Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026
509. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on ICT improvements for patient files across hospitals to ensure patient files are up to date, especially for review case appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15808/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe need to ensure patient information is accurate, up to date and available when needed, is central to our ambitions under Digital for Care, the Government’s national digital health transformation programme.
Furthermore, the Programme for Government includes a commitment to 'Continue to work towards the full digitisation of Irish healthcare records and information systems'.
Delivering Digital for Care will strengthen digital and ICT infrastructure across the health service, and support the safe and appropriate sharing of information to deliver coordinated, integrated care.
Significant progress is under way across our hospitals, with a series of major digital upgrades now being implemented to improve how patient information is recorded, accessed and updated.
The National Shared Care Record programme has been established to harness this data and provide clinicians with a consolidated view of a patient’s hospital history across all regions.
Future enhancements to the HSE Health App will ensure patients themselves can securely access their own health information, empowering them to better manage their own care and improve their experience when receiving care and treatment.
Work is also progressing on the procurement of the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR), which will ultimately replace multiple legacy hospital systems with a single, integrated digital health record platform and the procurement for that system will progress through 2026. This will ensure that clinicians across all hospitals have access to consistent, up-to-date information at the point of care.
In parallel, hospitals are continuing to modernise existing systems — including digital diagnostics, electronic test ordering and results reporting, electronic clinical notes, and improved discharge summaries — and to digitise high-volume paper-based workflows. These advancements strengthen the completeness and accuracy of patient files, particularly for review and follow-up appointments, where timely access to reliable information is essential.
Taken together, these measures will reduce reliance on paper, improve the consistency of patient information across the hospital system, and ensure clinicians have faster, safer access to the information they need to deliver high-quality and efficient care.
