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This weekly blog is to explore the larger issues around Digital Health, data security, data privacy and related matters.
I will also try to highlight ADHA Propaganda when I come upon it.
Just so we keep count, the latest Notes from the ADHA Board are dated 6 December, 2018! Secrecy unconstrained! This is really the behavior of a federal public agency gone rogue!
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Trolls take toll on humanity
Psychology professor at Stanford University, Jamil Zaki, believes the internet is undermining our natural human capacity for empathy because it provides endless opportunities for hateful abuse and toxic tribalism.
Every day of our digital lives we witness the erosion of empathy. It is not uncommon on social media to see people who appear intelligent, tolerant and humane insist that anyone among their contacts who doesn’t agree with them on a particular issue should sever the connection immediately.
While the expression of strong feelings is understandable in moments when feelings run high, wanting to unfriend anyone with beliefs incompatible with ours is not a million miles from wishing they would cease to exist. The world will always be full of people with whom we seem to have little in common and who do things we don’t like, and yet we must acknowledge our shared humanity or else hate will destroy us.
Digital platforms that ostensibly bring people together in fact have had the effect of fomenting irreconcilable differences. Rather than promote tolerance and understanding, the internet turns some people into full-time haters. “Trolls spend vast amounts of time and energy sowing pain,” notes Zaki in The War for Kindness.
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When AI goes awry
Little consideration has been given to the potential challenges and threats AI can pose to society
Jim Cook, Malwarebytes (Computerworld)08 August, 2019 12:00
Once thought to exist only in the realm of fiction and futuristic movies, artificial intelligence (AI) has already established use cases across a host of industries, including the manufacturing and retail sectors. AI has ingrained itself into our operational procedures and business processes, creating efficiencies that we now deem as necessary for everyday functions.
Despite its prevalence, little consideration has been given to the potential challenges and threats AI can pose to society. As a new technology with immense potential, there is still so much unknow about AI, and careful supervision is required to control and contain it. While the technology is still in its infancy, AI presents opportunities to be abused with malware and leveraged in attacks that can impact businesses and society.
According to the Office of the Australian Information Commission’s Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme 12‑month Insights Report, there were more than 900 eligible data breaches from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, 60 per cent of which were a result of malicious or criminal attacks. The top sectors reporting a breach were the health, finance, legal, accounting and management service sectors; industries that contain highly-confidential information, making them ideal targets for AI-powered breaches.
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'Whiteboard of shame': Robo-debt compliance officers 'worked to targets'
By Jonathan Kearsley and Emily McPherson
August 9, 2019 — 6.15pm
Centrelink has been using a target-driven collection system to claw back welfare debts, according to three former compliance officers who worked for the agency.
An image obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age shows compliance staff tasked to trigger the so-called robo-debt notices were ranked in their ability to "finalise" cases.
Centrelink has been accused of using a target-driven collection system to claw back welfare debts, according to three former compliance officers who worked for the agency.
The agency's $3.7 billion debt recovery scheme has come under heavy criticism for putting the onus on people who Centrelink claim have debts to the agency to prove they don't owe money.
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Interested in a Career in Nursing Informatics?
Nurses wanting to increase their knowledge and/or skills in nursing or health informatics have several avenues.
· Several universities have postgraduate coursework programs and nurses are advised to contact local universities to ascertain if they provide relevant programs or courses in both on-campus or distance education mode. The Australasian College of Health Informatics (ACHI) provides a list of current higher education undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered in Australia and New Zealand.
· Another option is undertaking short courses, and a list of short course providers has also been compiled by ACHI.
· There are also a variety of user-pay or free MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) that address specific concepts within nursing or health informatics. Entering Nursing Informatics MOOCs into a search engine will produce a list of available courses and their commencement dates. MOOC platforms include Coursera, edX, Udacity, Open Yale, Udemy. Khan Academy, Alison, FutureLearn, and courses address Nursing Informatics, Health Informatics, Digital Health, and eHealth, and Data Analytics.
· Nurses who have experience in nursing or health informatics and want their skills formally recognised may elect to undertake certification via the Certified Health Informatician Australasia (CHIA) program, developed by HISA (Health Informatics Society of Australia), ACHI, and HIMAA (Health Information Management Association of Australia).
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How My Health Record can be a voice for your patients: Perspective on managing people living with dementia
Details
Hosted by : Australian Digital Health Agency ADHA Propaganda
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - 13:00 to 14:00
Online NSW 2000
Australia
People living with dementia may have difficulty articulating their health care needs. This can be particularly challenging when multiple providers are involved in their care.
This webinar will provide an insight into the My Health Record system and how it can be utilised for patients who have difficulty communicating or recalling their medical history.
There will be an opportunity for Q&A during this session.
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Patient rights in health care
Friday, 09 August, 2019
A growing desire among the medical profession to partner with consumers in delivering health care is reflected in the latest Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has launched the charter’s second edition.
The Australian Government agency said its charter described rights that applied to people in all healthcare settings across Australia and reflected an increased focus on person-centred care.
The charter outlined what every person could expect when receiving care and described seven fundamental rights including: access; safety; respect; partnership; information; privacy; and giving feedback. Its use was embedded in the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
The release marked the first major update to the original charter, adopted by Australian health ministers in 2008.
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Mental health toolkit ADHA Propaganda
This toolkit has been developed to ensure healthcare providers are equipped to assist their patients with clear and specific information to make an informed decision about the benefits of using My Health Record.
It explains the benefits of the system, and how to manage patient information securely, sensitively and privately, and provides guidance on:
- A provider’s obligations regarding privacy, security and consent when using the My Health Record system.
- How clinicians can register to the My Health Record system, including the registration process for providers, clinicians and responsible officers.
- Talking to patients about the benefits of the system and risks associated with not uploading information.
- How individuals can view, amend and upload information to their My Health Record and add privacy settings to further secure their information.
Download: Mental health toolkit
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Secure Messaging: An Introduction
Details
Webinar
Hosted by : Australian Digital Health Agency ADHA Propaganda
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 13:00 to 14:00
Online ACT 2000
Australia
Reliable, secure provider-to-provider communication is a key component of digitally enabled, integrated and coordinated care across the Australian health sector.
This webinar will cover what secure messaging is, the benefits of its use and an opportunity for Q&A.
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Denham Sadler
August 8, 2019
Govt’s digital ID is in trouble
Identity
Trouble ahead: The Digital ID program in government cops a blast
The government needs to conduct a full-scale review to get its digital identity project back under control in the wake of spiralling costs, delays and a lack of transparency, according to the head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre Fergus Hanson.
The Coalition has thrown nearly $150 million into its digital identity project GovPass. But a number of industry insiders have told InnovationAus.com of concerns about the government’s approach, including its decision to build its own services and excessive spending and delays.
The government is bungling what should be a hugely significant initiative, Mr Hanson said.
“If it was done properly, then it would be one of the biggest micro-economic reforms we’ve had for a very long time,” Mr Hanson told InnovationAus.com.
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UNSW big data academics appointed to national committees
08 Aug 2019
Lucy Carroll
Two of UNSW's top health data experts, Professor Sallie Pearson and Professor Louisa Jorm, have been appointed to national committees to support the government on how big data is managed and shared.
UNSW big data experts Professor Sallie Pearson and Professor Louisa Jorm have been appointed to national advisory committees to support the government on how to better share and collect public sector data.
Professor Pearson, head of the Medicines Policy Research Unit at UNSW’s Centre for Big Data Research in Health, has been appointed to the National Data Advisory Council (NDAC), the key advisory body to the National Data Commissioner.
NDAC, established in 2019, includes experts from government, community, business and research sectors to represent a range of perspectives on the sharing of data and protection of privacy and confidentiality.
Professor Louisa Jorm, Director of the Centre for Big Data Research in Health, has been appointed to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) Independent Expert Panel for development of a National Health Information Strategy.
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Wednesday, 07 August 2019 16:43
Phishing attacks rife as organisations fear email-borne attacks
Ninety-four percent of organisations globally have suffered phishing attacks in the last 12 months and 61% say it is likely or inevitable that they will be hit with an email-borne attack, according to a new survey.
“Mimecast sees a lot of data as we process more than 300 million emails every day to help customers block hundreds of thousands of malicious emails. Mimecast Threat Intelligence helps organisations get the deep insights they need to build a more cyber-resilient environment,” said Josh Douglas, vice president of threat intelligence at email and data security company Mimecast.
“IT and security teams are often overwhelmed by the volume of information they need to track and if the intelligence they need to proactively defend their organisation is buried, their defence becomes less effective,” the security firm warns.
According to Mimecast’s latest security report - The State of Email Security Report 2019 - the cybersecurity landscape changes daily, and attackers are constantly changing their techniques to avoid detection.
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Understanding clinical interoperability as a clinical practice problem, not IT/IM problem
An interview with Grahame Grieve, FHIR Product Director, HL7 International.
By Dean Koh
August 07, 2019 10:16 PM
Known as the ‘Father of FHIR’ and an experienced healthcare interoperability consultant, Grahame Grieve is FHIR Product Director at HL7 International. He has a background in laboratory medicine, software vendor development, clinical research, open source development and has also conceived, developed and sold interoperability and clinical document solutions and products in the Australian market and around the world.
Grahame shares some updates on the current developments for FHIR and is increasing convinced that clinical interoperability is not an Information Technology/Information Management (IT/IM) problem, but a clinical practice problem.
Could you tell us more about your role as FHIR Product Director at HL7 International?
Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) has two aspects – it’s a technical standard, and it’s also a community. The “FHIR Product” is really both parts, and as the product director, my role is to grow the community, manage HL7’s provision of processes that the community can follow so that it can produce technical agreements consistently, and then to integrate that growth into HL7’s business so that HL7 can flourish as the best host for the technical standard – which includes meeting its formal obligations as a standards organization.
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The droid will see you now
Get ready for robots interviewing you in clinics and hospitals, offering health advice and even criticising your bad health habits.
It’s early days, but social robots are making their mark in the health sector. Tests of socially equipped robots have taken place in medical facilities in the US, Europe, Japan and Australia.
These robots not only hold a basic conversation, they try to connect with you emotionally, using eye contact and in some cases sensors to gauge your mood.
They might answer your questions, give you a health assessment and some timely lifestyle advice.
They cost tens of thousands of dollars but, with mass production, robots will be become more affordable. And the business case for their use is solid.
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My Health Record
Will be actively participating in registering new patients for a My Health Record, the new electronic health record being promoted by the federal government. ADHA Propaganda
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Wednesday, 07 August 2019 10:57
Data breaches top list of security risk concerns for security professionals
Data breaches, misconfiguration and inadequate change control and lack of cloud security architecture and strategy top the list of major security risks faced by organisations globally, according to a newly published survey from the Cloud Security Alliance.
According to CSA’ Jon-Michael C. Brook, co-chair of the company’s Top Threats Working Group - Top Threats to Cloud Computing: The Egregious Eleven – new top-ranking items in the survey are more nuanced, and suggest “a maturation of security professionals’ understanding of the cloud, and the emerging issues that are harder to address as infrastructure becomes more secure and attackers more sophisticated”.
“The new issues highlighted in this version of the report are inherently specific to the cloud and suggest a technology landscape where security professionals are actively considering cloud migration.
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Artificial Intelligence and the future of work
5 Aug 2019
Artificial Intelligence is here and is having a major impact on the jobs market and how we all work.
Australia has a choice: to benefit from this major industrial transformation, or let it wash over us as a country and see the majority of the benefits go to overseas companies and workers. Ignoring or resisting the technological change of AI will only disadvantage Australian workers.
Governments have a vital role to play to ensure the benefits of AI are shared broadly across all sectors of our society. The report outlines a number of recommendations to ensure Australia rightly takes advantage of the opportunities in front of us. We recommend nationally coordinated investments and focus on education, regulation, security, and research and development, to ensure the future of work for all Australians is rewarding, safe and just.
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AI is here to stay. Now we need to ensure everyone benefits
August 6, 2019 7.11am AEST
Authors
Juliet A. Gerrard Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, University of Auckland
Kyle Webster Kyle Webster has just completed an internship in the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, focussing on Artificial Intelligence. , University of Auckland
Stuart McNaughton Professor of Education / Chief Education Science Advisor, University of Auckland
Tahu Kukutai Professor of Demography, University of Waikato
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already in use in many sectors. Its contribution is expected to rise steadily, driven by advances in data storage, computer processing power and connectivity.
Following last week’s report on AI by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA), the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi today launches a report that focuses on the opportunities and risks the “fourth industrial revolution” might bring to Aotearoa New Zealand.
AI, in all its applications, is predicted to contribute some US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. This represents roughly the combined GDP of China and India in 2018.
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Prescriber details: no small matter
A pharmacy’s dispensing history was once a closed loop within the pharmacy walls… however today, with the advent of My Health Record and real time monitoring, the situation is very different
A pharmacy’s dispensing records are now visible to other health professionals, as well as some statutory organisations. This visibility has created some problems for pharmacists and prescribers, especially where the wrong information has been recorded by a pharmacy.
A major problem has been exposed where a pharmacy enters the wrong details of a prescriber. Some pharmacists may have considered this to be a minor error in the past, but with records now being shared, we have encountered several problems.
Case Study
SafeScript real time monitoring is now operational in Victoria for a selected group of high risk drugs. Recently, a psychiatrist who had provided dexamphetamine for a patient reviewed the dispensing history for this person and noted that he had obtained dexamphetamine from another prescriber.
The psychiatrist became very angry and refused to treat this patient even after the patient denied seeking this drug elsewhere. After extensive investigation, it was found that the dispensing pharmacist had entered the wrong prescriber details for the psychiatrist which made it appear in the history that another prescriber was involved.
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Weeding out the bad data
Jamie Humphrey
- 12:00AM August 6, 2019
A Harvard Business Review study ranks Australia in ninth position among world leaders in the data economy, using the criteria of broadband consumption, active internet users, accessibility and complexity. New Zealand lies three places behind, with the US, UK and China leading the pack.
As our digital economy continues to rise, data has become an organisation’s most valuable asset. All business operations and processes are increasingly both data dependent and driven.
When we consider data adds an estimated $2.5 trillion to the world’s seven richest economies (G7), it’s important Australia keeps or even boosts its ranking.
Across industries, organisations are developing ways to identify and optimise the use of data in the decision-making process. The often-unknown problem many companies face is that while quality data is a business enabler, bad data can set back research, reduce competitiveness and hinder innovation.
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‘Informed choice’: ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry Final Report recommends significant data privacy reforms
Australia August 1 2019
As we reported on 29 July 2019, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its Digital Platforms Inquiry (DPI) Final Report. This is the second article in our series considering what the Final Report’s recommendations may mean for local and foreign businesses that deal with Australian consumers.
‘Digital platforms’ is a catch-all term for a wide variety of online businesses offering diverse services. Under the DPI terms of reference, the ACCC was directed to focus on search engines, social media and content aggregation platforms.
Many digital platforms operate under a distinct business model providing services to consumers for zero monetary cost in exchange for consumers’ attention and use of their data. The platforms then 'monetise' that data by selling targeted advertising, from which they typically earn the majority of their revenue.
Despite the focus of the terms of reference on specific types of digital platforms, five of the six recommendations in the Final Report relating to data privacy are intended to apply ‘economy-wide’, and only one is targeted solely at digital platforms.
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ACCC Recommends Wide-Ranging Changes To Australian Privacy Laws
On 26 July 2019, the Federal Government released the ACCC’s much-anticipated final report on the Digital Platforms Inquiry (the product of over 18 months of effort). Originally framed as an inquiry into the impact of digital platforms (including search engines, social media platforms, and digital content aggregators) on the state of competition in the media and advertising services markets, the recommendations in the final report are much wider in scope and will directly affect many other sectors of the economy. Most notably, while reserving some specific recommendations for digital platform operators, the final report recommends broad-ranging changes to Australian privacy laws.
Economy-wide impacts
In justifying the broad reach of its recommendations, the ACCC asserts that the Australian privacy regime must “require a clear and consistent standard of data protection across different industries the data-driven digital economy to consistently protect consumers and to achieve the economy-wide potential benefits of data.” Certainly if the ACCC’s recommendations on privacy reform are implemented they will have a significant economy-wide impact. This will no doubt attract attention from a wide range of consumer-facing businesses that are heavy users of consumer data but may only have been keeping one eye on the Digital Platforms Inquiry, on the assumption that they would not be directly affected by its outcome.
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Privacy watchdogs demand answers from Facebook on ‘Libra’ cryptocurrency
OAIC among regulators casting sceptical eye over the work of Facebook’s Calibra subsidiary
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and its counterparts in the UK, US, Canada and EU have called on Facebook and its subsidiary Calibra will ensure personal information is protected when as the Libra cryptocurrency project is rolled out.
“To date, while Facebook and Calibra have made broad public statements about privacy, they have failed to specifically address the information handling practices that will be in place to secure and protect personal information,” a joint statement issued by the regulators said.
“Additionally, given the current plans for a rapid implementation of Libra and Calibra, we are surprised and concerned that this further detail is not yet available.”
Facebook in June this year announced it would launch Calibra with the aim of developing a new digital wallet for Libra. The digital wallet will be available through Facebook’s WhatsApp and Messenger apps as well as a standalone app in its own right.
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My Health Record for Psychiatrists
This interactive webinar is for psychiatrists. It will enable participants to gain a better understanding of My Health Record and how it can be used in practice. It will cover topics including:
- How to access My Health Record
- Available document types in My Health Record
- My Health Record legislation and patient consent
- How your patients can protect their privacy in My Health Record
RSVP Here by Wednesday 14 August 6:00 pm ADHA Propaganda
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Solve NBN's financial mess by charging big tech giants
Fighting between Telstra and NBN shows the current broadband business model can't work, so maybe the tech giants that most benefit from the infrastructure should pay
Matt Berriman
Aug 5, 2019 — 10.00am
It’s been well documented since the inception of national broadband network that internet connectivity in Australia is terrible (at best) by global standards.
This week's fighting between Telstra and NBN about pricing can be added to the impending court battle between the ACCC and TPG/Vodafone as a sign that regulators and government are butting heads in a forlorn attempt to make the sector both commercially viable and good for consumers.
But by fighting each other, both the government and the telcos are giving a free pass to their true commercial foes ... the online giants like Google, Facebook and others, and the so-called over-the-top streaming companies like Netflix.
It is these companies that are using the infrastructure to the point of capacity, and making billions of dollars on top of the infrastructure that government and telcos are struggling to afford.
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Consumer Data Right law passed - Open Banking set to start in Australia
The law to establish the Consumer Data Right (CDR) has been passed by the Australian Parliament. The way is now clear for Open Banking to start in Australia, as the first implementation of the CDR. After so much work has gone into the development of CDR and Open Banking, customers will soon have the right to ask for their data to be shared with others they choose to trust. Now is the time for businesses connected with the banking, energy and telecommunications sectors to work out not only what they will need to do for their customers, but also what new services they will be able to provide. Businesses in other sectors should also engage with what the implementation of CDR in their sector could mean.
In this Alert we describe:
- What is Open Banking?
- Where is its regulatory framework found?
- To whom does it apply?
- How is the data to be shared?
- When does it start?
- What happens next?
- What should I do?
What is Open Banking?
In Australia, Open Banking is the first part of the Consumer Data Right. The Consumer Data Right is a general right created for consumers to control their data, including who can have it and who can use it. It is to form a single customer-driven data sharing framework across the Australian economy. After banking, more sectors of the economy (including energy and telecommunications sectors) will follow. Background on the Consumer Data Right is summarised in our recent Alert. The implementation of Open Banking as the first stage of Consumer Data Right follows the recommendations of the Australian Government’s Open Banking Review, which emphasised customer control, choice, convenience and confidence.
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Barbara Flick - Full Story
5th August 2019
Suite of content created for the Australian Digital Health Agency - My Health Record Expansion Program. ADHA Propaganda
Producer/Client Director: Sam Weingott
DOP: Geoff Ellis
Sound: Andrew Hogan
Associated Production House: WildBear Entertainment
DOP: Geoff Ellis
Sound: Andrew Hogan
Associated Production House: WildBear Entertainment
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MedicAlert®: more than an ID
Sponsored Content from MedicAlert
AUSTRALIA and New Zealand have among the highest prevalence of allergy rates of high income countries. An ASCIA-Access Economic Report estimated that almost 20% of Australians had experienced at least one allergic disease. Food allergies occur in around 5–10% of children and 2–4% of adults, with life-threatening food allergy rates having doubled in the past 10 years.
The most common triggers of food allergy are eggs, cow’s milk, peanuts, sesame, soy, wheat and seafood. As a health professional, you would have seen many mild to severe allergic reactions in patients. For many diagnosed patients, an avoidance strategy is an essential part of the overall management plan. However, this doesn’t take into account unplanned emergencies.
That’s why MedicAlert is an essential part of any long term management plan.
While the severity of allergy symptoms varies from patient to patient, all allergy symptoms can affect airways, nasal passages and digestive systems. In severe cases, allergies can trigger a life threatening anaphylaxis reaction.
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Comments more than welcome!
David.
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