> NEHTA have just released the General Practitioner and
> Specialist/Critical Care Referral Data Content Specifications v1.0.
> Its a small document of some almost 500 pages.  You can find it here.
> https://www.nehta.gov.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=176&Itemid=139
> <https://www.nehta.gov.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=176&Itemid=139>
>  
> I am curious to know from the technical experts among this group.
> 1. Just how practical, implementable and workable is this specification?
> 2. How likely is it that any system developer will implement it in the
> forseeable future?
> 3. Do people think this project is adding anything that will make a
> difference to health service quality and safety anytime soon?


OMG  :-o 

I have perused the 500 pages, and am agog ... 
- NeHTA state that there is an increase in patients with
chronic disease requiring multidisciplinary management [agree].
- NeHTA's vision (I think) is for there to be an EHR which
can be standardised/formatted so that a referral template will
contain information for communication to the various health
care providers [good vision]. 
- The problem is that the amount of information (number of fields)
that NeHTA is proposing is soooo large that the whole schema
becomes unworkable.  A bit like an episode of Maxwell Smart
(agent 86) where Smart obtains some information from agent 13
who is hiding in a cigarette machine, then -
86: Thanks. While your there,13, can I have a pack of cigarettes.
13: Filtered or non-filtered.
86: Filtered.
13: Menthol or non-menthol.
86: Non-menthol.
13: King-size or regular.
86: Forget it. I just broke the habit  :-) 

My answers to David's 3 specific questions would be:
1. I don't think the HeHTA schema is practical/ implementable/ workable.
2. I don't think that a system developer would be able to implement an
EHR with this level of complexity in the foreseeable future.
3. I don't think this project adds anything that will make a difference to
health service quality and safety anytime soon.

Horst (if he has a moment to just skim the 500 pages) would provide
a much better opinion.   (I would be better at just pruning the NeHTA
extravaganza down to workable size).

John Mac
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