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. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or payment.
General Comment:
Last week we saw a few leaks from NEHTA and some discussion about the overall future of health reform.
The next few months are certainly going to be critical for both the overall health sector and for e-Health. How the Rudd Government handles both these issues I think will have an impact on the overall election outcome which we are due for later in the year.
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The patient needs urgent attention: healthcare is dysfunctional
- OPINION: Ian Hickie
- From: The Australian
- February 06, 2010
FAMOUSLY, James Carville, Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign manager, hung a sign in their headquarters with three key messages: change v more of the same; the economy, stupid; and, don't forget health care.
In his Australia Day address, Kevin Rudd highlighted the fact that the broader economy will be unable to sustain healthcare spending without big improvements in productivity. However, we now face another election without any substantive progress on health reform.
Why no action? In reality, the more conservative professional, bureaucratic and business interests in health resist substantive change. Through skilful use of scaremongering, most are pushing hard for retention of our highly protected and dysfunctional local industry. Meanwhile, the deteriorating state of public hospitals, the increasing size of out-of-pocket expenses and the very poor access to quality care for those with chronic diseases, dental problems or mental ill-health are high on any community-rated priority list.
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Picis and iSOFT Enter into Global Strategic Alliance for Picis Solutions
Delivering a Complete Range of Healthcare IT Solutions That Contribute towards Improving the Overall Efficiency of Hospitals
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Picis, the leading provider of information systems for the accident and emergency (A&E), operating theatres and intensive therapy units of hospitals, and iSOFT, one of the world’s biggest healthcare information technology (HIT) companies, have entered into a strategic alliance whereby iSOFT will distribute, implement and provide international support for selected solutions from the Picis CareSuite® family of high-acuity solutions, focusing initially on ICU and anaesthesia in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand.
“Our expanded software portfolio further demonstrates our commitment to providing our clients with interoperable solutions that meet their business and clinical documentation needs, ultimately helping them improve their overall efficiency.”
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http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/192_03_010210/zaj11318_fm.html
Postcard from New York
Medical identity fraud in the United States: could it happen here?
Rebecca Nicole Hannah Zajac is not a name two people are likely to have. Yet, my daughter, living in the United States, found that someone with this name and the same birthday as her had opened three bank accounts and overdrawn these accounts substantially. Thus, when Rebecca came to open a bank account in New York City, she was told it was not possible because she already had three accounts on which money was owed at another bank. This is a real and not uncommon scenario in the US where, because of the complexity of the banking system, identity fraud is rife. For Australians visiting or living in the US since the new homeland security laws came into force, it is quite difficult to open a bank account there. On the other hand, having one’s credit card skimmed to duplicate the cardholder’s name, the card’s number and other data is easy.
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Artificial pancreas offers better chance for diabetics
- Adam Cresswell, Health Editor
- From: The Australian
- February 06, 2010
SCIENTISTS have successfully tested an "artificial pancreas" that promises to reduce the danger that a person with type 1 diabetes will have a seizure or even die in their sleep because their blood sugar falls too low. The invention will give hope to many of the 100,000 Australians with the condition, who often have to wake up during the night to check their blood sugar levels with a finger-prick test.
A person with type 1 diabetes needs regular injections of insulin, which maintains blood sugar levels, because the pancreas cannot manufacture it.
Although there are already devices that can measure blood sugar levels, and others that can inject insulin, there is so far no way for the machines to "talk" to each other -- and people have to interpret the readings and adjust the insulin dose.
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http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/News/0,1734,5854,01201002.aspx
Primary care reform needs $830m kickstart: AGPN
Elizabeth McIntosh - Monday, 1 February 2010
THE Federal Government needs to make a “critical down-payment” on general practice with $830 million in infrastructure grants to fund health reforms, according to the AGPN.
As part of its 2010-11 federal Budget submission, the network has restated previous calls from United General Practice Australia for the Government to invest $530 million in general practice.
A further $300 million is also needed to help practices transform into comprehensive primary health care centres as proposed by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, the AGPN submission claims.
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How Labor lost the first broadband race
MARK DAVIS
February 5, 2010
WHEN A federal election is called, senior bureaucrats draw up hefty documents known as ''incoming government briefs'' for both sides of politics. The idea is to present the winning party with the advice it needs to hit the ground running.
In December 2007, the Communications Department handed Stephen Conroy a brief which identified Labor's plan for a national broadband network as its top priority.
Kevin Rudd won the election as the man with the plan to spend $4.7 billion of government funds working with the private sector to build a communications network providing high speed internet access to 98 per cent of the population.
The brief outlined a competitive assessment process to solicit private sector bids, but flagged some of the risks to be managed.
It advised the cost of the plan was likely to be ''very significant''; it would require using Telstra's networks; and extending the network to Australia's most remote homes and businesses could be ''extremely problematic, even with a major capital contribution by the government''.
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Ovum: Electronic health remains elusive
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 | Rachael Bolton
A report has taken aim at the federal government’s electronic health policy saying that in spite of an estimated $5 billion expenditure on various e--health initiatives over more than a decade, real outcomes remain elusive and ultimately unlikely to bear fruit.
Entitled National e--Health Strategy Progress in Australia, the report by analyst firm Ovum Research has slammed the proposed system as a "myth", urging technology vendors to remain focused on local and regional initiatives instead.
But time is of the essence. The report said years of uncoordinated, unconnected e--health strategies and implementations had resulted in a landscape so fragmented it was fast approaching a stage where integration costs would be "prohibitively high"
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Rewriting European privacy law for digital age
SOPHIE ESTIENNE
February 1, 2010 - 8:50AM
European legislation covering the protection of private data is being dragged into the digital age in a potential threat for social networking sites like Facebook where users display foibles, often without a thought for consequences.
European Commissioner Viviane Reding cited the arrival of privacy issues raised by such social networking sites when she announced last week a flagship drive to rewrite European law for the Internet generation, turning the old 1995 text into something fit for purpose.
Data protection for private citizens is a sensitive issue in Brussels, which has been in conflict with the United States for years seeking greater controls on personal details gathered under anti-terror drives there.
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Fingerprint ID for port, airport workers
February 1, 2010 - 6:29AM
AAP
Australia's port and airport workers could face mandatory fingerprinting under recommendations from law enforcement agencies to the federal government.
The change could come in an effort to beat terrorism and criminal infiltration of the 200,000 workforce at Australia's air and sea ports, Fairfax newspapers report.
The agency that checks the backgrounds of workers with access to sensitive sections of ports and airports, CrimTrac, has told a parliamentary inquiry name-based background checks used now can be bypassed with aliases and assumed identities.
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http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/334080/5_open_source_office_suites_watch/?eid=-219
5 open source office suites to watch
The latest open source and Web-based office tools are proving to be worthwhile alternatives to more expensive packaged software suites -- and they won't break your budget!
- Rodney Gedda (CIO)
- 04 February, 2010 13:01
- Comments
The Microsoft Office productivity suite has risen to become the dominant application of its type for business IT management. But there are open source office productivity suites available that may provide a suitable alternative to Office, depending on your requirements.
Despite the scores of additional features found in products like Microsoft Office, most workers only need a simple word processor or spreadsheet to complete their day-to-day office tasks. If your staff are not “power users” then having a full-blown office suite on their desktop can be overkill.
In this edition of 5 open source things to watch, we take a look at office suites that can manage you business information without emptying the company coffers.
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Enjoy!
David.
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