Victorian Department of Human Services Chair,
National E-Health Information Principal
Committee 17 November 2008
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Health expenditure in Australia
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Health system challenges

• Gap between advantaged disadvantaged
• Ageing population
• Incidence of chronic disease
• Consumer demand
• Health workforce

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Focus of reform

• Cost effectiveness of healthcare spending
• Safety quality
• Availability of information

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What is E-Health?

• the combined use of electronic communication
  and information technology in the health sector.
• World Health Organisation

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E-Health Strategies

• Short term vs long term
• National E-Health Strategy
• Foundations
• E-Health solutions
• Change adoption
• Governance

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Elements of a strategic approach
Establishing the core foundations for electronic
information exchange across the health sector
Foundations
Stimulating investment in high priority computer
systems and tools
E-Health Solutions
Encouraging health sector participants to adopt
and use high priority systems and tools
Change and Adoption
Ensuring the effective coordination and oversight
of the national E-Health work program
Governance
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Casemix and E-Health Complementary aims

• Using information to improve health care
• Patient-centric
• Equity
• Safety quality
• Transparency accountability
• Sustainability

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Data quality a key constraint for casemix

• Accuracy of the data in general
• Time delays
• Benchmarking
• Clinical data
• Standardisation of DRGs
• Cost data
• funding vs cost

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Improving data quality through E-Health

• Standardisation of
• Data elements/categories
• Reporting models
• Information management systems
• Allows data comparisons and benchmarking
• Data linkage capacity
• Information technologies real-time data
  flexibility of data

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Key opportunities

• Prevention
• Models of care
• Workforce productivity
• Rationalisation of information
• Secondary uses