ADHA puts My Health Record, API Gateway support out to tender

The Australian Digital Health Agency is consolidating My Health Record and the API Gateway into a single application support and maintenance contract as it plans a broader overhaul of its digital infrastructure.

The agency last week released a request for tender for services covering the technologies and platforms underpinning My Health Record and the API Gateway, which it describes as a cornerstone of the national connected healthcare system.

The move forms part of ADHA’s long-term plan to re-evaluate its decade-long National Infrastructure Operator (NIO) arrangement, which has been held by Accenture since 2012.

The request for tender marks the first time the now-$788 million digital infrastructure arrangement with Accenture has gone to competitive tender in over a decade.

New documents have lifted the lid on the complex architectural web underpinning My Health Record and the API Gateway, the latter of which was redeveloped by Deloitte.

My Health Record is built on a suite of Oracle technologies that underpin its core data, application and security layers, with the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition as a foundation.

Oracle Access Manager, alongside Splunk and Symantec, form key security components. Meanwhile, Oracle Healthcare Data Repository and Oracle Health Sciences Information Manager support healthcare data storage and indexing.

According to the documents, ADHA currently holds 28 million perpetual Oracle user licences to enable end-user engagement of the My Health Record system.

Meanwhile, Adobe Experience Manager underpins key user portals within the system, including the National Consumer Portal, National Provider Portal, and Administration Portal.

A core gateway

The other core part of the tender covers ADHA’s API Gateway, described by the agency as “a touchpoint for external stakeholders to engage with [it] and support connected healthcare services”.

The API Gateway currently supports 125 APIs of “varying complexity”, according to tender documents.

The system went live in 2022 after ADHA decided to replace a previous Oracle gateway that was managed by Accenture.

The new gateway is hosted on Microsoft Azure and is built on the Red Hat OpenShift platform.

Deloitte’s contract to build the gateway, first signed in July 2021, is now valued at $50 million and expires in December 2026.

ADHA was contacted for clarification on whether this tender covers a different scope of management.

The tender comes as ADHA embarks on a “comprehensive transformation to modernise Australia’s digital health infrastructure,” with the overhaul of My Health Record set to play a “major” role in the program.

“This tender represents a critical opportunity to contribute to Australia’s digital health landscape, ensuring we remain a global leader in innovation and healthcare.

"It will enable the delivery of modern systems and provide support for the fast-changing digital health ecosystem,” ADHA CTO John Borchi said in a statement.

He added that the tender was "shaped by valuable feedback" it gained from a request for information that kicked off in November. 

The agency will conduct an industry briefing on August 7.