The hospitalisation of thousands of people each year could be prevented if their health providers shared information electronically, but they can't because their software systems do not talk to each other.

About 230,000 people are admitted to Australian hospitals every year as a result of medication misadventures.

A government advisor says patient treatment is being impeded because health providers' software systems do not talk to each other. Credit:iStock

The federal government's top advisor on e-health said poor communication between nurses, GPs, emergency staff, pharmacists and other health professionals resulted in thousands of preventable hospitalisations and deaths because patients were doubling up on medication or taking the wrong drugs.

Steve Hambleton has called on the IT companies contracted to work on the billion dollar national health database to make their messaging systems compatible, or the government's $500 million dollar e-health scheme cannot move forward.