Kate Ebrill ‘FHIR’s up Talking HealthTech podcast
How do we ensure that healthcare information is in the right place, at the right time, for the right person? In the latest episode of Talking HealthTech, Kate Ebrill breaks down interoperability in healthcare.
She’s leads the Sparked FHIR accelerator, Australia’s first nationally coordinated effort to develop standards for healthcare interoperability. Sparked is a collaboration between CSIRO, the Department of Health and Aged Care (DOHAC), the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), and HL7 Australia (HL7AU).
As Kate discusses on the podcast, the program is community-driven, bringing together government, technology vendors, provider organisations, peak bodies, practitioners, and domain experts.
The goal? To adapt and implement FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) standards in Australia to improve clinical workflows, enhance patient care, and fuel innovation in healthcare.
As Kate says, it’s not about tearing existing structures down and rebuilding systems from scratch. It’s about making practical and incremental changes.
“Let’s not let perfect be the enemy of good,” she said. “We’ll never get there if we bite off too much all at once.”
“We’re putting foundations in place. We’re making tangible, sustainable progress that’s bringing us closer to our goal.”
The pragmatic approach offers continual advances in data exchange while accommodating the complexity and variability inherent in healthcare systems.
Listen in to the recent episode on YouTube or find the podcast on LinkedIn to discover more.
The Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC) is CSIRO's digital health research program and a joint venture between CSIRO and the Queensland Government. The AEHRC works with state and federal health agencies, clinical research groups and health businesses around Australia.