The Australia Digital Health Agency has extended Accenture's contract as the national infrastructure operator of My Health Record for another three years.

This is the third contract extension given to the IT consultancy, which has held the contract since 2012.

WHY IT MATTERS

While no new services will be added under the new A$100 million ($70 million) contract, the agency decided to extend its contract with Accenture "to ensure the continued secure and reliable operation of the My Health Record system," it said in an emailed statement.

As its operator, Accenture is supporting over 60 technology infrastructure components that make up the core of the My Health Record system. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT 

Accenture's continued support to My Health Record is "critical" to allow the ADHA to respond to changing user requirements and government policy priorities while it is undergoing a national infrastructure modernisation programme. 

"The extended contract contains terms that allow for the progressive decommissioning of the NIO services as the national infrastructure is modernised while ensuring security and reliable continuity of service until those changes are fully effected," the agency said.

The ADHA is modernising its national infrastructure to improve components that support its key national health services. As part of the first phase of the modernisation programme, it sought to replace its Health API Gateway with a single, consolidated gateway. In July last year,  it awarded Deloitte a contract to build its FHIR-based Health Information Gateway, which will provide a secure and scalable platform for exchanging and accessing health information.

Meanwhile, the ADHA also disclosed that it has migrated its data to the Microsoft Azure cloud in line with the Australian Government’s Whole-of-Government Hosting Strategy.