ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher has decided to travel to Denmark and Norway in August to learn about the countries' e-health systems.
Katy Gallagher
(Credit: ACT government)
"Scandinavia is considered a leader in e-health and design of health facilities," Gallagher said in a statement. She hoped to gain some pointers for the territory's e-health investment, which amounted to $90 million in this year's budget (passed early this morning).
In her week away, she said she will visit one of Denmark's hospitals, which is considered to be one of the most modern and progressive university hospital campuses, located in a regional centre of a similar size to Canberra.
She would also meet with the Danish minister for Health and other health officials as well as the organisation responsible for Denmark's e-health record, Sundhed.
In Norway, she will visit two major university hospitals as well as a demonstration centre for the incorporation of digital infrastructure into health facility design.
"The purpose of my visit is to gain a better understanding of best practice health facility design and architecture, including e-health design, and how we can build on established links between the ACT Government, ANU and the University of Canberra through further integrating university and hospital campus development and design," Gallagher said.
She noted that those countries had seen several major hospital redevelopments recently, which the state could learn from, given its $1 billion Capital Asset Development Plan (CADP) which will undertake a complete rebuild of the ACT public health system.
"In order to deliver a project of the scale and complexity of the CADP, it's important that ACT Health draw on international expertise and learn from the world's best," Gallagher said.
The trip followed an invitation from Denmark to come and learn about the Scandinavian country's e-health experience. The Danish Health minister had visited Australia last year.
