Pulse+IT Poll: June 7 - ADHA flies under the radar

While the protracted federal election campaign continues to consume the nation’s attention, the start of July is also an important period for eHealth in Australia with the shuttering of the National eHealth Transition Authority (NEHTA) and the opening of the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) to take place on July 1.

With only a few weeks before this transition takes place, Pulse+IT asked readers the following question:

Are you concerned that the ADHA has still not appointed a permanent CEO?

The results as at COB on Monday, June 13 were as follows:

Included almost as an afterthought, the poll option that yielded the most responses was in fact "What is the ADHA?", with 63 per cent indicating they didn’t know what the organisation was and hence didn’t take a view on whether the lack of a CEO for the agency is something to be concerned about.

With the organisation yet to officially commence its operations and only seven jobs — including the as yet unfilled CEO role — having opened for applications thus far, it’s perhaps not surprising that the new agency isn’t front and centre of Pulse+IT readers’ minds at this time. Indeed, the organisation that it replaces has adopted a very low profile in recent years as it struggled to maintain relevance after the launch of the PCEHR way back in 2012.

Last week Pulse+IT spoke with Richard Royle, head of the team tasked with transitioning the transition authority to the ADHA, which is expected to ultimately employ 51 staff. With the CEO not yet selected pending the formation of a new federal government, it’s unclear over what timeframe the organisation will build its capacity, however Pulse+IT understands that NEHTA staff will have clarity as to whether they will be offered roles at ADHA in the near future.

Of the 37 percent of Pulse+IT readers that were seemingly aware of the ADHA, almost twice as many people said they were concerned that a permanent CEO hadn’t been appointed at this late stage (46 people) than those that said they were not concerned (27 people).

This week's Pulse+IT Poll question for Australian readers is: Which government organisation do you see as the most competent at delivering IT projects in healthcare?

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