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 and most weeks. Sadly there is also the need to recognize pollie based risks to privacy!
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Human Services finally reveals details of bungled child support IT project
The Department of Human Services blew AU$135 million on a bad and functionally incomplete system. Now we know just how bad it is.
"The current implementation does not achieve the core outcomes of the original business case," wrote Deloitte in their independent assessment of the Department of Human Services child support system redesign project.
That is to say, it doesn't do its job.
Actual users of the system were less diplomatic.
"It is slow, unreliable and subject to regular errors," said one. Others complained that the lag in processing webforms was adding unnecessary time to every call, leading to "increased customer aggression".
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- 24 May 2019 10:15
AIIA Victorian iAwards showcase outstanding Australian innovation
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), the nation’s peak industry body for the technology sector, last night announced the Victorian iAwards winners for 2019. AIIA’s iAwards, now in its 26th year, is Australia’s leading awards and recognition program that brings homegrown digital innovations to the world stage.
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), the nation’s peak industry body for the technology sector, last night announced the Victorian iAwards winners for 2019. AIIA’s iAwards, now in its 26th year, is Australia’s leading awards and recognition program that brings homegrown digital innovations to the world stage.
At the gala event held last night at The RACV Club Ballroom in Melbourne, awards were presented in categories comprising Business Service Markets, Public Sector & Government, Students, Research & Development, Infrastructure & Platforms, Startup and Big Data.
AIIA CEO Ron Gauci said the innovation showcased by the 2019 finalists builds on the incredible success of last year’s iAwards, creating further momentum for the Australian technology sector.
Note – Many Digital Health related projects awarded. – see link:
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ANZCA Newsletter – 24-5-2019
Is your practice My Health Record ready?
Following the January 31, 2019 conclusion of the opt-out period, more than 90 per cent of Australians now have a My Health Record. The Australian Digital Health Agency has a range of resources explaining how to register, set-up and access My Health Record available for healthcare practitioners available online. Anaesthetists can request a digital health education sessions emailing the Australian Digital Health Agency, or contacting the college. You can also request assistance for practice managers to set up My Health Record for your organisation.
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My Health Record
What is My Health Record?
My Health Record is an online summary of your key health information. When you have a My Health Record, your health information can be viewed securely online, from anywhere at any time and it includes information such as:
- Allergies
- Medical conditions
- Treatments
- Medicines
- Test and scan results (such as blood tests and x-rays).
Perth Children’s Hospital contributes to Australia’s My Health Record system and is currently uploading information from five clinical applications:
- Patient Administration System (webPAS)
- Notifications and Clinical Summaries (NaCS)
- iSoft Clinical Manager (iCM)
- eReferral
- Allergy and Dietary Advice (ADA).
……
If you have a My Health Record these documents will be automatically uploaded, if you do not want this to occur you need to inform us at every attendance. Please ask us for a Change of Consent to Upload Documents to My Health Record form.
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Irish regulator opens first privacy probe into Google
By Padraic Halpin on May 23, 2019 7:07AM
Data Protection Commissioner sniffs personal data in ads.
Google's main regulator in the European Union, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, opened its first investigation into the US internet giant on Wednesday over how it handles personal data for the purpose of advertising.
The probe was the result of a number of submissions against the company, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said, including from privacy-focused web browser Brave, which complained last year that Google and other digital advertising firms were playing fast and loose with people's data.
Brave argued that when a person visits a website, intimate personal data that describes them and what they are doing online is broadcast to tens or hundreds of companies without their knowledge in order to auction and place targeted adverts.
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Enabling the Clinical Use of My Health Record in Pharmacy
With 9 out 10 Australians now having a My Health Record (MHR), this important session for community pharmacies will provide an update on privacy and security obligations for pharmacy as well as introduce a new pharmacy clinical document for the MHR.
Open to all pharmacy staff, this workshop will expand upon participants' knowledge of MHR and will explore its features, functionalities, benefits and uses as they relate to pharmacy practice. Participants will be asked to participate in an extensive case study group discussion and will have the opportunity to discuss the MHR system.
Workshop Details:
Date: Thursday, 27 June 2019
Time: 6 pm to 8 pm. Networking and finger food available from 6 pm with the presentation to start at 6.30 pm.
Location: Carina Leagues Club, 1390 Creek Rd, Carina QLD 4152
Parking is available on site
Cost: FREE
Who can attend: All pharmacy staff including owners, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants.
Registrations close: Thursday, 20 June 2019
Time: 6 pm to 8 pm. Networking and finger food available from 6 pm with the presentation to start at 6.30 pm.
Location: Carina Leagues Club, 1390 Creek Rd, Carina QLD 4152
Parking is available on site
Cost: FREE
Who can attend: All pharmacy staff including owners, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants.
Registrations close: Thursday, 20 June 2019
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Queensland’s Facial Recognition Regime a Complete Failure
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) has failed in its bid to suppress an evaluation report which found that the use of facial recognition software during the 2018 Commonwealth Games was completely ineffective.
The Gold Coast Games was subjected to the most expansive and intrusive public surveillance operation to be used by Australian police.
The evaluation report reveals that no “high-priority targets” could be identified by the software, leading to the use of the technology for general surveillance – completely at odds with assurances by police regarding the basis for the investment and its level of effectiveness.
The revelations has renewed criticism of the dangers of mass surveillance, including its inaccuracy, ineffectiveness and its potential to lead to wrongful arrest.
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Hospital discharge woes: In summary, GPs aren't magicians or mind-readers
Emily Dunn is a Clinical Features Writer for Australian Doctor Group.
22nd May 2019
This is a time when patients are most at risk of iatrogenic illness: discharged from hospital, with changes to medications or microbiology results still pending, they remain in medical limbo until the follow-up consultation with their regular GP.
Too often, however, the hospital discharge summary, detailing drug changes or pathology, fails to arrive. And even when it does, it may be late or contain critical inaccuracies, resulting in patient harm.
According to a systematic review, only one-third of discharge summaries are available at the first post-hospital visit.
Among those that do arrive, up to two-thirds will not include diagnostic results and up to 40% will not even include discharge drugs.1
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My Health Record
My Health Record is an online resource through MyGov that stores your health information to be used by healthcare professionals. As of January 2019, all Australians known to Medicare automatically had a My Health Record created for them, unless they opted out. Currently 9 in 10 Australians have a My Health Record and 10% of the population have opted out.
What are the benefits of My Health Record?
- It can store information about your medicines, allergies, immunisations and treatments that may help health professionals care for you
- In an emergency, your record can be accessed even if it is secured with a pin so that health care professionals can check medicines, allergies, treatments and medical conditions
- It can assist you with remembering complex medical histories, long lists of medications and tests you have undertaken, particularly if you visit multiple health care professionals.
If you have been discharged from hospital, your record can hold your discharge summary to help your regular doctors know what happened while you were in hospital, including changes to medications, treatments and tests
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Tech war draws digital iron curtain
- By Simon Duke
- The Times
- 12:00AM May 24, 2019
Three decades ago a British computer scientist produced a research paper that would change the world. Titled Information Management: A Proposal, it outlined an interconnected system that would allow physicists to share data from their experiments.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s ideas initially met with a lukewarm response. A year later, though, he began writing the code that would underpin the worldwide web.
His vision for an open platform enabling people to collaborate across borders brought myriad economic, social and cultural benefits, but Berners-Lee’s invention has started to look a little careworn. Once a diverse collection of websites and blogs, the internet is now dominated by a handful of powerful enterprises such as Facebook, Google and China’s Tencent, which act as gatekeepers for billions of people around the planet.
Repressive nation-states, too, have tried to exert control over the internet by censoring content. What were once common fields for all to share are being enclosed by a small band of private and state actors.
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The tech cold war has begun with Trump's Huawei move
By Tim Culpan
May 21, 2019 — 9.17am
This is the moment Huawei has been waiting for.
Chipmakers including Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have told employees they won't supply to the Chinese electronics giant until further notice, Bloomberg News reported late Sunday in the US Those companies will need clarification from the Trump administration on whether they can ship to Huawei, so for now it seems they're erring on the side of caution.
A similar process took place when ZTE was banned from buying US products after reneging on a deal to settle charges of breaking trade sanctions. Staff were told to halt shipments until they could work out what was allowed and what was forbidden. The US ended up imposing an embargo (later removed) that crippled the smaller Chinese communications company.
The prospect that the US government would cut off the supply of components to Huawei was precisely what management had been anticipating for close to a year, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Huawei has at least three months of supplies stockpiled. That's not a lot, but it speaks to the seriousness with which the Shenzhen-based company took the threat.
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Re-election: what the stakeholders said
The PSA is keen to work on fair pay for pharmacists, while the Guild says the election win helps provide certainty
Following the re-election of the Morrison Coalition Government over the weekend, health stakeholder groups have spoken out to welcome the Government back, and outline their hopes for the next few years.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia: The PSA issued an early statement welcoming the re-election, and followed up with another statement in which it said it looks forward to progressing fair remuneration for pharmacists in recognition of their professional contribution in supporting people’s health – a key action from its Pharmacists in 2023 report.
“Pharmacists are underpaid noting their key role in healthcare. This needs to be addressed as we head into negotiations for the next Community Pharmacy Agreement,” Dr Freeman said.
PSA received a commitment from the Coalition to declare medicine safety a National Health Priority Area as requested by the PSA through its Federal Budget Submission and in response to PSA’s Medicine Safety: Take Care report.
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Greg Hunt tipped to return as health minister
The Coalition's win on Saturday means Mr Hunt will likely get final say on the reforms hitting general practice
20th May 2019
Greg Hunt is expected to return as the Minister for Health, following the victory by the Liberal and National parties in the federal election.
Mr Hunt overcame a challenge from former Liberal MP Julia Banks to retain his Victorian seat of Flinders as part of the Coalition’s win on Saturday.
It means he will take back the health portfolio, based on Prime Minister Scott Morrison's public comments before the vote in which he promised to keep most of his ministry — including Mr Hunt — in their previous roles.
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IBM calls for ethical approach to artificial intelligence
- 12:00AM May 20, 2019
The technology industry needs to get its act together on the ethical development of artificial intelligence to repair its damaged reputation, according to IBM Australia boss David La Rose, who has warned the lack of transparency risks a regulatory backlash.
Speaking to The Australian ahead of IBM’s Think Summit this week, Mr La Rose said technology companies had to take the lead when it came to explaining the algorithms that underpinned AI platforms and how they are used.
“The industry has an image problem when it comes to ethics around AI and we have a responsibility here to help our clients with what ethical AI engagement looks like,” he said.
“It’s incumbent upon us to provide the literacy around AI.”
While the likes of Microsoft, Google and IBM have AI ethics initiatives in place, self-regulation has so far failed to quell concerns of critics, who say that big tech can’t be trusted to police itself.
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May 20 2019 - 4:00AM
Federal Election 2019: What now for Catherine King and Ballarat?
- Jolyon Attwooll
Catherine King broke new ground with her re-election on Saturday - but was forced to re-adjust to the prospect of three more years in opposition. Picture: Lachlan Bence.
It was a rollercoaster night for Labor Party members in Trades Hall. First the euphoria as voters in the Ballarat electorate gave a ringing endorsement of Catherine King with a swing of close to four per cent, almost double the state average. Then the despair as the federal result took shape.
Millions of dollars of election pledges made by the Labor Party - including $5 million for Her Majesty's Theatre, $10 million for an extension to Ballarat Airport - were not matched by the coalition. And as the government defied the pollsters, it became clear they will hold the purse-strings for another electoral term.
So, what now for the shadow health minister and the projects she hoped a Shorten government would fund? First, she said she was "absolutely delighted" to be re-elected. "I want to thank the Ballarat people so much for putting their faith in me once again," she told The Courier yesterday.
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Monday, 20 May 2019 05:04
Big-tech tax avoidance a thorny issue for new Morrison govt
One of the big problems in tech that the incoming minister for the digital economy will have to fix is the matter of getting big tech multinationals to pay their fair share of tax.
With Michael Keenan having retired at the election, exactly who will fill his shoes is unknown. But whoever it is, that individual will have to confront big tech – and two companies from among that lot have more or less just given the government the finger.
According to The Australian, Facebook recently filed documents with ASIC showing that it had paid about $12 million in tax for 2018 - after earning more than $600 million in ad sales. But it showed $454.9 million in costs to an overseas subsidiary, leading to a net revenue of $125.5 million.
The company showed $23.3 million as profit and paid $11.8 million in tax.
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Comments welcome!
David.
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