580. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the progress on electronic health records in the context of clinical trials and their use in collecting feasibility data, and in monitoring patient data while on clinical trials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39950/24]

Clinical trials are a fundamental component of high-quality care and improving patient outcomes. In line with the Programme for Government, the Department has made a commitment to expanding clinical trials in Ireland which is embedded strategically across key policy initiatives including the National Cancer Strategy, the National Strategy for Accelerating Genetics and Genomics, and Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy. In July of this year, I established a National Clinical Trials Oversight Group (NCTOG) which is tasked with developing recommendations on increasing the number of trials taking place in Ireland and improving access for patients across healthcare settings to participate in more clinical trials.

Ireland has rolled out several electronic health record (EHR) systems at different sites in recent years. St James Hospital has a hospital wide EHR system in place since 2018 that contains medical and nursing assessments, medical history, medications data, information on patient allergies, laboratory test results, radiology images and reports. The use of data from these electronic health records is now embedded in the process of delivering care to patients at St James, the largest acute hospital in Ireland.

Cork University Maternity Hospital, the National Maternity Hospital, the Rotunda and at the maternity unit in Kerry University Hospital also have enterprise level EHRs deployed with plans to deploy the same EHR system at University Hospital Limerick and the Coombe Maternity hospitals in 2025, meaning 70% of babies born in Ireland by then will have a digital health record.

EHR systems are also deployed at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and National Forensics Hospital.

The deployment of these EHR systems across Ireland means high quality patient data can be captured in a consistent way. This can aid clinical trials research as these systems deliver improved data accessibility, enhanced data accuracy, using streamlined processes, better patient monitoring, enhanced patient recruitment and better coordination of care across healthcare facilities that are undertaking clinical trial research.