Quote Of The Year

Timeless Quotes - Sadly The Late Paul Shetler - "Its not Your Health Record it's a Government Record Of Your Health Information"

or

H. L. Mencken - "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Monday, January 09, 2017

News Alert: Sussan Ley Has Stood Aside While An Enquiry Is Conducted!

Martin Parkinson is said to have been asked to conduct the enquiry.

Link is here for details:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-09/sussan-ley-stands-aside-over-travel-expenses/8169410

Do you reckon there is any chance the Acting Health Minister (Arthur Sinodinos) might just have a close look at the myHR and give it the flick?

Just hope so!

David.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2017/01/surprised-sussan-leys-property-buy/

Anonymous said...

Oh shit:

One upside is that, should Ley's position become untenable, there are two former health ministers in the wings.

One, Peter Dutton, is overdue for transfer from the immigration portfolio.

Better to have a fresh pair of eyes oversee the deal to resettle those on Manus Island and Nauru in the United States.

The other, Tony Abbott, is chafing at the bit to come off the bench.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/why-sussan-leys-statement-will-not-end-her-problems--or-malcolm-turnbulls-20170108-gtnxaa.html

Anonymous said...

This is the announcement Ms Ley went to the Gold Coast to announce on May 9, 2015

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/7FA5505B1ACC6D97CA257E40000A24E9/$File/SL048.pdf

There is no reference to her location or the facility where the announcement was made.

This is the only reference to her presence - posted on the Wesley Hospital's own website...

http://wesley.com.au/about-us/news/news-listing/2015/05/09/health-minister-makes-$1.3-billion-drugs-announcement-at-the-wesley

There is absolutely no reason why she travelled all that way for a fairly standard press release.

According to the Parliamentarian Expenses records, published on the Finance website, Ms Ley is a VERY frequent traveller. In fact it seems she is rarely at home

http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/parliamentarians-reporting/

Nice to know there is so much loose change kicking around in the Health portfolio.

BTW, regular readers might note Richard Royle in the Wesley photo; the UnitingCare Qld campuses have benefited greatly from generous federal grants in recent years

Anonymous said...

I'm amazed at all this angst over a few miserable thousand dollars. What about the total waste of $1.5b on MyHR? There's more than one (ex)health minister who should be held accountable for that little lot, negatively geared or not.

Anonymous said...

It will be a shame if Minister Ley is stood down just as her leadership and recruitment strategies start bearing fruit. Finally the nay Sayers shall be silienced

http://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/about-the-agency/digital-health-space/item/10-child-immunisation-and-digital-health

But the Turnbull will be happy to own this outcome

Anonymous said...

As far as MyHR is concerned we don't need Tony Abbott, much as he'd be a good minister again, it was all his idea in the first place - all those years ago for those of us with very long memories.

Bernard Robertson-Dunn said...

What concerns me about the Sussan Ley affair is that she is convinced she has done nothing wrong and will be exonerated. Peter Dutton and Tony Abbott also displayed this self belief in always being right.

It might be a characteristic of all politicians, it certainly seems to have been the case with recent Health Ministers. I don't think Brendan Nelson was like that but I could be wrong. But he had a background in Health and was quite probably able to understand health issues better than career politicians, or ex policemen.

The whole development of PCEHR/MyHR seems to have suffered from the same mode of thinking - we know what's best for you, trust us.

With CensusFail and CenteLinkFail the level of trust in Federal Government IT initiatives is plummeting. ADHA is going to have a tough time this year, especially if they get either Sussan Ley back or a new Health Minister from the same mold.

Anonymous said...

Dear January 09, 2017 9:27 PM

I think it's hilarious that the agency is trumpeting the "success" of My Health Record accessed on a mother's mobile phone while the medical centre's IT system was down...

Bernard Robertson-Dunn said...

Re Immunisation Information.

In the old days, people used to have a paper record of their (and their children's) immunisations.

I believe that this is still a possible solution to the problem - i.e. the mother writes it down - or have education standards fallen so much that people can't write any more?

I suppose they could use a computer or get their GP to print out their relevant health record data. Then it wouldn't matter if all the IT systems were down, or if they were in a foreign country or traveling or ..... If they really wanted an IT solution they could write themselves an email and put it in their draft emaill box. Security is probably on a par with MyHR.

Not only are we becoming a nanny state, people are expecting the government to do too much for them. Unless of course the government is misrepresenting the situation for their own ends.

Heaven forbid just a blasphemous thought.

The government talks about getting people more involved in their own health care and then tries to do things for them.

Give a woman a health record and he has a dumb, summary system that might be of some minimal use one day. Teach her how to gather and look after her (and her family's) own health data and you have a much more informed and engaged person, for life. Literally.

Anonymous said...

Sussan Ley is a meticulous bookkeeper who claims every cent she is entitled to (and perhaps some she's not entitled to).

In the period in question, Jan 1 to June 30 2015, her expenses totalled $649,907 despite only one international trip - to NZ, where she attended the Cricket World Cup. The three-day trip cost almost $11,000.

This is a woman who spent more than $105,000 on air charter flights, nearly $22,000 on ComCars and a further $8,000 for her private vehicle, yet found it necessary to seek reimbursement for two $3 toll charges on April 13.

Where was the Minister on April 13? She was in Canberra on official business for the day, where she also took three Comcar trips costing $41.80, $40, and $40.

Oh and she picked up her travel allowance, of course, a few hundred dollars out of the total $31,792 for the six-month period.

Well, you can see she's busy. In fact, she'd spent the three days prior (April 10-12) on official business - you guessed it, on the Gold Coast!

Read all about it here.... http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/files/P36_LEY_Sussan.pdf

But it might be more fun to see who spotted the Minister where, in the first half of last year!

http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/files/P38_LEY_Sussan.pdf

Anonymous said...

Re Immunisation Information. I am confused, as a family we have access to Medicare immunisation register which is informative and accessible through a simple app. I thought one goal was to reduce duplication? Is the ADOHA using other efforts to make a claim for myhr? Or is the author completely unaware of the major building blocks in Australian healthcare? Fabricating reality? Or upping the health record value in a misleading fashion? Or am I missing something?

Bernard Robertson-Dunn said...

About the only things that could be unique to MyHR are Personal Health Summary, Advance Care Directive Custodian Report and Advance Care Planning Document, although even then they could be copies of documents available elsewhere. AFAIK, there is no guarantee that what is in MyHR is the latest version.

Just about everything else (and maybe even the above) is a copy of data available in other systems or places.

Which is strange because one of the stated aims of MyHR is to reduce the fragmentation of health data. If nothing else, it seems to increase uncertainty and do nothing to reduce fragmentation and/or duplication.

Anonymous said...

'Sussan Ley may lose her job over expenses. She should lose it over health policy.'

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/10/sussan-ley-may-lose-her-job-over-expenses-she-should-lose-it-over-health-policy

Anonymous said...

Re immunisation information and comment above:

"I think it's hilarious that the agency is trumpeting the "success" of My Health Record accessed on a mother's mobile phone while the medical centre's IT system was down..."


101 ways to circumvent the My Health Record system:
For each immunisation, use your phone to take a photo of the child's updated paper record (a page in their 'blue book'), or a photo of each of the actual immunisation vial label/immunisation paper slip. If you live in the bush, or have no internet access, then this works well.


Anonymous said...

s/101 ways to circumvent the My Health Record system/101 ways to prove My Health Record system is useless/g

Anonymous said...

"This is about judgment" Couldn't agree more - her judgement has been terrible. She deserves everything she's brought upon herself. Pity about the billions of $ though.

"fellow Liberal MPs, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Fairfax Media the overwhelming view within the party was that Ms Ley's ministerial career was over.
Related Content

"Her future doesn't look bright," a cabinet colleague said.

Another of Ms Ley's parliamentary colleagues said: "I can't see her coming back. This is about judgment."

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/this-is-not-the-sussan-ley-i-thought-i-knew-ministers-colleagues-say-her-frontbench-career-is-over-20170111-gtpf3w.html

Bernard Robertson-Dunn said...

Re "Re Immunisation Information. I am confused, as a family we have access to Medicare immunisation register which is informative and accessible through a simple app. I thought one goal was to reduce duplication? Is the ADOHA using other efforts to make a claim for myhr? Or is the author completely unaware of the major building blocks in Australian healthcare? Fabricating reality? Or upping the health record value in a misleading fashion? Or am I missing something?"

This may be the app referred to.
https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/express-plus-mobile-apps

With Express Plus Medicare you can:
view your:
digital Medicare Card
Medicare claim history
profile and update your address and contact details
Medicare Safety Net balance
Child Immunisation History Statement
view and update your bank account details
request a duplicate or replacement card
claim Medicare benefits
view and access documents saved in the Vault
find your nearest service centre

If you also have an Express Plus Centrelink mobile app you can store documents in the Vault, including images or copies of documents. You know, things like your health records, Shared Health Summary, Advanced Care plan etc etc. You don't need to add a copy of your child's immunisation history, you can access the original. What a good idea.

So tell us again a) why you'd want MyHR and b) how do they reduce duplication?

ADHA had better put a stop to all this uncontrolled digital transformation.

Anonymous said...

I knew the Minister took charter flights quite often. I didn't know she actually flew the plane so she could keep her pilot's flying hours current !!!!!

This raises the question - how much would it cost if she actually paid to keep her pilot's licence current? I think she should be donating that money to a worthy charity. What do others think?

Anonymous said...

I think she should be donating that money to a worthy charity.
She has. The Sussan Ley memorial fund.

Anonymous said...

No, surely not. Are you saying that the taxpayer has been paying the cost of providing the Minister with an aeroplane to fly so she could keep her pilot's licence current? I don't believe that - no self respecting politician would be so stupid. Innocent until proven guilty I say,

Bernard Robertson-Dunn said...

What the media is saying. I couldn't possibly comment.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/01/11/03/34/ley-hits-taxpayers-13k-to-pilot-flights#4RoiehjPC8CYvQyc.99

10 Jan 2017

Embattled health minister Sussan Ley's use of taxpayer funding is again under fire following revelations she spent $13,000 to pilot private planes along busy capital city routes.

The Age reports Ms Ley, who is a licensed commercial pilot, charged $6300 to fly from Canberra to Melbourne in July 2014 and another $7000 to travel from Canberra to Adelaide in May 2015.

Ms Ley's social media accounts indicate she was in the cockpit, the report claims.