But does it go far enough? One commentator says the plan is light on hard-core solutions to improving interoperability in the digitally lagging sector.
The Australian Digital Health Agency has today released its National Allied Health Digital Uplift Plan, to help the allied health workforce to share key health information between themselves, their patients and multidisciplinary care partners.
The Plan is a joint publication from the ADHA, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, with support from Allied Health Professions Australia.
ADHA chief program officer Paul Creech said the Plan was the result of close consultation with over 220 allied health professionals, 60 peak bodies, consumers, software vendors and government stakeholders.
“By engaging in meaningful conversations and truly listening to everyone involved, we’ve ensured the plan gets it right for allied health professionals, delivering infrastructure that suits their needs, smoother registration, hands-on training, and secure ways to share information,” Mr Creech said.
“These initiatives will help ensure that digital healthcare solutions are accessible, intuitive, and relevant across all care settings, including for culturally diverse and remote communities.
“The Agency is encouraging allied health professionals to access tailored assistance and practical guidance to register and connect to digital health tools like My Health Record and Provider Connect Australia.
“Allied health professionals are essential to delivering integrated, joined-up care for all Australians, enabled through digital technology. The National Allied Health Digital Uplift Plan sets the path to deliver on this vision.”
Allied health professionals make up the second largest health workforce in the country with 300,000 practitioners. It is also the part of the healthcare sector, along with aged care, with the lowest levels of digital maturity and interoperability.
According to AHPA’s 2024 Allied Health Digital Transformation Survey, while 70% of allied health professionals recognise the value of access to digital health data, there is still low use and awareness of digital health tools like My Health Record and Provider Connect Australia.
The Plan aims to enable the allied health professions to be more:
- Digitally connected and ready, with the right digital healthcare solutions, training and infrastructure to deliver safe, efficient care;
- Collaborative and integrated into multidisciplinary care teams through secure, interoperable systems;
- Data-driven, using timely, high-quality information to inform clinical decisions and improve outcomes; and
- Person-centred, where health information centres around the consumer and flows seamlessly across settings and between healthcare providers, improving health outcomes and experiences.
The Plan presents a set of goals spread over three timeframes:
- Short term (2025-26 to 2026-27): allied health professionals can easily register and connect to national digital health tools and services; awareness and confidence in using national digital health tools and services increases; privacy and security standards are embedded in allied health organisations; a growing number of allied health professionals access and contribute to My Health Record; foundations are laid for better data sharing; and, allied health professionals are actively engaged in digital health reforms.
- Medium term (2027-28 to 2028-29): demonstrated success among early adopters builds momentum for wider adoption; technical barriers are reduced, improving accessibility and adoption by allied health professionals; consumers actively contribute to their health records through accessing national digital tools; digitally mature allied health professionals drive innovation and shape training; allied health professionals use connected digital systems that support electronic prescribing and secure messaging.
- Long term (2029 onwards): digital tools are seamlessly integrated into everyday workflows across diverse care settings; allied health professionals are connected to national digital health infrastructure and use electronic referrals and electronic requests and are active participants in national health information exchange; data is used safely to improve care, facilitate research and inform decision making; AI tools and other emerging technology supports contemporary and personalised care across diverse settings.
Dr Katharine Bassett, director of health policy at Catholic Health Australia, wrote in HSD recently that, while she welcomed the Plan, strategy without investment was a “fig leaf”.
“The Plan lists all the familiar challenges: poor IT systems, low digital literacy, and a profession that is fragmented and under-resourced,” Dr Bassett wrote.
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“What it doesn’t yet offer is a credible path to fixing them.
“If we’re serious about system-wide reform, we need more than consultation papers. We need money on the table. Grants for small providers. Tailored training. Integration officers to help practices get online and stay online.”
The federal government’s chief allied health officer, Anita Hobson-Powell said that allied health professionals work in tandem with other health and care providers but experience delays in receiving key health information for their patients.
“This plan will make a real difference for Australians, particularly those living with complex or chronic health conditions,” Ms Hobson-Powell said.
“By improving the way health information is shared and accessed, allied health professionals can provide more timely, coordinated and personalised care.
“Ultimately, this means better support and outcomes for people who rely on a range of health and care providers to manage their health.”