CQU's Health Informatics Research Group (HIRG) has been spreading its primary message that all health information systems should be semantically interoperable.

The group believes this can best be achieved via the openEHR 2-level software engineering approach.

Following a recent visit to Chile in March/April, and the signing of agreements, the CQU Group now has a range of medical and nursing experts from that country keen to collaborate on an archetype development program and a number of organisations keen to develop and implement this openEHR system architecture.

HIRG Director Professor Evelyn Hovenga will meet representatives from Chile's Ministry of Health and 2 Chilean universities in Brisbane after she chairs the 12th International Medical (Health) Informatics Congress (Medinfo2007) from August 20-24. Details are at: http://www.medinfo2007.org/ .

The Chilean Minister for Health María Soledad Barría (left) with Professor Hovenga (second from left) and HIRG's Dr Sebastian Garde and Dr Carol Hullin

CQU signed an agreement with Chile's Ministry of Health in Chile in November 2006.

The main outcome is for CQU's expertise to contribute to the Chilean's Health system development in order to improve the quality of life of their population. The Health Informatics Research Group  (http://healthinformatics.cqu.edu.au/ ) has carriage of this agreement.

Professor Hovenga is keen to hear from CQU staff keen to work with HIRG on a number of emerging  research, consulting and teaching projects relating to the Chilean agreement, with detailed work plans needed by early June, 2007.

"We are concentrating on the establishment of a national health information and health informatics standards infrastructure with a strong focus on public health, primary health care improvements, creating administrative efficiencies, improving access to health care and building health informatics capacity for their  health workforce enabling semantic information system interoperability that is needed for the successful introduction of clinical pathways, electronic health records, improved resource management via casemix funding (uses a version of activity based costing), telemedicine (health) amongst other initiatives," Professor Hovenga said.

"Our recent visit was funded not only by the Chilean Ministry of Health but also by other major universities who wish to work closely with us..... Each of these universities own and manage a number of hospitals and other clinical facilities throughout Chile and all of these health networks are in the process of upgrading existing information systems or introducing new systems.

"In addition to the formal signing ceremonies, we provided numerous presentations, master classes, workshops, focus group discussions with senior admin staff, Professors, Deans, medical specialists, resident doctors, nurses, other health workers, IT staff and software developers.

"We have been asked to develop a number of consultancy/evaluation proposals, implement a comprehensive Health Informatics education strategy, including student work experience placements, and continuing education for all primary health medical practitioners via distance education, accept 5 new PhD students, publish collaborative papers, publish an updated Health Informatics textbook and arrange a national HI congress for 2008.  By the way we have also been asked to provide HI education with a Malaysian University."

More details on Chile's Health Minister are at:

http://www.chileangovernment.gov.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1077&Itemid=5