Ireland to procure national electronic health record

The Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland has been given the go-ahead by government to create a shortlist of electronic patient record (EPR) suppliers to create a national health record.

The plan to create a national, digital health record is one of the flagship initiatives in the Irish government’s Programme for Government and the HSE’s Sláintecare – the plan for reforming Ireland’s health and social care system.

The aim is to deliver a secure integrated digital health record for all patients in the country, ensuring information across health settings. The government already approved HSE’s preliminary business case in April 2025 and can now begin the procurement process.

Irish health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, who approved the initiative to start procurement, said this was a “landmark step in delivering a modern, connected health service that puts patients first”.

“The National Electronic Health Record programme will be central to patients receiving safer, faster, and more integrated care, supporting clinicians and improving outcomes for everyone,” she said. “Electronic health records for patients was identified by Sláintecare as a key enabler for the reform and modernisation of the Irish health service and will ensure Ireland meets the highest international standards for patient safety and data security.”

The national EPR programme is the largest digital transformation project in the history of the HSE, and will cover hospitals, GP and community records all in one place. It will also give patients access to their own health information.

Private hospitals will also need to develop interfaces to allow “bidiredctional flow of clinical information” to ensure patients have one record across all aspects of their healthcare, according to the HSE’s roadmap.

Like most health services, Ireland faces the challenges that come with an ageing population, co-morbidities and complex care cases. With the currently largely paper-based patient records, it is difficult for clinicians to see the full picture and patients cannot access their own information easily.

HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster said the national EHR is “central” to the country’s plans for “a digitally enabled health service”.

”It will transform how care is delivered by giving clinicians the tools they need to provide timely, coordinated care and empowering patients with access to their own health information. This investment represents a seminal change in how our healthcare services will interact with patients long into the future,” he said. “The benefits from an EHR system are many and impact on access, safety, quality of outcome and patient power. The impact of this decision by the minister and government will be visible for many years to come.”

The HSE has already made inroads in its roadmap for digitally enabled healthcare, following on from its 2024 strategy.

So far, the HSE Health app – similar to the NHS Apps in England and Wales, which went live last year – has had more than 200,000 downloads. Meanwhile, the maternal and clinical management system, which is live in five hospitals, means 70% of babies born in Ireland now have a digital health record.

The HSE is currently deploying a national shared care record, with new functionality added regularly.