Meet the Sparked Technical Co-Chairs: Jai Dacey

We spoke to Jai about his involvement with Sparked, here is what he had to say!

🤔 What is your working background?

I have worked in Federal Government for over 20 years across many Health programs. This has given me many insights across policy development, health program delivery, claiming and incentives, and system requirements, design and implementation. I apply this background in my current role working with an amazing team at the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing focused on guiding the implementation of government policy through a digital health lens to solve wicked problems for the Australian community and across the whole healthcare system.

🤔 How did you become involved with Sparked?

I am fortunate to be an OG who is a member of the partner team that established Sparked. The Department funds Sparked to drive a national approach to building consistent interoperable pathways, supporting the broader digital health reform agenda through the development of foundational national FHIR standards and supporting products.

🤔 What is your role within Sparked?

I am one of the Department’s leads for the program and work with our program partners to drive community participation and policy aligned development. My focus is on policy and digital health reform and ensuring that Sparked development is aligning technical design with national health priorities and clinically safe interoperable outcomes. I also provide strategic support in my role as a co-chair of the AU eRequesting Technical Design Group. Broader than Sparked I am also a member of the Australian FHIR Coordination Committee which is focused on guiding the development of nationally aligned FHIR standards, including the products produced under Sparked.

🤔 What does Sparked mean to you?

It is an important change catalyst that needed to happen in the Australian healthcare system to shake up the current fragmentation of patient health information. I am proud of the work that we are undertaking through Sparked, building important foundational infrastructure that will underpin an interoperable and connected national healthcare system of the future. But more than this, Sparked is a community – an ever-increasing group of passionate, intelligent, and committed individuals that bring together multitudes of learned and lived experience to shape the healthcare system of tomorrow. 

🤔 What is something that you hope to achieve within the Sparked program?

I want to see the outputs of Sparked drive the foundation of a more interoperable, patient-centred ecosystem that supports better health outcomes for all Australians. We are already breaking ground for this aspiration with the Australian FHIR Core moving to balloting for Release 2, and significant progress in the development of our AU eRequesting and AU Patient Summary standards. My hope (and expectation) is that the foundations being developed in Sparked allow us to move from talking about digital health to just calling it ‘health’ in the future – where the norm is ‘digital’.

🤔 How is the Sparked program different to projects you’ve been involved in before?

What sets Sparked apart from other projects I’ve been involved in is the openness and transparency of the process. It’s rare to see initiatives that invite such deep community involvement from the outset. Typically, a lot of the projects I’ve been involved can be constrained in the level of consultation and engagement that is possible. Sparked flips this model by co-designing solutions with the community, offering a genuinely collaborative environment where diverse voices actively shape outcomes. 

🤔 What’s been your favourite part of working within the Sparked team?

My favourite part of working within the Sparked team has been the opportunity to collaborate alongside passionate and skilled individuals across jurisdictions and all sectors of healthcare, all committed to making FHIR work in the real world. We tend to have a great balance of clinical oversight, technical direction, and fun conversation along the way.

🤔 What would you tell someone wanting to learn more about the Sparked project?

Get involved!! Whether you’re technical, clinical, health oriented or policy-focused, there’s space for your expertise to influence how digital health evolves. We are continually bringing new members on board across the breadth of healthcare sectors and consumers – so come and be part of the dynamic shift.

🤔 How will the goals and outcomes of the Sparked Program impact your field/industry/profession?

The goals and outcomes of Sparked will lay the foundation for a more connected and interoperable health system—one where data can flow securely and meaningfully across settings. As someone working in policy within the Department, this is incredibly valuable. With data becoming more accessible and underpinned by consistent standards like FHIR and clinical terminology standards, I’ll be better equipped to make informed, evidence-based policy decisions that reflect real-world needs and outcomes. 

🤔 What’s your favourite Sparked/FHIR pun?

Puns? I would never use a pun… 😊 I am partial to FHIRriffic – “The scope and scale of what we have been able to achieve within Sparked over the past two years is FHIRriffic”. Just don’t get me to support “Standards are sexy” – oh the pain and embarrassment.