Note: I have excluded (or marked out) any commentary taking significant funding from the Agency or the Department of Health on all this to avoid what amounts to paid propaganda. (e.g. CHF, RACGP, AMA, National Rural Health Alliance etc. where they were simply putting the ADHA line – viz. that the myHR is a wonderfully useful clinical development that will save huge numbers of lives at no risk to anyone – which is plainly untrue) (This signifies probable ADHA Propaganda)
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Note: I have also broadened this section to try to cover all the privacy and security compromising and impacting announcements in the week – along with the myHR. It never seems to stop! Sadly social media platforms get a large run this week.
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Is it moral to benefit from research while opting out of electronic health records?
If someone else carries all the risk, are people not in the system freeloading?
Over in North Central Pennsylvania, healthcare provider Geisinger is creating artificial intelligence models that can beat trained cardiologists with years of experience. The key ingredient in being able to do this is having an electronic health record (EHR) that stretches back to the 1990s.
This is exactly the sort of research that proponents of electronic records have long put forward to justify their existence, while for the last year, Australians have wrestled with whether to submit to a national EHR regime, or choose to opt-out. Around 10% of eligible people, or over 2.5 million, decided to not be a part of the system, as of February.
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2018 Cybersecurity in Australian Healthcare Survey results
HISA’s 2018 Cybersecurity in Australian Healthcare survey reached 48% of health services in regional/rural areas and 52% in metropolitan areas.
We received responses from executives (23%), administrative staff (22%), IT staff (18%), clinicians (12%) and the remainder a mix of researchers, consultants, vendor specialists and board members.
Respondents felt a strong sense of organisational responsibility for the security of information assets and information systems with the following measures in place: formal plans (73%), staffing (75%) and dedicated security budget (42%).
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Industry View: Are we prepared for AI in the health sector?
Thursday, 11 April 2019
Industry View: Guest column by Kevin Ross, Precision Driven Health and Orion Health
Kevin Ross reports on some of the issues raised at AI Day that need to be addressed in the development and regulation of these technologies so we are prepared for the future with AI.
Last week, I attended and presented at AI Day, New Zealand’s premier artificial intelligence event in Auckland. The variety of speakers from different industries, from finance to housing and education, was a clear indication of how AI really is everywhere.
We heard from companies who have developed facial recognition and digital assistants, and learnt about the impact conversational AI will have on day-to-day life.
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Useful Example Of Training / Perspectives Being Taught On myHR.
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What now with My Health Record (MHR)?
What's been happening with the My Health Record (MHR): An update!
By now, all Australians who are eligible for Medicare, including people living with HIV (PLHIV) have a My Health Record (MHR). This online record has been automatically created by the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), unless you opted out before the 31 January 2019. Your personal medical information can now be shared between you and your healthcare providers like doctors, specialists and hospital staff.
Controversy, Criticism and Changes
Setting up the system has been a controversial one. Concerns about the system saw the opt-out deadline changed three times, multiple website crashes, and jammed phone lines. Regular news reports of Australian and global breaches of health data, highlighted concerns remained around misuse, security, access, privacy and system design. The government responded to PLHIV and community concerns and submissions with constructive changes to the legislation through the My Health Records Amendment (Strengthening Privacy) Bill 2018.
One of the system loopholes allowed domestic violence abusers to track their children’s whereabouts. Other Strengthening Privacy Bill amendments prevent police and government agencies from accessing MHR data without a warrant or specific court order. Likewise, insurance companies and employers are not permitted to access MHR information, unless you specifically request it is released to them. MHR data cannot be used for commercial interests unless it can be demonstrated it is likely to be ‘in the public interest’ consistent with ‘research and public health purposes’. This Bill increased the penalties for the misuse of MHR data up to five years' jail, instead of two, and the maximum fine has more than doubled to $315,000. The big change as a result of this Bill means you will be able to permanently cancel your MHR, resulting in the record being completely deleted from the system.
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ANU team finds potent drugs by the kilo for sale on dark web
- 12 April 2019
- Written by Sam Varghese
A study by the Australian National University has found large amounts of potent drugs, equivalent to "billions of doses", for sale on the dark web, including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil.
A statement from the university pointed out that carfentanil was not meant for human use and was originally meant for sedating elephants.
ANU researchers collected data from the dark web for 51 days in January and February 2019, analysing six mainstream dark web markets. More than 123,000 unique drug listings were online with nearly 7400 opioids listed in six “Main Street” dark web markets.
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Facebook to stop its algorithms doing their job in push to stem hate
By Elizabeth Dwoskin
April 11, 2019 — 3.58pm
For years, Facebook has built its algorithms to maximise engagement and clicks; a strategy that has helped the company garner 2.7 billion users across its family of apps, including Instagram and Messenger. But increasingly, the company is willing to go up against the way its software is designed to combat the spread of harmful content.
On Thursday, AEST, the company announced a slew of new features and incremental product updates that counter the core engineering of its own systems, by tweaking them to do more to reduce the spread of misinformation and sensational news; borderline content that the company won't remove entirely but is taking a more active role in policing.
For example, the company will update its scrolling news feed algorithm by reviewing little-known websites whose articles get sudden surges of traffic on Facebook, a pattern that Facebook says internal tests showed were a red flag for misinformation and clickbait. The new metric does not mean the problematic articles will be taken down, but their traffic will be reduced in news feed, the primary screen Facebook users seen when they open the app.
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Public health system still on waiting list for further treatment
In March 2018 the new State Government inherited a health and hospital system in disarray.
Transforming Health had left our public hospitals with insufficient beds, overcrowding, disrupted specialist services, ambulance ramping and reduced patient access.
The problematic EPAS electronic record and data system is currently under review. If it cannot be salvaged, around $700 million of taxpayers’ money will have been wasted, and a new system found.
The poorly designed, dysfunctional and inadequate new RAH, with a final capital cost of $11.9 billion, and a recurrent maintenance bill of $1 million per day, will be a financial millstone around the neck of the health system for decades to come.
In the context of these substantial problems, how does the score card read for the repair of our hospitals?
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Medical
My Health Record - Are you ready? ADHA Propaganda
Australia’s health system is one of the best in the world. It provides quality, safe and affordable health care for all of us.
The Health Care industry sector has a unique set of requirements due the the regulations and changes that are occurring with the introduction of MyHealth record and other digital platforms.
A healthcare organisation that is participating in the My Health Record system is required to comply with a range of obligations.
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No bells or whistles: Labor keeps it simple with its NBN plan
By Stephen Bartholomeusz
April 9, 2019 — 3.15pm
The significance of Michelle Rowland’s presentation of the national broadband network policies Labor will take to the election is not what is in it, but what isn’t there.
There had been an expectation that Labor's communications spokeperson would have a two-dimensional strategy for addressing the two key perceived failings of the current NBN roll-out: high wholesale costs and the perceived paucity of fibre connected to premises within the network.
With retailers clamouring for a reduction in NBN Co’s wholesale charges, complaining about the lack of margin and threatening to abandon re-sale of the network’s capacity, and Labor’s long-standing criticism of the Coalition’s multi-technology approach, those weren’t unreasonable expectations.
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Influenza season ADHA Propaganda
The current influenza (flu) vaccination season offers an opportunity for GP practices, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service providers and Pharmacies to engage with their patient’s My Health Record.
Vaccination is strongly recommended for people at increased risk from flu exposure and its complications. This includes (but is not limited to) those people aged 65 years and older, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, pregnant women, young persons, healthcare workers and those with chronic diseases and multiple medical conditions.
Flu vaccines may be administered in a number of primary healthcare settings, including; GP practices, Pharmacies and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services. Such engagement offers providers the opportunity to initiate a conversation with the patient about their My Health Record.
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AI must be accountable, EU says as it sets ethical guidelines
By Foo Yun Chee on Apr 9, 2019 12:30PM
Accountability mechanisms to prevent misuse.
Companies working with artificial intelligence need to install accountability mechanisms to prevent its being misused, the European Commission said on Monday, under new ethical guidelines for a technology open to abuse.
AI projects should be transparent, have human oversight and secure and reliable algorithms, and they must be subject to privacy and data protection rules, the commission said, among other recommendations.
The European Union initiative taps in to a global debate about when or whether companies should put ethical concerns before business interests, and how tough a line regulators can afford to take on new projects without risking killing off innovation.
"The ethical dimension of AI is not a luxury feature or an add-on. It is only with trust that our society can fully benefit from technologies," the Commission digital chief, Andrus Ansip, said in a statement.
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Privacy and consent: Winning the trust of consumers and citizens
By Maria Katsonis • 09/04/2019
The need to win the trust of citizens and consumers over the use of their data is critical to the transition of the Australian economy to the next phase of industrial development.
How do we demonstrate that data aggregation has widespread benefits for citizens and consumers — and can empower a wide suite of personalised and customised services?
A panel discussion facilitated by Harley Dennett, editor of The Mandarin, brought together the following three experts to explore this question:
- Yvonne Cunnane, Associate General Counsel on Data Protection, Facebook
- Dr Sascha Callaghan, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney
- Miguel Carrasco, Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group
In the final of a four-part series, The Mandarin reports on the discussion and issues of consent, trust and social licence.
Understanding consent
In general terms, people need to have the capacity to consent. As Sascha explained, “They have to have enough information to make the consent meaningful, and they need to be able to make consent in a way that is free. So without force being applied or coercion.”
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The broadband war has ended, Abbott won
Labor's NBN plan, in a nutshell, is to commission a review, blame the Coalition for it being rubbish, while continuing to do pretty much the same thing for the next few years.
Apr 9, 2019 — 2.01pm
For Australians still paying attention to politicians talking about the future of internet infrastructure in Australia, Tuesday April 9th marks the day that the broadband wars officially ended.
The national broadband network has been as much a divisive political discussion as it has a nation-building infrastructure initiative, since battle lines were drawn from day one - with Labor promising the far greater vision.
On Tuesday, Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced Labor's 2019 election broadband policy, and finally snuffed out any remaining hopes that it plans to revert to its earlier position of building a world class network.
Under the Rudd government the NBN company formed with an ambitious mandate to hook up the majority of the nation to fibre to the premises technology, which offered globally competitive speeds and capacity, but a huge engineering task.
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Genomics and genetics: legal and ethical issues
By Alison Choy Flannigan, Partner
Genetics is the study of heredity, whereas genomics is defined as the study of genes and their functions, and related techniques.
The main difference between genomics and genetics is that genetics scrutinises the functioning and composition of the single gene, whereas genomics addresses all genes and their inter-relationships in order to identify their combined influence on the growth and development of the organism.
Genomics can assist in personal health profiling, disease diagnostics, research and precision medicine.
Legal and ethical issues arise in relation to genomics, including equity of access, consent, confidentiality, availability for the greater good versus privacy, patient choice and ownership.
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7 steps to managing privacy in an emergency
There are exceptions that may allow you to release personal information about a patient
8th April 2019
By their very nature, emergencies happen at any time and without warning.
Acting quickly and with relevant information can save lives. However, what about your obligation to keep personal information confidential? What can you share — and with whom?
Consider the following scenario
Your practice receives a call from a woman who identifies herself as the niece of one of your regular patients. She has gone to her aunt’s home and found her collapsed on the floor.
She has called an ambulance and is asking about your patient’s condition and medications so she can tell the paramedics.
The patient has complex family circumstances, and you recall she voiced concerns about releasing medical details to certain family members. The practice staff are unsure whether they can release any information.
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State of the data and digital nation
An overview of data and digital government initiatives across the nation
5 Apr 2019
Abstract:
The State of the Data and Digital Nation provides an overview of the main data and digital transformation initiatives taking place across our country, at both Commonwealth and State and Territory government levels. Jurisdictions are striving to make Australians’ lives better, developing and implementing data and digital transformation initiatives to ensure Australia is at the forefront of data and digital policy, programs and service delivery.
This publication has two key purposes:
- Increase visibility and transparency of data and digital initiatives across the nation
- Identify alignment and areas for collaboration between jurisdictions.
Data and digital initiatives described in this publication are grouped into six key themes:
- Policy and Strategy
- User Experience
- Products and Services
- Service Enablers
- Internal Capabilities
- Data Sharing and Linking
Case studies are shared throughout, highlighting achievements in each jurisdiction.
This publication is not intended to be exhaustive; it only provides a snapshot of work being undertaken across jurisdictions. Providing visibility and transparency is one of several steps in aligning priorities for the Commonwealth and States and Territories to deliver more integrated services, and ensure a unified direction for work on data and digital transformation.
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Hope for Alzheimer's treatment as older patients' memories return
By Sarah Knapton
April 9, 2019 — 10.56am
London: The memory of older people has been returned to the state of someone in their 20s for the first time by applying electrical stimulation to the brain to reconnect faulty circuits. Scientists at Boston University have proven it is possible to restore working memory by "recoupling" areas of the brain that become out-of-sync as people grow older.
Short-term working memory is crucial for everyday life, storing information for around 10-15 seconds to allow problem solving, reasoning, planning and decision-making; for example, keeping the digits of a telephone number in mind while writing it down.
Sometimes described as being "mentally online", working memory forms the basis of consciousness, but declines with age and is the reason elderly people can struggle with basic tasks.
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My Health Record Update - April
April 08, 2019 ADHA Propaganda
Events
Enabling clinical use of My Health Record in pharmacy workshops
These have been successful in Gatton, Dalby and Warwick and more workshops are scheduled to happen in Toowoomba (14/05/19), Ipswich (15/05/19) and Goondiwindi (4/06/19).
The workshops aim to expand attendees’ knowledge of the My Health Record system and explore its features and functionalities and benefits and uses as they relate to pharmacy practice.
My Health Record eLearning
Community Pharmacy and Allied Health
Our new Community Pharmacy and Allied Health eLearning courses are live.
These self-paced course supports those working in Community Pharmacy or Allied Health to become familiar with and confident in using the My Health Record system.These modules have been accredited for CPD points.
The courses can be found here on the eLearning portal.
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01/04/2019
Data safety all a hack?
Have you ever used someone else’s credentials because they were already logged in?
Do you try to cut corners by staying logged in to save time?
Have you ever updated your patients’ notes or written a prescription using someone else’s login?
Do you try to cut corners by staying logged in to save time?
Have you ever updated your patients’ notes or written a prescription using someone else’s login?
If you answered yes to even one of the above then you could be exposing yourself and your patients to a breach of confidentiality leading to a complaint from a colleague or patient.
Many doctors, for example in hospital emergency departments, are under increasing pressure to see more patients. In these circumstances, it’s tempting to use other doctors’ credentials (accidentally or otherwise) while updating patient notes.
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Report: Doctors And Patients Don't Agree On Online Health
Apr 8, 2019, 7:30am
Healthcare is an industry that stands to befit greatly from the rise of ubiquitous internet access, better code-confoernceing support and the ability to use technology to help people proactively manage their health and well-being. But a study by EY has found that doctors are are more interested in reducing their administrative burden, diagnostic support or communicating with other medical professionals. While some doctors are trying to sue tech to offer better patient care and services, they are falling a long way behind patient expectations and desires.
EY Oceania Health Leader Jenny Parker said “Digital healthcare and the efficiencies it can create must be a priority to ensure all Australians are able to access the healthcare they need”.
The How do you care for today while building the health of tomorrow report revealed that almost 20% of doctors use tools to support virtual visits, remote monitoring and patient engagement tools such as apps. However, almost half of consumers surveyed said they want to engage with doctors virtually to save time and money. The bulk of technologies that doctors are implementing are focused on reducing their administrative burden, diagnostic support, or to communicate with other medical professionals. They don’t improve access for consumers or assist people in proactively managing their health.
EY’s report found that in the absence of accessible healthcare technology, many Australians are turning to the internet, potentially at the expense of their own health. In the past 12 months, over half of Australians (55%) have researched an illness, injury or health problem online, with over a third (38%) using internet search to source information on what medical condition they might have.
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With election nigh, the FUD machine has started to roll
- 07 April 2019
- Written by Sam Varghese
A cyber security and information warfare researcher from the University of New South Wales has issued what can be only described as an alarmist warning that the forthcoming Australian Federal Election will attract social media manipulation, nation-state attacks and a "swarm of advertising and messaging in platforms as diverse as Facebook and WeChat".
This overblown analysis, by Tom Sear, is an indication of the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) that so-called experts will seek to spread with very little basis. There are several reasons to be highly sceptical of such pronouncements and suspect that the only reason they are written is to gain publicity for the author.
Of course, the reference to nation states is code for China, not taking into account the fact that an anticipated Labor victory would mean that Beijing would be extremely foolish to try and influence any outcome. One can accuse the Chinese leadership of many things but foolishness is not among them.
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Comments welcome!
David.
1 comment:
Is it moral to benefit from research while opting out of electronic health records?
Is it immoral to wear a seatbelt and rely on airbags if you were never a crash test dummy?
Try to put a guilt trip on people is immoral. As a society we contribute in all areas in many ways, that article fails to appreciate what the public does already without being forced to give up data. Beside stay out might have just as much benefit- the simple act of measuring can alter the data.
If research is in need all they have to do is ask, I can only give my response based on merit and how I feel that day
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