And after an adverse report from management consultants The Boston Group, there are now question marks over whether the agency will continue in its present form.

NEHTA was set up as a not-for-profit company owned jointly by the state and federal governments with the aim of standardising the eHealth system so that all the different jurisdictions were able to communicate together.

The company now employs 150 staff – but was criticised for its poor communications with stakeholders in the eHealth arena.

Dr Reinecke was responsible for establishing NEHTA as a company in 2005 and the subsequent development of a work on a range of complex e-health projects.

Chair of the NEHTA Board Dr Tony Sherbon thanked Dr Reinecke for his leadership of NEHTA since October 2004. Dr Reinecke officially left the job last week.

“Following funding support from COAG, Dr Reinecke has negotiated the contract to establish unique health identifiers for all Australians as well as their health care providers,” Dr Sherbon said.

“This project is now well underway and Dr Reinecke's efforts will prove to be of great benefit in the near future to millions of Australians.

“Under Dr Reinecke’s leadership NEHTA has taken the evolution of e-health in Australia to a new level where much of its work is ready for implementation to improve the quality of electronic health information for clinicians and consumers,” Dr Sherbon said.

Dr Reinecke has been selected to participate in the Government’s conference on the future, Australia 2020, to discuss health issues.