Three expert groups will provide guidance on better and faster access, virtual care and telehealth, and AI-enabled healthcare.
The Australian Digital Health Agency has established the National Clinical Governance for Digital Health to strengthen clinical oversight and enable the “highest standards of safety and quality in digital health”.
The hope is the committee will guide Australia’s approach to emerging technologies such as virtual care and AI in healthcare.
“By bringing together leading voices from across the health sector, we are prioritising that the future of digital health is clinically safe, effective, and centred on the needs of all Australians,” said ADHA CEO Amanda Cattermole.
“This committee will play a pivotal role in providing advice to government, shaping policy and practices as digital health technology evolves.”
Chair of the new committee is Dr Amandeep Hansra, the ADHA’s chief clinical adviser.
“Our focus is providing advice to government that is drawn from a collaborative ecosystem to ensure the benefits of digital innovation are delivered with clinical safety and quality as the guiding principle,” Dr Hansra said.
“Expert advisory groups reporting to the NCGC-DH are central to its work.
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“These groups will include clinicians, consumers, industry, health technology experts and other relevant government agencies including the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.”
The three expert groups are:
- Better and faster access – advising on safe health information sharing to My Health Record. Chaired by former AMA president and current ADHA specialist adviser Dr Steve Hambleton;
- Virtual care and telehealth – advising on patient safety and quality issues in virtual care and telehealth. Chaired by former CEO of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, and health informatician Dr Louise Schaper;
- AI-enabled care – advising on the safe implementation of AI in healthcare settings. Chaired by eHealth Queensland chief clinical information officer Dr Rae Donovan.
“A key outcome of this collaborative work is that it will guide how the Agency applies digital health levers, such as share by default, conformance and standards, to better support the health workforce, reduce administrative burden and underpin a safer, more future-focused, sustainable health system,” said the ADHA’s chief program officer Paul Creech.