eHealth NSWnewsMAY/ JUNE 2018

CONTENTS

If you’ve got a story or feedback for eHealth NSW News, please contact Karen Fontaine on 8644 2246 or email karen.fontaine@health.nsw.gov.au

Check out our website at www.ehealth.nsw.gov.au

Green light for PACS-RIS proof of conceptNSW Health’s mission to deliver world-class healthcare has taken another step forward, with the international medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra recently announced as preferred vendor for a large enterprise imaging IT solution.

Following a competitive tender process, eHealth NSW signed a proof of concept agreement with Sectra with a view to providing 10 Local Health Districts and NSW Health Pathology with a consolidated imaging IT infrastructure and allow for increased efficiency by seamless sharing of images and information across departments and locations.

NSW Health has clearly articulated the need for a PACS/RIS and a shared platform with the ability to collaborate around medical images and information across its multiple Local Health Districts in NSW.

The $750,000 contract will see Sectra work with sub-contractors Kestral and

Sydney's Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications (AC3) to build a proof of concept, which will cover the common modalities used in radiology, nuclear medicine and cardiology.

It will interface with other NSW Health systems including the Cerner electronic medical record (eMR), the various patient administration systems in use, the PBRC billing solution and eHealth NSW's enterprise imaging repository (EIR).

In future, the solution may be implemented in other departments such as ophthalmology, fetal medicine, dermatology, endoscopy, radiation oncology and vascular medicine.

eHealth NSW PACS-RIS Program Director David Cernjul said the solution had been selected by clinicians, radiology subject matter experts and ICT professionals, ensuring that the best available solution will be delivered.

Continued on page 2

Green light for PACS-RIS proof of concept 1 and 2

Chief Executive's message 2

Shaping Service Delivery 3

Digital transformation picks up pace across NSW 4 and 5

Farewell to Executive Director Mark Cope 5

Working towards gender equality 6

Harnessing the power of data and analytics 7

Easier eMR/iPM access for clinicians 8

My Health Record puts your health in your hands 8

Nurses help to drive the digital transformation of NSW Health 9

Rural medicines project picks up pace 10

Mums and dads help to shape Collaborative 11

Nurturing the leaders of tomorrow 12

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eHealth NSW News May/June 2018

Green light for PACS-RIS proof of concept“We expect that the solution will also provide significantly

improved capability for result notification, scheduling, and secure sharing of images across the health system,” Mr Cernjul said.

The proof of concept trial will run until December 31, after which NSW Health plans to sign a 10-year contract with Sectra for the implementation and ongoing support of the solution.

Continued from page 1

Chief Executive’s message

Working as we do in such a fast-paced, future-focused area of healthcare, I often think about how the systems we are designing, building, implementing and supporting make a real difference in enhancing the lives of people in NSW.

And lately I’ve also been thinking about how best we can build a health IT workforce not only for today but, just as importantly, for tomorrow.

Faced with an ageing population and higher incidence of chronic disease, health is a growing industry – and, within it, health IT (also now referred to as ‘digital health’) is a highly specialised field.

And of course, therein lies the challenge, identified in our Business Plan for 2017-2021: how do we attract,

retain and support a talented workforce that will help us to drive and sustain the digital transformation of NSW Health?

Certainly, the workforce challenges we face are by no means unique to eHealth NSW, experienced as they are by Local Health Districts, Primary Health Networks and even our ICT industry partners and suppliers.

There are two broad ways we can address these challenges. The first is by recruiting ICT graduates early in their careers and bringing them into health to gain experience in, understanding of and an affinity for our amazing industry.

A good example of this is eHealth NSW’s second annual ICT Internship Program, which this year welcomed 10 university students into our Program Delivery and Service Delivery directorates for 12 months. See page 12 for a profile of Anna Choi, an intern who is doing impressive work with our Electronic Record for Intensive Care (eRIC) Program.

Another way we can boost the pool of digital health professionals is by investing in clinical staff by upskilling them in clinical informatics, data analytics and change management.

I recently announced the first eHealth NSW and Sydney Local Health District Digital Health Cadetship, a fantastic

opportunity for a registered nurse or midwife to develop their project management and IT skills by working on a three-month clinical informatics project, supported by both eHealth NSW and LHD ICT experts.

We will evaluate the success of this initiative and look for opportunities to make similar cadetships available to clinical staff across the system, in partnership with LHDs and the Health Education and Training Institute.

We are also taking a longer term view of the career trajectories and opportunities of our female staff, and this has led to the development of a 10-point Gender Equality Action Plan which you can read about on page 6.

eHealth NSW is committed to nurturing an increasingly diverse set of leaders who can help us to shape the healthcare of tomorrow – and in doing so we will surely go a long way to making our organisation a great place for all of us to work, learn and develop.

Dr Zoran BolevichChief Executive

Chief Information OfficereHealth NSW

Shaping Service DeliveryService Delivery has spent its first few months of existence shaping its structure and building its shared vision as eHealth NSW’s newest and largest directorate.

Under the guidance of Executive Director Farhoud Salimi, Service Delivery was formed when Corporate IT and Information Services merged in March, and it aims to deliver world-class digital health services with the customer at its centre.

With a diverse portfolio ranging from Information Security to Technology and Customer Support Services and Clinical and Corporate Applications Support, Service Delivery is operating in a rapidly evolving IT landscape amid shifting customer priorities and expectations.

At its heart, said Mr Salimi, are a set of guiding principles designed to deliver demonstrable value to customers, with clear service levels and pricing; as well as the aim to provide innovative and scalable solutions at speed.

Service Delivery wants to ensure its 750+ staff, located across eight sites, remain committed, collaborative and are developed to reach their full potential.

“You can have the best technology, processes and tools, but it’s people who are the driving force behind these things,” said Mr Salimi. “To continue adding value to NSW Health, we need to adapt to the changes at play and I am confident our people are very well equipped do this.”

Mr Salimi called on Service Delivery staff to get involved in the changes that will be required to scale up and mature our organisation and the ICT services we deliver, by reducing duplication and increasing efficiencies.

“We need to meet our customers’ expectations for reliable, transparent, cost-effective services,” he said. “At the same time we need to address the needs of our people around career pathways and continue to build an inclusive, flexible work culture.”

WHO’S WHO IN SERVICE DELIVERY

Under Service Delivery’s newly formed operating model, there are six divisions including:

n Corporate Programs – headed by Gary Rubie, this comprises Program Office, Human Capital Management, HealthRoster and ims+.

n Information Security Services – headed by Dr Peter Croll, this comprises Incidents & Responses, Security Advisory and Information Security.

n Technology & Customer Support Services – headed by Kieron McGarry, this comprises Customer Support Services, Technology Support Services, Partnership Services and Business Operations Support.

n Clinical Applications Support – headed by James Robinson, this comprises Statewide Clinical Applications, Rural Systems Support, Continuous Improvement, Clinical Information Access Portal (CIAP), Clinical Reporting, Clinical Repositories & Integration Services and Business Intelligence.

n Corporate Applications – headed by Ryan Jehn, this comprises Oracle Applications, Technology & Infrastructure, Third Party Applications and Corporate Analytics.

n Analytics and Integration – recruitment for a director will begin soon.

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eHealth NSW News May/June 2018

Digital transformation picks up pace across NSWFrom Newcastle north of Sydney to Wollongong in the south, a flurry of go-lives involving eHealth NSW’s flagship clinical programs took place across the state in May and June as the digital transformation of NSW Health gained momentum.

“It’s been a very busy couple of months of successful go-lives for electronic medication management (eMeds) and the Electronic Record for Intensive Care (eRIC),” said eHealth NSW Chief Executive Dr Zoran Bolevich.

In early June, following smooth go-lives at Royal North Shore and Cumberland Hospitals involving a total of 1,153 beds, a total of 8,064 NSW public hospital beds are now live with eMeds.

And in May, Port Kembla Hospital introduced eMeds, which provides a complete and real-time digital picture

of a patient’s medicines as they are prescribed, reviewed, dispensed and administered in hospitals. Tamworth Hospital followed in June.

The Electronic Record for Intensive Care (eRIC), meanwhile, was launched at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital and Wollongong Hospital in mid-June.

These go-lives marked the 10th and 11th Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across the state to replace paper forms with eRIC, a clinical information system which electronically integrates ICU patient data from multiple devices to provide enhanced clinical decision-making.

Dr Michael Davis, ICU Director at Wollongong Hospital, said eRIC provides widespread, real-time access to patient data that was not possible with paper charting, opening up a host of possibilities.

“eRIC is a massive data source which we now can access,” Dr Davis said. “Whether that is for research, or for looking at quality, running reports, there is no limit to its potential. With everything stored electronically, in one location, it’s easy to access, and you can do with it what you wish.”

Dr Ken Havill, Director of John Hunter’s ICU, said eRIC’s unique ability to gather minute-by-minute patient data will help clinicians to offer better patient care.

“Being able to easily locate all patient information and observe trends over longer periods, as well as reformatting data in a graphical view, is a great support to clinical decision-making,” said Dr Havill.

“eRIC gives us the ability to locate forms, interventions and speciality notes which will greatly enhance the care we can provide to our ICU patients.”

The momentum shows no signs of abating, with eMeds go-lives

scheduled for Balmain Hospital in July followed by Shellharbour, Kiama, Hornsby and War Memorial Hospital in Waverley in August.

The second phase of the electronic medical record, eMR2, as well as eMeds will be implemented in hospitals across Hunter New England LHD in July and August.

eRIC, meanwhile, is scheduled to go live at Maitland Hospital in July and Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital in August.

Acting Nurse Educator Clare Merriman and Acting Clinical Nurse Educator Leonie Attewell at Wollongong Hospital

Dr Michael Davis, ICU Director at Wollongong Hospital

David Redfern, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Heather Chislett, Nurse Unit Manager, at John Hunter Hospital's Intensive Care Unit

Farewell to Executive Director Mark CopeAt the end of June, eHealth NSW bid a

fond farewell to Mark Cope, the inaugural

Executive Director of its Program Delivery

directorate, who is returning with his family

to his native UK.

Mark joined eHealth NSW in March 2016

as Program Director of eMR Connect and

five months later was appointed as the

Executive Director of its Program Delivery

directorate, which encompasses the eMR

Connect, HealtheNet and Integrated Care,

Infrastructure and Rural eHealth Programs.

“Mark excelled at building a positive

culture in Program Delivery, establishing

excellent relationships across the system and

setting an impressive pace for the delivery

of many and varied statewide programs

and projects,” said Chief Executive Dr Zoran

Bolevich.

“We will miss Mark’s positivity,

professionalism and sense of humour, and

we wish him the very best for the future.”

Registered Nurse Caroline Hulme uses eMeds at Port Kembla Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit

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eHealth NSW News May/June 2018

Working towards gender equalityeHealth NSW has a Gender Equality Action Plan, which outlines the actions it will take to achieve its goal of continuing to employ, internally grow and develop women in leadership and senior management roles.

The Action Plan is the result of feedback received from a series of focus groups held last year to better understand how gender impacts the work experience of both men and women within our organisation, and work has already commenced on a number of steps.

Following positive feedback on Dr Margaret Byrne’s session at the International Women’s Day event in

March, and the success of a recent pilot mentoring program, eHealth NSW has engaged Dr Byrne and UGM Consulting to work with us on a number of different programs.

Some of these programs are gender specific, such as an executive skills development program for mid-level female managers and a professional development program for women in the early stages of their career, while some of the programs are not gender specific, such as a broader mentoring program across the organisation.

Working groups have also been established, comprising representatives from across eHealth

NSW, to work on a number of initiatives in the Plan, such as an extended leave/return to work support plan and shadowing for a day.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the steps outlined in the Action Plan, please contact Lisa Prescott, Culture and Organisational Development Specialist, via lisa.prescott@health.nsw.gov.au or 8644 2071.

“I am confident that our Gender Equality Action Plan will assist us to work towards achieving gender parity within eHealth NSW,” said Chief Executive Dr Zoran Bolevich.

eHealth NSW and HealthShare NSW staff at the International Women's Day event held in March

Harnessing the power of data and analyticsThe use of data and analytics is evolving rapidly in NSW Health and Director Lachlan Rudd is now overseeing this increasingly important area on behalf of eHealth NSW.

Whether it’s health wearables or telehealth, or algorithms capable of catching disease more effectively, rapid change is underway because of increased access to big data and advanced data analytics.

We caught up with Mr Rudd to check on his progress areas since joining eHealth NSW in March.

Q: Welcome to eHealth NSW. What’s your current focus?A: I’ve begun drafting a roadmap to deliver the data and analytics components of the eHealth Strategy for NSW Health in alignment with the NSW Health Analytics Framework, in consultation with the Ministry of

Health and Pillars. I’m defining the actionable steps that will take place over the next two years to make optimal progress.

Q: Is part of this delivering a platform which provides access to data from key clinical and corporate systems?A: A number of proof of concept projects are underway to deliver a platform providing access to data leveraging modern big-data technologies, allows for real-time analytics, does not impact performance of production systems, consolidates multiple system data sets into a single environment, and allows

for software/infrastructure as a service enabling modular scaling without a large up-front capital investment.

Q: What about proof of concept projects when it comes to analytics?A: Two projects are in early stages; one regarding chest pain pathways, and the other is near real-time identification of clinically validated adverse events within hospitals. Being piloted at Blacktown Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospitals, the Pascal Metrics 'Risk Trigger Model' is designed to flag eMR events that may indicate incidents of patient harm. These events are curated by a patient safety officer into a list of clinically validated incidents of patient harm. US hospitals using the same solution were able to significantly increase their understanding and prevention of adverse events. The near real-time access to data allows for intervention while patients are still within the hospital. It’s an exciting project on which we are working with Western Sydney and South Eastern Sydney LHDs as well as Macquarie University.

L-R: Dr Amith Shetty, Lachlan Rudd and Wilson Yeung from eHealth NSW's Data and Analytics portfolio. Absent: Ida Rohne

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eHealth NSW News May/June 2018

Easier eMR/iPM access for cliniciansClinicians across the state are benefiting from easier access to electronic medical record and patient administration systems, as authentication for these applications moves to eHealth NSW’s modern and secure state-wide identity platform.

Moving eMR and iPM authentication to the state-wide identity means NSW Health clinicians now have fewer usernames and passwords to remember and also improves security by ensuring terminated users no longer have access to core clinical applications.

Having provided all NSW Health staff with an eight-digit state-wide identity, eHealth NSW’s State Wide Infrastructure Services (SWIS) Program has embarked on phase two of enabling those identities to be used with core clinical applications.

With the project having successfully deployed to Far West, Western NSW, Murrumbidgee and Southern NSW Local Health Districts, clinicians are already reaping the benefits.

Mid North Coast and Northern NSW LHDs already have inflight projects and the remaining Cerner eMR projects kicked off at the end of June.

With many eMR and iPM instances across the state used by more than 100,000 staff, this has been a massive undertaking, said SWIS Program Manager Peter Norris.

The process is complicated and time-consuming, requiring remediation of hundreds of thousands of accounts inside the applications, modification of on-boarding processes and rationalisation of application roles – all while ensuring Cerner continues to maintain accurate history.

“Implementation of the state-wide Identity in all NSW Health entities has been a major undertaking over several years by eHealth NSW,” said Mr Norris.

“This is now paying dividends by providing a high-quality foundation for single sign-on and rapid system access for clinicians.”

My Health Record puts your health in your handsBy the end of this year, a My Health Record will be created for every person with a Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs card, unless they choose not to have one.

Already 5.8 million Australians have a My Health Record, which is a secure online summary of a person’s health information.

Having a My Health Record means important health information – including allergies, medical conditions and treatments, medicine details and scan reports – can be accessed through one system.

My Health Record allows patients to take more control of their own health and wellbeing, manage their children’s health, and upload key documents such as advance care directives.

During the three-month opt out period, which runs from 16 July to 15 October, people who do not want to have a My Health Record will have the opportunity to opt out.

NSW Health clinicians can access information about a patient's recent health history from all NSW LHDs and the My Health Record, via HealtheNet.

n General enquiries: healthenet@health.nsw.gov.au

n Technical support requests: EHNSW-HealtheNetSupport@health.nsw.gov.au

n My Health Record Helpline: 1800 723 471 (select 1 for consumers, 2 for providers) or www.myhealthrecord.gov.au

Nurses help to drive digital transformation of NSW HealthThe 1,150-strong team driving the digital transformation of NSW Health comprises many clinicians, whose frontline experience and invaluable perspectives are helping to improve patient care across Australia’s largest public health system.

Many of the clinicians employed by eHealth NSW are nurses and, to celebrate International Nurses’ Day on 12 May, we spoke with a selection to see how frontline experience is so critically important in the digital health space.

For Wynne Chiu, a strong desire to improve access to – and the use and management of – health information via technology is what drove her to transition nursing skills honed in Australia and Hong Kong into a career in digital health.

“I always wanted to become a nurse, as it is a profession that cares for the sick and saves lives,” said

Ms Chiu, whose work as Team Leader for eHealth NSW’s Patient Registry and State Unique Identifier Systems is linking public hospitals’ records into a single unique state record for each patient in NSW – giving clinicians access to integrated health information.

“Nurses make up the largest frontline health workforce, which means that any change in nursing workflow has impacts on the delivery of healthcare. That makes it incredibly important to have nurses’ input into digital transformation projects such as the ones we’re working on.”

For Paul Higgins, a former nurse who now works for eHealth NSW as an Application Specialist, the defining moment was caused by the frustration at not having pertinent patient information at his fingertips during triage in the Emergency Department.

“After this, I developed a

patient-tracking database for a post-acute care team and soon realised I wanted to be involved in all things digital health,” he said.

“Knowledge of clinical and patient-care workflow definitely helps my role as a conduit between clinical and technical people in both project and support roles. And now, when it comes to troubleshooting the transition of electronic medical record (eMR) requirements into a business-as-usual space, I always keep the needs of clinicians and other users in mind.”

As a former GP, eHealth NSW Chief Executive Dr Zoran Bolevich paid tribute to the efforts of eHealth NSW’s many nurses.

"Nurses bring not only their clinical expertise to our programs and services but also a highly valuable patient-centred perspective," Dr Bolevich said.

L-R: Lauren Mychalewycz, Cathy Harmey, Paul Higgins, Sharon Israel, Nancy Choi, Ji Shi and Wynne Chiu - representatives from the Electronic Medical Record (eMR), Electronic Medication Management (eMeds), Endosccopy Information System (EIS) and Enterprise Patient Repository (EPR) teams working for eHealth NSW’s Application Services.

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eHealth NSW News May/June 2018

Rural medicines project picks up paceA project to promote appropriate, safe and cost-effective medicines use is gathering momentum, led by eHealth NSW’s Rural eHealth Program on behalf of the six rural Local Health Districts (LHDs).

Groups of clinicians from all four corners of the state have formed 20 specialist working groups to develop a definitive Rural Medicines Formulary to improve the current situation in which each of the six rural LHDs has its own medicines formulary, which must be maintained and administered locally.

A single rural medicines formulary will assist rural LHDs to comply with NSW Health Policy on Approval of Medicines for use in Public Health facilities and with National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards around medication safety.

Having a continually updated list of medicines and key prescribing information, which has undergone a systematic, evidence-based evaluation process, will also support the introduction of electronic medication management (eMeds) in achieving consistent drug management across rural NSW.

Led by pharmacists Aimee Solomon and Christa Lynch, and supported by Rural eMeds Chief Medical Officer Dr Grant Rogers, the project is running in parallel with the Rural eMeds Project.

It is being undertaken on behalf of Western NSW, Far West, Mid-North Coast, Northern NSW, Southern NSW and Murrumbidgee LHDs and their combined 150 facilities, which are staffed by 17,000 employees caring for around 1.3 million people living throughout an area of 650,000 km².

“This is a very important step towards ensuring that the medicines listed in the formulary meet the needs of all people living in NSW rural areas,”

said Kerri Ryan, Director of eHealth NSW’s Rural eHealth Program.

Inaugural meetings for the Anaesthetics, Vaccines, Anti-infectives and Immunomodulators and Antineoplastics specialist working groups were held in May, with around 30 rural clinicians participating in the feedback and review process for medicines in these groups.

Specialist working groups focused on Analgesics, Eyes, Psychotropics, Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, Antidotes

and Anti-venoms were held in June.This follows a significant analysis

of current medicines usage across the six rural LHDs, using i.Pharmacy dispensing data on around 5,155 products.

This analysis of medicines usage will inform the development of the Rural Medicines Formulary, along with a comprehensive and collaborative therapeutic evaluation process involving clinicians from throughout all six rural LHDs, said Ms Ryan.

L-R: Dr Grant Rogers, Christa Lynch, Aimee Solomon, Kathryn Jacobsen and Rosanna MacKinnon from the Rural eHealth Program's Rural Medicines Formulary project

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A RURAL MEDICINES FORMULARY?

n Streamlines medicines formulary governancen Facilitates equitable access to medicines for rural patientsn Promotes quality use of medicines n Enhances prescribing decision support n Reduces unwarranted variation in medicines usen Minimises medicines wastage and costsn Supports compliance with medicines management policies and standards n Fosters best practice in clinical care to improve patient outcomes.

Mums and dads help to shape CollaborativeForging ahead with its mission to help make Australia the best place in the world to raise healthy children, and to be raised, the National Children’s Digital Health Collaborative has held a very successful first workshop for consumer representatives from across the nation.

Led by eHealth NSW and the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network in partnership with the Australian Digital Health Agency, the Collaborative is exploring how digital health technology can improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people living in Australia, and patients, carers and families are at the heart of its efforts.

Held in Sydney on 18 June, the workshop gave the Collaborative’s consumer representatives the opportunity to share their stories and experiences and to gain a deeper understanding of their important role in the Collaborative.

“This is such an exciting initiative, and I’m thrilled to be able to contribute my thoughts and ideas to the design of digital solutions and tools that

will ultimately impact on my child’s development throughout his life,” said Shantelle Rennie, a first-time mother of three-month-old Harrison, from East Gosford. “I am all for anything that makes it easier to keep track of this important information about my child’s health and wellbeing.”

Further workshops will be held in coming months to on-board more consumer representatives, with four consumer representatives assigned to each of Collaborative’s governance committee and advisory groups.

Their involvement is helping to ensure the voice of the consumer is central in the design of all of the Collaborative’s digital health initiatives, alongside the voice of clinicians and other key stakeholders.

The Collaborative is currently in a Discovery phase, engaging with clinicians, nurses and IT staff in the pilot locations to learn about the current work practices, the people involved and the systems used.

Its first initiative, the Child Digital Health Record, which is being led by NSW Health in partnership with

Victoria, identified pilot sites and starting engagements in Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Doonside, Dubbo and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

The second initiative, the Digital Pregnancy Health Record, will commence from July at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital and is being led by Queensland Health in partnership with South Australia.

THE COLLABORATIVE'S CONSUMER REPRESENTATIVES

n Add value through representing and promoting consumer views, ideas, suggestions and concerns on antenatal care and children and young people’s health and wellbeing

n Promote, encourage and support consumer participation at all levels of the Collaborative

n Review and help to identify consumer requirements for the Collaborative’s initiatives

n Ensure that the voice of consumers is included in the design of the Collaborative’s initiatives, supporting co-design between consumers and clinicians.

L-R: National Children’s Digital Health Collaborative consumer representatives Julie Whitlock, Katie Viviers, Tere Dawson (Facilitator), Jocelyn Neumueller, Alexandra Martiniuk, Darrin Smith, Tania Harris, Harry Iles-Mann, Shantelle Rennie and David Bunker

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eHealth NSW News May/June 2018

Nurturing the leaders of tomorrowIn January, eHealth NSW welcomed into its second annual ICT Internship Program a group of 10 talented university students, who are gaining on-the-job experience in a range of roles across the Program Delivery and Service Delivery directorates.

In the first of a regular series, we caught up with Anna Choi, who, as part of her internship within the Electronic Record for Intensive Care (eRIC) Program, is playing her part in driving the digital transformation of NSW Health.

Q: Hi, Anna. Tell us a bit about yourself…I am studying a Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology at UTS. Aside from being an intern, I am a Lucy Mentee at the ASX and participating in a female hackathon #SheHacks.

I have travelled for missionary work, including three times to Egypt and twice to Kenya and Fiji with a particular interest in helping at orphanages and prisons. On my first visit to Egypt, I developed an interest in the Coptic language. I have taken up an archaeology subject on Ancient Egypt, which has provided an opportunity for me to use my passion for ICT to work on a project to digitalise century-old manuscripts from ancient sacred sites in Egypt.

Q: Was working in health IT always on your career radar?Ever since I played the classic ‘Operation’ board game as a kid, I had aspirations to become a surgeon. But then I discovered I faint at the sight of blood and my hopes and dreams went out the window!

I was first exposed to Health IT in one of my university projects when I was in a team which explored ways to use ICT to solve the problems we face in today’s healthcare industry. We had

to pitch to a panel which included the CEO of Hypercubes, Brian Lim.

We won first place for our business solution “Sign Me Up” – an application that allows mute individuals to communicate using machine learning capability and its application. It was then that I first thought about looking into ICT jobs within the healthcare industry.

Q: How are you finding your internship so far?

It’s helping me to understand how to apply the theoretical knowledge I learnt in the classroom to various practical situations. It has allowed me to discover what I am passionate about within ICT, and helps me to gain industry experience to apply myself to a range of different roles prior to graduating.

From the get-go I have been given real opportunities and work – no coffee runs, printing tasks or writing up the minutes! The eRIC team has exposed me to multiple environments within a short timeframe, providing me with the opportunities I need to foster my career.

What I really like is that the

acceleration is up to you – you drive where you want your career to go, and eHealth NSW provides me with a supportive environment to develop my skills and interests. Everyone I’ve interacted with has given me different insights into the business and taught me about topics I would not have been able to learn without this program. This is one of those experiences that can’t be taught on paper; one has to live it to learn it.

As a female in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at university, there were times I was the only female in my tutorial class. I’ve worked here with a number of strong and inspirational female role models and it’s clear eHealth NSW is an environment in which women can succeed.

eHealth NSW is enabling all of us interns to “grow up” in the company’s core cultures and values and complete our internships with experience ranging far beyond our projects. I will never forget my interactions with the CE at the eRIC Steering Committee, or the first time my team invited me out to lunch. I’m really enjoying the journey so far!

L-R: eRIC Program team members Julie Fraser, Simone Diamond, Anna Choi, Janet Wang, Karen Venzke and Jacqueline Host