Vale Dr Harry Nespolon
Published 27 July 2020
It is with great sadness that the Board and staff of the Australian Digital Health Agency note the passing of Dr Harry Nespolon.
As President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Nespolon was a strong advocate of system improvements in digital health that would lead to benefits for general practitioners and their patients. He supported the National Digital Health Strategy, emphasising the importance of interoperability and sharing health information to improve the quality and safety of Primary Care. Throughout his Presidency, he also supported the close engagement of the RACGP with the Australian Digital Health Agency in the co-design of digital health services, contributing to the continual improvement in the usability of the My Health Record system and other aspects of the national digital infrastructure. He will also be remembered for his significant contribution to programs that promoted workforce capability and capacity building for general practitioners.
His leadership role in developing the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged telehealth adoption by the general practice workforce and improved access for people and their healthcare providers to vital primary care services in the home. We offer our condolences to Dr Nespolon’s family and friends at this time.