Capture

Haemophilia extends the boundaries of electronic health care in Ireland

On October 14th 2019, the National Haemophilia Service in Ireland initiated a new and innovative advanced e health system for haemophilia and inherited bleeding disorders.

The new system was developed by Valentia Technologies in collaboration with the National Coagulation centre in St. James’s hospital, Childrens Health Ireland at Crumlin, Cork University Hospital, Galway University hospital and the Irish Haemophilia Society. The development of the system was financed by the HSE as one of three innovative Lighthouse projects which aim to optimise the use of e health technologies in the Irish healthcare system.

“Integrated electronic health records (EHRs) are critical to the delivery of safe, effective healthcare in the modern era” stated Dr. Niamh O’Connell, National Haemophilia Director.

Healthcare professionals, working in a network of Haemophilia Comprehensive care and treatment centres are able to access critical patient information in real-time to deliver truly holistic care. All people in Ireland with Haemophilia are registered on a single, national system which combines comprehensive, individualised patient health care records with a National Haemophilia register.

“We are in an era of exciting new treatment options for Haemophilia. This will be complemented by this new state of the art information system which will optimise patient experience, clinical outcomes, safety measures and resource utilisation. ” stated Dr. O’Connell.

Haemophilia in Ireland has long been at the forefront of the development of electronic patient record systems with a national system in place since 2006 and a smartphone app for monitoring and reporting of home treatment since 2010

“Ireland is consistently recognised as a leading international haemophilia service and this project demonstrates our commitment to remain as in innovator” stated Feargal Mc Groarty, National Haemophilia Lighthouse Project Manager.

Phase 2 of this innovative project, due to be rolled out in 2020, will include a patient portal which will allow people with haemophilia to have access to their medical records on their smartphone or electronic device. Phase 2 will also include the first national pilot of the Individual Health Identifier (IHI) in clinical practice. The IHI will be used to accurately identify anyone who uses a health service, allowing those who are delivering services to be assured that they have the relevant information for that person, leading to safer and better quality care.

“The patient portal will offer people with haemophilia the opportunity to see and contribute to their own medical records and to interact electronically with their health care team