Digital nursing and midwifery (ONMSD)
As the largest professional group of registered health practitioners in Ireland nurses and midwives play a vital role in digital health and in planning for future implementation of connected digital health.
Digital health or e-health it is about the digitisation of health services and processes so that the data about the right patient is available in the right place and at the right time to ensure safe and efficient provision of care services.
It's about helping healthcare professionals save time and save lives. It’s also enabling people who use our services to experience better care. eHealth is fundamental to providing new and integrated models of care.
Getting our eHealth infrastructure right is core to supporting the implementation of the other strategic actions. It is a key enabler to facilitating integrated care.
The National Clinical Information Officer for Nursing and Midwifery in the HSE is Loretto Grogan, email loretto.grogan1@hse.ie, working in the National Digital Health Clinical Office.
Related topic
All Ireland Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Capability Framework (PDF, size 2.2 MB, 23 pages)
ONMSD DLG Nursing and Midwifery Terminologies Report (PDF, size 1.1 MB, 33 pages)
Digital Roadmap for Nursing & Midwifery 2019 - 2024 (PDF, size 3MB, 24 pages)
The Knowledge and Information Strategy
Delivering Ireland's eHealth
The Office of the Chief Information Officer (oCIO) is responsible for delivering Ireland's eHealth Strategy.
This requires technologists, clinicians, project managers, analysts, designers, people who use services, nurses and midwives, allied health professionals and the public to come together and be key enablers in the design and delivery of our digital health infrastructure.
Some of the current key strategic programmes include:
- Individual Health Identifier
- National Electronic Health Record Programme
- National Children's Hospital - a digital hospital
- Maternal and Newborn - Clinical Management System (Electronic Health Record)
- National Medical Laboratory Information System 24-hour access to laboratory data across all sites
- National Integrated Medical Imaging System: capture and store diagnostic images electronically
- eReferrals
- Cancer Care eHealth Programme
HIQA
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has the role of:
- advising on the efficient and secure collection and sharing of health information
- setting standards
- evaluating information resources
- publishing information about the delivery and performance of Ireland’s health and social care services
Health and social care are information-intensive, generating huge volumes of data every day. It is important that such information is managed in the most effective way possible in order to ensure high-quality, safe health and social care.
Although there are already a number of examples of good practice in Ireland, there are also major gaps, silos of information and duplication in the country’s health information landscape. HIQA are working to address these challenges.
Nurses and midwives have an important role in managing health and social care information and must be aware of good practice and standards when managing this information.
Related topic