Here are a few I have come across this week.
Note: Each link is followed by a title and a paragraph or two. For the full article click on the link above title of the article.
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Surgery payment scheme at risk
- From: The Australian
- December 26, 2009
THE ability of patients to claim a Medicare rebate directly from the doctor's surgery is under threat within months of it starting to catch on, as medical groups are warning that GPs will abandon the practice unless incentive payments are extended.
The peak doctor's lobby, the Australian Medical Association, is calling for an existing incentive payment introduced this year to encourage uptake to be more than doubled, to ensure practices do not walk away from the technology.
The system, called Medicare Easyclaim, allows patients to lodge their rebate claim from an Eftpos terminal at the surgery, avoiding the need for a separate trip to a Medicare office.
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http://www.pharmiweb.com/pressreleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=13145
iSOFT Group Limited (ASX:ISF) Signs Deals Worth A$2.3 Million In Malaysia And Oman
iSOFT Group LimitedPosted on:22 Dec 09
Sydney, Dec 22, 2009 - (ABN Newswire) - iSOFT Group Limited (ASX:ISF) Australia's largest listed health information technology company today announced deals totaling A$2.3 million for its Hospital Information System (HIS) at hospitals in Malaysia and Oman.
OpenApps Sdn Bhd, a partner of the Malaysian government, agreed to a three-year, 4 million ringgit (A$1.3 million) contract for iSOFT's HIS at Keningau Hospital in the state of Sabah. The agreement, which will start in January 2010, includes a patient management system, clinician database, billing, pharmacy and laboratory solutions. The total value consists of a license fee, with the remainder in support and maintenance over the period.
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http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/330810/isoft_gets_new_financing_arrangements/
iSoft gets new financing arrangements
Health IT company restructures its debt facilities to get more flexibility across global operations
- Computerworld Staff (Computerworld)
- 23 December, 2009 11:49
ASX-listed health IT company, iSoft (ASX:ISF) is restructuring its senior secured debt facility in an effort to garner more flexibility in managing its global footprint.
In a statement to the ASX, iSoft said it would undertake a new facility for three and a half years that consists of a £60 million loan and £60 million revolving credit.
The move to the new financing is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will replace the existing debt facility of £107.5 million.
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Qld Health pays hefty price for sick payroll system
- Alison Sandy
- From: The Courier-Mail
- December 23, 2009
QUEENSLAND'S troubled health system has been bleeding millions of dollars to its staff in overpayments because of a faulty payroll system.
Doctors and nurses across the state have been asked to hand back the $27.2 million that Queensland Health has overpaid workers in the past five years.
The department has admitted to The Courier-Mail that it will ditch the system next year and spend $40m on a new payroll process that will require less manual intervention.
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http://www.theage.com.au/national/myki-to-be-rushed-in-ready-or-not-20091228-lhc8.html
Myki to be rushed in, ready or not
CLAY LUCAS
December 29, 2009
THE State Government is preparing to rush in the trouble-plagued myki ticket system to fulfil a political promise to have it operating in Melbourne in 2009, despite it not being ready to work on trams or buses.
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky is set to announce that the $1.35 billion system will be introduced by Thursday - but on trains only.
This means anyone who validates a myki card on a train and then tries to use it on a tram or bus will be potentially liable for a $172 fine for travelling without a valid ticket.
Comment: The relevance here to e-Health is the reminder about how hard large scale smart card systems can be - think NASH.
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Centrelink-Medicare IT platform merger not harbinger of national identity card: Chris Bowen
- Fran Foo
- From: Australian IT
- December 16, 2009
CENTRELINK'S John Wadeson will head a mega-agency IT shop created after a back-office merger with Medicare.
Human Services Minister Chris Bowen today announced the portfolio shake-up, which is aimed at reducing duplication in backend processes.
"In order to obtain the necessary seamlessness and co-ordination, the Prime Minister has agreed to my proposal that Medicare and Centrelink should become part of the Department of Human Services," Mr Bowen said in an address to the National Press Club.
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Tanner unveils e-security consolidation plan
- Fran Foo
- From: Australian IT
- December 21, 2009
LABOR'S razor gang has struck again, this time taking aim at around a dozen online authentication services.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner wants to trim the number of online authentication services used by federal government agencies.
Such tools are used to verify the identity of individuals and organisations on the internet.
For example, individuals use their tax file numbers to interact with the Australian Taxation Office. At Centrelink and Medicare, users need their customer access number and card number, respectively, to log on to online services.
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'Invisible bracelet' for emergency health alerts?
LAURAN NEERGAARD
December 22, 2009 - 8:05AM
Emergency health alerts for the Facebook generation? The nation's ambulance crews are pushing a virtual medical ID system to rapidly learn a patient's health history during a crisis _ and which can immediately text-message loved ones that the person is headed for a hospital.
The Web-based registry, invisibleBracelet.org, started in Oklahoma and got a boost this fall when the state's government made the program an optional health benefit for its own employees.
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Enjoy!
David.
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