Here are a few I have come across this week.
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/articles/16/0c065e16.asp
Patient records Bill stymied
27-Nov-2009
CONTROVERSIAL legislation giving Medicare the ability to seize patient records has been stopped in its tracks by the ongoing debacle over cataract rebates.
Yesterday, the Federal Government was forced to halt debate on the Health Insurance Amendment (Compliance) Bill 2009 until next year, because both sides of Parliament could not agree on amendments.
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http://www.smh.com.au/national/health-department-accused-of-censorship-20091127-jwwm.html
Health department accused of censorship
NATASHA WALLACE HEALTH
November 28, 2009
THE University of Sydney removed from its website an extremely critical essay about a new multimillion-dollar emergency department IT system after pressure from the NSW Health Department. .
Doctors, nurses and administrators at four area health services heavily criticised the system - which tracks patients - as posing an ''unacceptably high risk'' to patient safety because it was so slow, cumbersome and inefficient.
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Academic claims NSW Health censorship
By Suzanne Tindal, ZDNet.com.au
27 November 2009 02:26 PM
A professor at the University of Sydney who wrote a scathing essay about NSW Health's implementation of a Cerner system within emergency departments has accused the government of pressuring his institution to take the essay down, which it did, if only temporarily.
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http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/327889/adobe_outlines_nbn_vision?eid=-6787
Adobe outlines NBN vision
e-Health providers may resell superfast broadband connectivity with their health services
27 November, 2009 11:59
Adobe has released its vision for the services it believes will be delivered over the NBN in a new whitepaper, The National Broadband Network: Unleashing Australia’s Digital Potential.
The paper seeks to provides a simple, practical overview of how superfast broadband access will address areas such communication, education, entertainment, high definition video and photography, social networking and business efficiency.
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iSOFT Group Limited (ASX:ISF) Boosts Patient Safety Solution Offering Through Acquisition Of PSI
Sydney, Nov 26, 2009 (ABN Newswire) - iSOFT Group Limited (ASX:ISF) Australia's largest listed health information technology company today announced it acquired Patient Safety International Pty Ltd. (PSI) in a deal worth up to A$5 million as part of the company's strategy of boosting its portfolio of innovative solutions through bolt-on acquisitions.
The acquisition provides iSOFT with state-of-the-art patient safety software that enables healthcare organizations to record, monitor and take relevant management action to minimize future adverse medical events. South Australia based PSI's AIMS solution uses an ontology that comprises a comprehensive set of some 25,000 terms developed by the Australian Patient Safety Foundation.
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Victorian Auditor-General slams public sector privacy
Information security policy, standards and guidance for the sector are incomplete and too "narrowly focused" on ICT security
26 November, 2009 13:26
The confidentiality of personal information collected and used by the public sector can be, and has been, easily compromised, a Victorian Auditor-General report has found.
The Maintaining the Integrity and Confidentiality of Personal Information report, which examined information security in three Victorian government departments, found that the ability to penetrate databases, the consistency of its findings and the lack of effective oversight and coordination of information security practices strongly indicate that this phenomenon is widespread.
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AG slams Vic data security
- Melissa Jenkins
- From: AAP
- November 25, 2009
THE Victorian government is failing to put safeguards in place to prevent public servants snooping on our personal details.
Auditor-General Des Pearson is scathing in a report over the lack of effective and co-ordinated measures to protect personal information used by the public service.
He has particularly directed criticism at Premier John Brumby's own department and Treasury, but says his findings suggest lax information security throughout the entire public service.
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http://www.pharmacynews.com.au/article/study-to-look-at-near-miss-dispensing-errors/506610.aspx
Study to look at 'near miss' dispensing errors
25 November 2009
The Pharmacy Guild has urged pharmacy staff to take part in a study that will aim to discover the reasons behind 'near miss' dispensing errors.
Researchers from Monash University, University of Sydney and University of South Australia have teamed up to identify the nature of and reasons behind 'near misses' – dispensing errors that are detected before they reach the patient.
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Health in second place as Wii Fit goes for games
- Mahesh Sharma
- From: Australian IT
- November 10, 2009
NINTENDO'S exercise game controller has caught its second wind with Wii Fit Plus's launch.
The Wii Fit balance board, released last year, was designed to get gamers off the couch and on to their feet.
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http://www.6minutes.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=506474
Medicare's new powers curbed
by Jared Reed
New privacy safeguards have been agreed to in the Senate in the contentious draft legislation which gives Medicare the right to seize patient documents when questioning payments.
The amendments mean that Medicare will not be able to “develop a reasonable concern” as to the clinical relevance of a service under investigation.
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Improved medical message system improves patient safety
- Karen Dearne
- From: The Australian
- November 24, 2009
QUEENSLAND'S Mater Health Services is running electronic medical records for 1.4 million patients across its seven hospitals, off the back of InterSystems' Ensemble integration engine that links more than 95 separate clinical systems.
Mater chief information officer Malcolm Thatcher says the e-patient record (EPR) system now holds more than 10 million pathology results and 12.5 million events, as well as demographic information.
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BCA calls for national e-health strategy
November 23, 2009 - 2:29PM
AAP
A national e-health strategy would bring benefits of nearly $28 billion in its first eight years, a leading business lobby group says.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last month and released on Monday, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) says using communication technology to improve the flow of health information is key to a more efficient health system.
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http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/327322/open_source_no_panacea_e-health
Open source no panacea for e-health
Leading CIO says open source should not be seen as a panacea for addressing the interoperability challenges in healthcare
23 November, 2009 16:56
Open source software could provide a model for better e-health collaboration, but should not be seen as a panacea for addressing the interoperability challenges in healthcare, according to a leading healthcare industry CIO.
Malcolm Thatcher, CIO of Queensland-based Mater Hospital, said there are two issues to consider around the need for interoperability amongst Australian healthcare providers.
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http://www.thesheet.com/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=9185&stream=1
Easyclaim too hard for doctors
20 November 2009 6:45am
There were 76 million patient-claimed Medicare rebates in the year ending June 30, representing the total potential market for the reverse Eftpos Easyclaim system.
However, most of these rebates are still being paid in cash at Medicare offices while a slowly growing number are being paid online.
As at October 2009, Medicare says 2763 practices had signed up to EasyClaim, while 4795 had signed up to Medicare Online.
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iSOFT Business Solutions (ASX:ISF) Wins New Deals Worth A$10 Million
Sydney, Nov 23, 2009 (ABN Newswire) - iSOFT Business Solutions (ASX:ISF) Australia's largest listed health information technology company today announced that iSOFT Business Solutions won new business totalling about A$10 million in October. The new deals include two contracts worth GBP2 million each (A$7.2 million).
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NSW Health to review privacy policy for insurers' lawyers
JOEL GIBSON LEGAL AFFAIRS
November 25, 2009
THE NSW Health department is likely to review its privacy policies after a number of complaints about solicitors for insurers seeking irrelevant medical records from claimants, a source familiar with the department's privacy policy said.
A review of the department's privacy manual will address the issue amid fears that the forms can lead to the incorrect provision of information by doctors, the source said.
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http://www.smh.com.au/national/crash-victim-says-insurer-adds-insult-to-injury-20091122-isvi.html
Crash victim says insurer adds insult to injury
JOEL GIBSON LEGAL AFFAIRS
November 23, 2009
A RANDWICK woman knocked off her bicycle and thrown across a roundabout by a car has spent five years fighting a big insurance company that wants access to all her medical records, including ''irrelevant'' ones, before it will assess her claim.
The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, says the catch-all request could capture highly personal information such as psychologists' notes about a previous sexual assault.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/23/2750118.htm
Swift treatment for heart attack victims
ACT paramedics treating heart attack victims will be able to send vital patient information to doctors at the Canberra hospital whilst enroute. (ABC News)
The vital signs of heart attack patients can now be sent electronically to the Canberra Hospital before the ambulance even arrives.
A picture of the electrocardiogram [E.C.G.] can be emailed to specialists at the Hospital via a blackberry while the patient is enroute.
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http://www.smh.com.au/technology/biz-tech/tech-tools-of-the-trade-20091117-ijls.html
Tech tools of the trade
November 17, 2009
It pays to know how your business can benefit from the latest technical advances, writes Julia Talevski.
Still using old software and back-up tapes in your company? As new technologies become available in the market, it can be hard to determine what they do and how they can benefit your business. Here is a list of technologies to help you grasp the latest on the market.
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Telstra's dismemberment may be put on hold
- Mitchell Bingemann
- From: The Australian
- November 23, 2009
THE legislative dismemberment of Telstra could be delayed indefinitely unless the Senate can speed through debates on the party-dividing emissions trading scheme that comes before parliament this week.
The historic telecommunication regulatory reforms, which are aimed at providing a level playing field ahead of construction of the government's $43 billion national broadband network (NBN), are due to be debated this week.
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http://www.cio.com.au/article/326918/cio_guide_nbn?eid=-601
A CIO's Guide to the NBN
Australia's $43 billion National Broadband Network will usher in a new era of connectivity and business innovation. Here’s what CIOs need to know. . .
19 November, 2009 07:51:00
Forests have been felled and new server rooms built to carry the torrent of words written about broadband Internet access in Australia. Some of the country’s most brilliant technical, business and social minds have joined what has become at times little more than a cacophony of claims, counter-claims and lies.
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NBN Senate Select Committee report reveals massive split
Report recommends cost-benefit analysis, interim implementation study report by end of year
26 November, 2009 21:05
The Senate Select Committee into the National Broadband Network (NBN) has called for a rigorous cost-benefit analysis, an interim implementation study report, a skills audit and that legislation be brought forward to provide the funding and governance framework for NBN Co.
In its third report, the coalition-heavy committee's call for a cost-benefit analysis follows a similar call from the OECD, which said the Federal Government should conduct a more rigorous and systematic analysis of planned infrastructure projects, including the NBN.
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Enjoy!
David.
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