Accenture paid another $57m to support My Health Record until 2022

The federal government has handed Accenture a further $57 million to support the My Health Record for another year while its massive national infrastructure modernisation program continues.

Image Credit: My Health Record

It brings the total cost of the national infrastructure operator (NIO) deal with the tech giant to $629.5 million over 10 years.

The Australian Digital Health Agency revealed the cost of the revised contract late last week, just days after confirming it had extended the deal until at least July 2022.

Accenture has held the lucrative NIO contract for the design, build and integration of the system since 2011, when it was known as the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR).

The decade-long deal, which was last extended by two years in October 2019, had been slated to expire last month, pending progress with the national infrastructure modernisation program.

As reported by iTnews last week, the agency recently extended the deal ahead of signing an $18 million deal with Deloitte to build the new health information gateway.

The gateway, which will initially serve the My Health Record, is considered the first stage of the national infrastructure modernisation program that is refreshing the ehealth record.

But at the time of the announcement, a spokesperson would not reveal the value of the revised contract with Accenture.

Now the ADHA has published two contracts that show the extension will cost the government $57 million over the next year.

The larger of the two amendments is a $42.7 million contract described as a variation to the term and value of the original NIO deal that will run until July 2022.

The other contract, valued at $15 million until July 2022, is a variation that appears to have begun in December 2020.

The extension comes as the ADHA also prepares to develop its own mobile application for Australians to access the My Health Record.

The app is expected to complement other digital channels connected to the ehealth record such as the government’s myGov portal and third-party apps.