Anne O’Connor: Digital transformation is helping us deliver safer, better connected care

As part of our Transforming Healthcare – People Behind the Progress series, we spoke with Anne O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer of the HSE, about Digital for Care, the digital transformation already underway across the health service, and what this means for patients, the public and staff.

Improving services for the people of Ireland

Anne has returned to the HSE as CEO at an important time for healthcare reform. One of her priorities is making sure our services continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of people in Ireland. Digital is a key part of that reform.

What Digital for Care means in practice

Digital for Care is about making healthcare simpler, more connected and easier to access for everyone. At the centre of this is the ambition that every person in Ireland will have a digital record connected to their health and social care journey.

While the HSE has started this journey, there is still progress to be made. However, strong foundations are already in place, and there are a number of programmes helping to build a more connected health service.

Building a more connected health service

TheHSE Health App, Shared Care Record, Community Care Record, MedLIS and the Maternity Electronic Health Record are important building blocks in this transformation. Together, they are helping to develop stronger digital foundations across health and social care services and support the longer-term ambition of a single patient record.

For patients and service users, this means better access to information and more connected care. Through the HSE Health App, people can already access information such as appointments, reimbursed medicines, health-related information, Drug Payment Scheme cards, medical cards and European Health Insurance Card details.

As the app continues to develop, it will become an increasingly important tool in helping people access information relevant to their own healthcare.

Supporting staff in everyday care

Digital transformation is also about supporting staff in their day-to-day work.

In many parts of the health service, staff still rely heavily on paper, Excel spreadsheets and multiple systems. This can mean moving between different systems to build a full picture of a person’s care.

Better digital systems can help reduce that burden by giving staff access to reliable, up-to-date information in one place. This supports safer ways of working, improves efficiency and helps staff deliver services as effectively as possible.

The One Health Record would bring information together in one place, giving staff a clearer view of a person’s needs, medications, treatments and appointments. This is particularly important because regardless of where a person accesses care, whether through their GP, a hospital or community services, the staff involved in their care can access the right information at the right time.

Collaboration across the system

A clear message from Anne was that digital transformation is not just about technology. These programmes are service transformations enabled by technology.

Their success depends on collaboration across the health service, including digital teams, clinicians, Health and Social Care Professionals, nurses, midwives, administrative teams, operational leaders, patients and service users.

This work will change how services are delivered and how staff carry out parts of their roles every day. That is why involvement, shared ownership and clinical leadership are essential.

Supporting people through change

Healthcare never stands still, and large-scale change is already happening across many parts of the HSE. This comes at a time when staff are under significant pressure.

For transformation to succeed, programmes need to make sense to people. Staff need to understand the value of the change for patients and service users, and for their own work. They also need to feel involved in the process. The purpose of the work is clear.

Large-scale transformation will always bring challenges and hurdles. Progress depends on clear planning, strong governance, realistic timeframes, and breaking large programmes down into manageable workstreams.

The scale of the work remains significant, but by breaking it into manageable programmes and maintaining a clear focus on delivery, progress is achievable.

Looking ahead

Digital transformation across the HSE is a major programme of change and a significant undertaking for the organisation.

Strong foundations are now in place, and the benefits of digital transformation are already being seen across the health service.

The work now is to keep building on that progress.

The message is clear: digital transformation is challenging, but it is essential to building safer, more connected and more accessible care for patients, the public and staff across Ireland.