Roxon preparing e-health reforms

Health Minister Nicola Roxon has finally turned her gaze to e-health, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said today.

"I know that Nicola, our health minister, has been working extensively on some e-health reforms," Conroy said at an Australian Information Industry Association lunch in Sydney today. "Without getting into trouble, I understand that there are some things in the not too distant future that she might be saying on this front."

Roxon's inaction on the e-health front has had the Shadow Health Minister Peter Dutton saying earlier this year that she had no agenda, despite his offers of bipartisan support for reforms. His views were shared by some in the e-health industry.

While states have been forging on with their own e-health agendas, with Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory in particular laying out large sums of money for revamping health systems, the Federal Government did not give it significant consideration in the recent budget.

The Council of Australian Governments has passed over discussing the National e-health Transition Authority's business case for a national plan on e-health numerous times.

Roxon is currently examining a report from the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission, which will touch on e-health issues. According to the Australian Financial Review, this report suggested tying federal funding for hospitals to e-health implementation.