DHA establishes National Clinical Governance Committee for Digital Health

The Australian Digital Health Agency has announced the establishment of a national committee to strengthen clinical oversight and enable the highest standards of safety and quality in digital health. The National Clinical Governance Committee for Digital Health (NCGC-DH) will guide Australia’s approach to emerging technologies such as virtual care and AI in health care.

Agency CEO Amanda Cattermole said the development of the NCGC-DH marks a significant milestone in guiding the safety, quality and continuous improvement of digital health in Australia.

“By bringing together leading voices from across the health sector, we are prioritising that the future of digital health is clinically safe, effective and centred on the needs of all Australians,” she said. “This committee will play a pivotal role in providing advice to government, shaping policy and practices as digital health technology evolves.”

Agency Chief Clinical Adviser (Medicine) and NCGC-DH Chair Dr Amandeep Hansra highlighted the committee’s diversity of membership.

“Our focus is providing advice to government that is drawn from a collaborative ecosystem to ensure the benefits of digital innovation are delivered with clinical safety and quality as the guiding principle,” Hansra said. “Expert Advisory Groups reporting to the NCGC-DH are central to its work. These groups will include clinicians, consumers, industry, health technology experts and other relevant government agencies including the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.”

The NCGC-DH Expert Advisory Groups will focus on three key areas: 

• Better and faster access: advising on safe health information sharing to My Health Record.
• Virtual care and telehealth: advising on patient safety and quality issues in virtual care and telehealth.
• AI-enabled care: advising on the safe implementation of AI in healthcare settings.
   

Agency Chief Program Officer Paul Creech said the calibre of the Chairs and members of the NCGC-DH and advisory groups reflect the Agency’s commitment to ensuring robust and effective clinical governance for Australia’s digital health initiatives.

“With Agency Specialist Adviser Dr Steve Hambleton carrying forward the work of the Clinical Reference Group as the Chair of Better and Faster Access, leading Australian health informatician Dr Louise Schaper chairing Virtual Care and Telehealth, and Chief Clinical Information Officer for eHealth Queensland Dr Rae Donovan taking the helm as Artificial Intelligence Enabled Care Chair, the Expert Advisory Groups are in very safe hands,” he said.

“A key outcome of this collaborative work is that it will guide how the Agency applies digital health levers, such as share by default, conformance and standards, to better support the health workforce, reduce administrative burden and underpin a safer, more future-focused, sustainable health system.”

More information about the NCGC-DH and the Expert Advisory Groups can be found on the Agency’s website.

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