The agency behind My Health Record has gone to market to start carving up the decades-long $780 million Accenture contract underpinning the national data system, but is sticking with the incumbent supplier for the time being.
On Wednesday, the Australian Digital Health Agency released a tender for one chunk — the Application Support and Maintenance services for digital health infrastructure. The agency managed infrastructure includes but is not limited to My Health Record.
The procurement kicks off a mammoth modernisation and connection of the digital infrastructure aimed at delivering better health outcomes, information sharing and collaboration.
My Health Record is a key part of the infrastructure and is expanding to include pathology data being shared by default after laws to enable it passed Parliament earlier this year.
The controversial move is expected to channel more healthcare providers and patients onto platform after uptake and actual use has struggled for more than a decade.
The technology changes to enable the new approach also signal a fundamental shift from the agency relying on Accenture to provide the National Infrastructure Services for My Health Record System since 2012.
After a horror audit exposed how the supplier was able to “capture” the agency and leverage its two contracts into more than $780 million, the new approach will break up the work and add in more in house effort.
One of the early tests is the procurement of Application Support and Maintenance (ASM) Services, which went to market on Wednesday.
“The ASM services are a cornerstone of the Agency’s ongoing transformation journey, supporting our current suite of digital health products and paving the way for innovative solutions,” ADHA chief executive Amanda Cattermole said.
“New ideas and approaches are essential as we advance towards a future-ready, connected healthcare system.”
An industry briefing for the tender will be held August 7 and the services are slated to be procured over the next year.
In the meantime, to ensure operation a transition contract will be awarded to the incumbent supplier.
Accenture’s national infrastructure service contract was amended for a third time in March, adding another $18 million and pushing its total to almost $142 million. The contract expired in June.
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