ADHA seeks MHR interoperability enabler

The Australian Digital Health Agency went to market recently to seek a provider of a FHIR server solution as part of efforts to modernise My Health Record (MHR). 

"The aim is to build the internal technical platform capabilities and infrastructure integrations to enable FHIR interoperability capability for the MHR," it said in a request for tender. 

The contract is estimated to be worth between A$45 million and A$50 million ($30 million-$33 million). The agency also wants its chosen partner to provide continuous FHIR interoperability support for future national digital health infrastructure components and systems.

Since 2022, the ADHA has been working with HL7 Australia to promote the adoption of FHIR standards across the health system. 

WA on the look for EMR vendors

Western Australia's Department of Health has also gone to market to seek organisations that will assist in deploying its statewide EMR platform. 

The state targets to have a fully functional EMR system by July 2029, as stated in the 10-year WA Health Digital Strategy. As described, the EMR is "both a medical record and a suite of capabilities that support clinical care and workflows across care settings."

WA has invested around A$150 million ($100 million) so far in the EMR project. The project is currently in phase 1, which involves the implementation of digital medical records with single sign-on technology and virtual desktop infrastructure across state public hospitals.

Online atlas on children, youth health goes live

An online atlas focused on children and youth wellbeing has been recently launched by the University of Western Australia.

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas, which UWA claims to be the world's first, is a free mapping resource providing location-specific data on children and young people’s health and wellbeing indicators.

"The atlas highlights key indicators across health, education, and social outcomes, giving policymakers, researchers, and community leaders the ability to make data-driven decisions," explained Rebecca Glauert, project lead and associate professor at UWA School of Population and Global Health. 

UWA developed the online tool with the Queensland University of Technology.