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This weekly blog is to explore the news around the larger issues around Digital Health, data security, data privacy, AI / ML. technology, social media 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 still dated 6 December, 2018! How pathetic is that for transparency? Secrecy unconstrained!
Note: Appearance here is not to suggest I see any credibility or value in what follows. I will leave it to the reader to decide what is worthwhile and what is not! The point is to let people know what is being said / published that I have come upon.
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https://www.health.gov.au/news/covidsafe-app-an-important-tool-in-fight-against-coronavirus
COVIDSafe app an important tool in fight against coronavirus
An opinion piece by the Australian Government’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Nick Coatsworth.
Date published: 1 July 2020
Media type: Media release
Audience: General public
Contact tracing is not a simple process. It relies on skilled disease detectives being able to work with someone with COVID-19 to collect their known contacts, identify where and how unknown contacts were made and reach out sometimes to dozens of people or more to advise them they may be at risk.
Very early in the pandemic the Australian Government saw the opportunity to use smartphone technology to assist those contact tracers in keeping us safe from COVID-19. The result was the COVIDSafe app, a purpose built tool to augment contact tracing by recording contact with people who also have the app installed on their phone.
To describe the fastest app to be downloaded 5 million times in Australia as a failure is not only misinformed, but unhelpful to public health efforts at a crucial time in our pandemic response. The COVIDSafe app remains an essential part of our response toolkit. More than 20 countries have contacted us to discuss its development and use.
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New guide on using online conferencing technologies securely for healthcare
29 June, 2020: A new guide for healthcare professionals and organisations to ensure connected, secure consultations such as telehealth has been released by the Australian Digital Health Agency and Cyber CX.
In a first for the Agency it has partnered with Cyber CX to deliver this guide to help build inherent security for GPs and other healthcare providers in the face of cyber security threats.
The 'Using Online Conferencing Technologies Securely - A guide for healthcare organisations ‘Connected, secure consultations’ provides advice on important issues including the need for secure configuration, well-implemented encryption, access control and multi-factor authentication (MFA) when conferencing online.
From selecting a suitable consultation space to managing attendees, there are many issue to consider when using online conferencing.
Healthcare professionals need to consider how well a platform will enable their organisation to protect sensitive information and comply with its legislative and professional requirements.
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Facebook Inc says it does not have contractual relationship with Australian users
It said only Facebook Ireland carried on business in Australia when local users' data were collected as part of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
By Campbell Kwan | June 28, 2020 -- 23:32 GMT (09:32 AEST) | Topic: Legal
Facebook on late Friday afternoon argued at Australian Federal Court that the handling of personal data owned by Australian users is only the responsibility of Facebook Ireland, and that the US-based Facebook Inc has no contractual relationship with these users.
The lawsuit, raised by the Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner in March, is in relation to allegations that both the US-based Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland breached Australia's Privacy Act by repeatedly and seriously interfering with the privacy of Australians.
Facebook allegedly disclosed the personal information of over 311,000 Australians to the This Is Your Digital Life app, despite there only being 53 Australians that installed the app. This information was then allegedly given to Cambridge Analytica and used for political profiling purposes.
"Most of those users did not install the app themselves, and their personal information was disclosed via their friends' use of the app," Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said back in March.
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https://www.zdnet.com/article/covidsafe-might-actually-be-useful-after-all/
COVIDSafe might actually be useful after all
New modelling suggests that Australia's troubled contact tracing app could help mitigate the severity of a COVID-19 second wave if problems are fixed and more people use it.
By Stilgherrian for The Full Tilt | June 30, 2020 -- 06:23 GMT (16:23 AEST) | Topic: Innovation
COVIDSafe, Australia's coronavirus contact tracing app, may not be totally useless, according to modelling released on Tuesday by the Sax Institute in Sydney.
The peer-reviewed research shows that it would be "vital" to continue social distancing and large-scale testing to avoid a so-called "second wave" of COVID-19 infections, but also that COVIDSafe "has the potential to be an important adjunct".
"Depending on the level of community uptake of the app, it could have a significant mitigating effect on a second wave of COVID-19 in Australia," they wrote.
The team calibrated their model using actual Australian data up to 16 May 2020. They modelled five scenarios out to December 31, varying the tapering off of social restrictions and testing, and different levels of COVIDSafe use.
"In all five scenarios, the modelling projects a second wave of COVID-19 if the easing of restrictions continues," the researchers wrote. The size and timing of the second wave would depend on how quickly restrictions are lifted.
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https://www.zdnet.com/article/australias-consumer-data-right-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/
Australia's Consumer Data Right: Here's everything you need to know
From July 1, customers can request their bank to share their data for deposit and transaction accounts and credit and debit cards. Here's an in-depth look at the Consumer Data Right.
By Asha Barbaschow | June 30, 2020 -- 22:00 GMT (08:00 AEST) | Topic: Innovation
Australia's Consumer Data Right (CDR) officially launched on Wednesday, with the first tranche, an open banking-like regime, requiring financial services providers to share a customers' data when requested by the customer.
Individual customers of the big four banks -- ANZ Bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB), and Westpac -- can request their bank share their "live" data for deposit and transaction accounts and credit and debit cards with accredited data recipients (ADRs).
"It's a really significant day for banking," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commissioner Sarah Court said. "We've been working hard towards this for a couple of years now, both at the ACCC and with the industry, in particular the four major banks and a select group of potential data recipients."
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/what-patients-think-doctors-social-media-posts
What patients think of doctors' social media posts
Trust in doctors goes down if a patient's story is shared online disrespectfully, study shows
3rd July 2020
Posting a photo of yourself having a glass of wine on social media is okay, but, unsurprisingly, appearing intoxicated or swearing damages patient trust, a survey shows.
More importantly, sharing deidentified medical stories online has the potential to diminish trust, especially if the post is disrespectful.
Almost nine out of 10 patients surveyed reported they would have less trust in their doctor if he or she wrote a disrespectful patient narrative online.
“This makes intuitive sense: Patients might wonder whether their physician might write about them negatively in the future,” the US researchers wrote.
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https://www.facebook.com/MyHealthRec/photos/a.459863404445308/976385339459776/?type=3
My Health Record
03 July, 2020 ADHA Propaganda
With school holidays starting, why not update your family’s details on My Health Record? Add information like emergency contacts, allergies and current medicines – all of which can then be accessed securely, any time, anywhere.
Visit https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/for-parents for more.
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Digital health companies face funding shortfall
Carrie LaFrenz Senior reporter
Jul 2, 2020 – 5.24pm
The biggest issue for early-stage digital health companies will be securing funding in a post-COVID-19 world, according to a new report.
At the same time, digital health technologies will be more widely used and accepted by the public and doctors, providing a runway for increased take-up, the report says.
Bronwyn Le Grice, chief executive and founder of ANDHealth, a non-profit digital health accelerator, believes COVID-19 will change patient and clinician attitudes and create a wave of healthcare policy reform.
"This has the potential to make digital healthcare universally accepted and utilised for the health and wellbeing of all Australians," she told The Australian Financial Review.
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ANDHealth releases the first detailed report on Australia’s digital health industry
Three years in the making, we are proud to bring you our brand new report – Digital Health: The Sleeping Giant of Australia’s Health Technology Industry.
Packed with data and information we’ve collected from the Australian digital health sector since our inception in 2017, this report is the first to comprehensively demonstrate the vibrancy and diversity of the industry. It showcases the potential of the sector to drive Australia’s economy and healthcare system into the future, if properly supported.
The pipeline of companies and technologies outlined in the report demonstrate Australia’s potential to become a global destination for digital health development, commercialisation, clinical trials and implementation, delivering against the triple aim for post-COVID recovery investment: economic growth, healthcare system resilience and high-value manufacturing capabilities.
We are proud to represent the Australian digital health sector, and proud to publish this report. Please click below to download it.
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https://allevents.in/online/webinar-introduction-to-my-health-record/10000109904060002
Webinar: Introduction to My Health Record
Thu Jul 09, 2020 ADHA Propaganda
Webinar:
Introduction to My Health Record
This session
will introduce you to My Health Record. My Health Record is an online platform
allowing healthcare professionals to share information with each other as well
as the patient, to help give a clearer and more complete picture of a person’s
health to aid in their treatment. This session will give you an overview of the
platform, along with the opportunity to access and use My Health Record.
You will need an active email address and a MyGov account.
This is an online webinar and an email with the webinar link will be provided
provided prior to the session.
Tea Tree Gully library has received a grant to deliver this course and is
required to capture attendees details as part of this funding.
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COVID-19: Coordination, collaboration and other lessons from Australia
Dean Koh | 01 Jul 2020
In the seventh episode of the HIMSS APAC Digital Dialogue Series hosted by Dr Charles Alessi, HIMSS Chief Clinical Officer, together with guest speakers Dr Teresa Anderson, Chief Executive, Sydney Local Health District, Dr Zoran Bolevich, Chief Executive, eHealth NSW, Tim Kelsey, Senior Vice President, HIMSS Analytics International and Matt Moran, Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Philips had a discussion on the lessons learnt from Australia’s handling of the COVID-19.
They also spoke about the rising significance of digital health and virtual/remote care in Australia, especially in the preparation to handle upcoming waves of the pandemic.
Coordinated responses and collaboration
“The leadership we have seen across Australia and New South Wales has been extraordinary. That’s community leadership but also within our own health service. Everyday, we’ve seen our Chief Health Officer for the Commonwealth and the Chief Health Officer for New South Wales communicate with the community at large,” said Dr Anderson.
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Thursday, 02 July 2020 11:50
Minor changes in encryption law expected in final draft
The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Dr James Renwick, is likely to have suggested some changes to the encryption law passed by the government in 2018, in his review which was handed down on Monday.
Dr Renwick's term ended with the handing over of the report which can only now be presented to Parliament in August as there are no sittings until then.
The report is expected to inform the deliberations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security which is due to submit its final report on what is officially known as the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018, by 30 September.
Only after that will the government consider any changes to the law that was rushed through Parliament in December 2018.
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Facebook and Google's power under the microscope
By Jonathan Browning and Aoife White
July 2, 2020 — 7.20am
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority called for sweeping new powers to roll back the dominance of Google and Facebook in the online-advertising market, a move designed to push global regulators to be more aggressive against the tech giants.
The watchdog said a new regime should have the ability to respond far more quickly to digital monopolies with powers to require structural changes including potentially forcing Alphabet's Google to split its ad server operations. Its existing powers are insufficient and an entirely new approach is needed, the CMA said.
"What we have found is concerning -– if the market power of these firms goes unchecked, people and businesses will lose out," the CMA's chief executive officer Andrea Coscelli said in a statement on Wednesday (UK time).
The proposals serve as a potential template for the US and the European Union to tackle the unassailable market power of the largest tech firms in digital-advertising markets. In Britain, Google and Facebook account for 80 per cent of all spending on digital advertising, the CMA said.
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https://hnc.org.au/archives/events/my-health-record-in-rural-and-remote-hospital-settings
My Health Record in Rural and Remote Hospital Settings
The Australian Digital Health Agency is holding a ‘My Health Record in Rural and Remote Hospital Settings’ webinar for hospital healthcare professionals and executive personnel. ADHA Propaganda
My Health Record provides healthcare providers with secure online access to their patients’ health information. By the end of 2018, every Australian will have a My Health Record unless they choose not to have one during the three-month opt-out period that will run from 16 July to 15 October 2018.
This webinar addresses:
- The context of the Australian Government’s introduction of My Health Record and opt-out program.
- The key features and benefits of My Health Record in a hospital environment and what information is available.
- The opt-out process, and how to conduct conversations with patients to help them make informed decisions.
- Privacy, medico-legal and security and questions providers may have.
- Where healthcare providers can access further implementation support and training.
Facilitator: Dr Jo Burnand, FRAMCMA
Venue: Webinar
Date/Time: Part day | Thu 5 Jul 2018, 6:00 pm - 6:45 pm (45mins)
Event Organiser: Australian Digital Health Agency
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/practice/there-one-thing-patients-about-my-health-record
There is one thing patients like about My Health Record
Access to immunisation records are proving a hit, says the Australian Digital Health Agency
1st July 2020 ADHA Propaganda
While the COVID-19 pandemic has turned everything upside down, one thing remains unchanged.
The desire to know whether the mass of stats flowing around the My Health Record show doctors and patients are using the system to improve care.
The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), which runs the system, is continuing to release its monthly updates, and the numbers do seem to be getting bigger.
In May this year, GPs uploaded 187,000 documents to the system that were viewed by somebody else, the agency says.
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Same mistakes keep exposing children to online dangers
By Julie Inman Grant
June 30, 2020 — 11.30pm
In 2014, the New Zealand and Australian television presenter Charlotte Dawson tragically took her own life. Dawson, who had been open and public about her mental health struggles, was mercilessly trolled on Twitter. Her stricken friends channelled their grief by starting a petition to the Commonwealth government calling for laws against cyberbullying.
That petition bore fruit a year later. Paul Fletcher – then a parliamentary secretary, and now Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts – pioneered the world’s first online safety regulator, incorporating the first legislated take-down scheme for serious cyberbullying targeting a child. As it approaches its fifth birthday this week, eSafety’s story has been one of rapid growth, just like any other healthy five-year-old.
Along with helping thousands of children have cyberbullying material removed from the internet, we have assisted thousands of Australians to have nude images or intimate videos – shared online without their consent – removed. And we have been able to respond to more than 40,000 reports of online child sexual abuse material by having it taken down from the internet through international, collaborative efforts.
Meanwhile, a potent new form of online harm has emerged that led the government to further boost our powers. During his terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch last year, the perpetrator live-streamed his atrocities on Facebook, as well as posting a vile manifesto online. In response, eSafety can now require websites to remove certain kinds of terrorist content, and even (in any repeat of an online crisis such as occurred last March) block access to sites that host such damaging material.
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https://mforum.com.au/my-health-record-into-the-ether/
My Health Record: Into the ether
James Knox April 6, 2020
The slow crawl towards a nationalised shared electronic health record (EHR) culminated in My Health Record yet there is still much to be done to ensure the system is adopted and used by clinicians and health care consumers alike.
Australia’s eHealth odyssey
The journey of the Australian nationalised shared electronic health record (EHR) began in the last millennium with the establishment of the National Health Information Management Advisory Council (NHIMAC) in 1999 to address barriers to e-health, consequently identifying the need for a shared and nationalised EHR system.
NHIMAC formed the National Electronic Health Records Taskforce which subsequently released the Health Information Network for Australia report in 2000, which proposed the HealthConnect project.
The first stage of HealthConnect began in 2001 with the development of the Better Medication Management System (BMMS), a nationalised electronic medical record that linked prescriptions, prescribers and pharmacies, later rebranded as MediConnect.
Comment: Very long and interesting – makes it clear a long way to go, but fails to really articulate the major structural issues with shared EHRs.
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A look into the future healthcare practice
By Adrian Perillo*
Tuesday, 30 June, 2020
COVID-19 has changed our world. Almost every business and industry is learning to adapt to the changes that this virus has ushered in, and none so more than the healthcare industry, which has been pushed into previously unfamiliar territory. As the number of new cases in Australia start to level out, we can now begin to unpack some of the lasting impacts that the outbreak will have on healthcare practices.
Considerations for maintaining an efficient and thriving healthcare practice post-COVID19
Supporting new models of care
COVID-19 has demonstrated that different models of care have a place in how we manage patients. Not every patient needs to be seen in person, in a practice.
Telehealth was a standout example while we were in lockdown. In addition to enabling remote consultations, it has enabled more frequent, but often shorter follow-up consultations for patients with their primary physicians. Telehealth is also giving healthcare practitioners the ability to hold coordinated conferences with patients’ supporting healthcare professionals — such as their GP, physiotherapist and occupational therapist — all in the same session.
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https://www.nowtolove.com.au/health/body/electronic-prescriptions-in-australia-64342
7 things you probably didn't know about electronic prescriptions (but definitely should)
Everything you need to know about the convenient new way to manage your medication.
Jun 30, 2020 5:20pm
By
Technology is once again making life a lot more convenient thanks to new changes made to Commonwealth legislation regarding prescriptions.
In Australia, electronic prescriptions are now recognised as a legal form to allow medicine supply.
The system will be progressively rolled out across Australia over the next few months, with the Department of Health fast-tracking the implementation to help protect people most at risk from exposure to COVID-19.
An alternative to paper prescriptions, the introduction of electronic prescriptions has seen pharmacies such as Amcal undergo a digital transformation that enables patients and prescribers to access medicines when physical contact is not possible.
So, what exactly does the introduction of electronic prescriptions mean for you and your family? Below, we've rounded up seven facts you should know about electronic prescriptions.
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https://hnc.org.au/archives/events/allied-health-and-my-health-record-general
Allied Health and My Health Record (General)
The Australian Digital Health Agency and Allied Health Professions Australia are co-hosting two webinars on My Health Record and its use by the Allied Health professions. The webinars will be presented by the Agency, AHPA and allied health practitioners who are using My Health Record.
AHPA have advised that this webinar will attract CPD points for most allied health professions. Simply keep a copy of your registration confirmation.
If you would like to confirm eligibility, please check with your professional association.
For more information contact clinicalpartnerships@digitalhealth.gov.au.
RSVP Here by Tue 24 July, 06:00 pm
Venue: Webinar ADHA Propaganda
Date/Time: Part day | Tue 24 Jul 2018, 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm (1h 15m)
Event Organiser: Australian Digital Health Agency and Allied Health Professions Australia
Email: Click here
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Twitter’s anti-woke rival: social media cesspit gets bigger, not better
· The Times
There are some horrors which it is hard for any civilised society to ignore, and in ours one of them is Katie Hopkins.
Having initially gained prominence as a contestant on The Apprentice, in which she stood out by virtue of being able to form complete sentences in almost all circumstances, she has since developed a professional niche as a hatemonger.
Employed for various stints by newspapers and broadcasters, most of which eventually thought better of it, she has since 2017 largely had to publish her hate on Twitter pro bono. But this month it, too, kicked her off. She is now to be found on a newish site called Parler, which bills itself as a “Free Speech Social Network”. Although we shall come to Parler in a minute.
Twitter is as entitled to decide it doesn’t want her tweets as a newspaper would be to decide it doesn’t want her column.
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Author's Opinion
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of iTWire.
Tuesday, 30 June 2020 10:46
Government trying very hard to fix a problem that does not really exist
The Australian Government is attempting to fix a manufactured problem — disinformation on social media — without properly assessing the source to see if vested interests are pushing a case for which there is no basis.
In the process, numerous government departments have been roped in and much jaw is taking place – over a dubious report from the defence industry-funded lobby group Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Having witnessed the success of the fictitious Russiagate scandal in the US — when a whole lot of time and effort were spent chasing alleged Russian spies who were said to have fixed an election which was actually lost due to poor campaigning by Democrat Hillary Clinton — ASPI is now attempting to whip up fear, uncertainty and doubt over an imaginary exercise in Australia.
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https://www.governmentnews.com.au/70-per-cent-dont-trust-government-on-personal-data/
70 per cent don’t trust govt on personal data
29 June, 2020
Seventy per cent of Australians have limited or no trust in the government to safely handle their personal data.
An international survey has found Australians are highly distrustful of government surveillance and data collection, especially in relation to COVID-19.
Cloud software vendor Okta commissioned an online survey of over 12,000 people between the ages of 18 and 75 in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
It found seventy per cent of Australians were uncomfortable with the government handling their data, and it also found Aussies are “shockingly unaware” of how much their data is collected.
“From Cambridge Analytica to the news that Australia’s My Health Record has suffered two potential data breaches, a never-ending list of controversies have shed a light on consumers’ shrinking levels of privacy,” the report, The Cost of Privacy, says.
“Yet our data shows that many consumers are not aware of the routine tracking and data harvesting that takes place daily.”
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Monday, 29 June 2020 10:10
ACMA releases guidance on voluntary misinformation and news quality code
Australia’s telecommunications regulator ACMA has released a position paper outlining its expectations for a voluntary code or codes of practice on misinformation and news quality to be developed by digital platforms.
The position paper —Misinformation and news quality on digital platforms in Australia - A position paper to guide code development—includes a model code framework for consideration, including objectives and outcomes to be achieved for the benefit of Australian users of digital platforms.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority says that according to the University of Canberra’s Digital News Report: Australia 2020, 48% of Australians rely on online news or social media as their main source of news, but 64% of Australians are concerned about what is real or fake on the internet.
“That should rightly be of immense community concern. False and misleading news and information online has the potential to cause serious harm to individuals, communities and society,” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.
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How Australia is hitting back at fake news
China’s political manipulation of social media sites has prompted a swift response from the Morrison government.
By Ben Packham
· From Politics
June 29, 2020
In early 2019, a delegation of senior Australian government officials travelled to Shenzhen, China, where they were permitted into a gleaming, two-towered building in the city’s far west.
The futuristic glass-and-aluminium structure was the recently opened home of tech giant Tencent, the company behind the omnipresent Chinese social media platform WeChat.
Leading the delegation was Australia’s deputy electoral commissioner, Jeff Pope. He was accompanied by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade representatives, and other Australian government agency officials.
The meeting with Tencent’s general counsel and other members of the company’s legal team is believed to have been the first between a Western nation’s electoral authorities and the immensely powerful media company.
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https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2e8b832f-8e4d-4ce2-8665-5d5d394004dd
Telehealth Use Surges Around the World Amid COVID-19
China, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, USA June 25 2020
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have seen a dramatic shift from in-person visits to telehealth services around the globe, unveiling what may be the new normal for providing healthcare services.
Regions around the world have quickly adapted to providing telehealth services as a means to prevent possible exposure to COVID-19 and allow for critical patients to get the in-person care they need. As the world begins the shift into a post-pandemic period, regions continue to develop and advance their telehealth service capabilities, with some global trends emerging. However, countries have approached the expansion in diverse ways, leading to a complex legal and regulatory landscape.
United States
The United States has historically been a leader in the development and implementation of telehealth technologies. This effort has been led in large part by states and commercial enterprises, but since the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has significantly revised its policies to promote and prioritize telehealth technologies. These policies have included a massive increase in the number of patients eligible to obtain services via telehealth and reimbursement support to incentivize healthcare providers.
In the United States, the delivery of healthcare services is largely governed by state law and enforced through state licensing boards. As a result, states are important players in determining what types of telehealth technology are permissible and the scope of an individual’s medical practice. In addition, although telehealth services have long been a cash-only (noninsurance) business, private insurance companies and state Medicaid programs are increasingly providing reimbursement opportunities for telehealth. These opportunities, at least prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, have not been viewed as sufficient to support the widespread adoption of telehealth.
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Editorial
Much-hyped contact-tracing app a terrible failure
June 28, 2020 — 5.23pm
When Australia's $2 million COVIDSafe tracing app was launched just over two months ago, it was met with some trepidation over privacy but also enthusiasm. Within days of its release, millions of people downloaded it onto their smartphones.
It promised to identify users who had been in close proximity with one another for an extended period of time to help in contact tracing, the labour-intensive process of finding every person who may have been exposed to an infected person. The app could save time and possibly lives.
While it initially got the backing from some of Australia's leading technology experts for protection of private data, some obvious technical shortcomings were also identified. The app did not work very effectively running in the background or if a phone was locked.
Testing data provided to the Senate revealed that its effectiveness, particularly on Apple iPhones, was an ongoing issue. In late May, it worked only 25 to 50 per cent of the time in locked iPhone-to-iPhone testing, while on Android phones, there were major problems sharing data with iPhones.
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Telstra Health ready to deliver as it steps out of the shadows
June 29, 2020 — 12.11am
Telstra's foray into the healthcare sector may have slipped below the radar of most investors, but after a close call in 2017 the Telstra Health business is not just alive and kicking but ready to step back into the spotlight.
Led by managing director Mary Foley and the head of Telstra's InfraCo division, Brendon Riley, Telstra Health's journey closely resembles that of a Silicon Valley technology business propelled by an attractive vision and lots of cash but let down by poor execution.
"To be honest we needed to simplify the strategy, get the delivery right and get the underlying economic return right," Riley says.
However, both Foley and Riley are confident the business has put its growing pains behind it and is now ready to make the most of the dramatic acceleration in digital healthcare ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Author's Opinion
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of iTWire.
Sunday, 28 June 2020 18:30
Google sets the record straight on news. Or something to that effect
Search giant Google has offered another clarification, the second since it proudly announced "a new news experience launching later this year", with its vice-president of News, Richard Gingras authoring a fresh blog post on Friday (Saturday Australian time) to either clarify — or add confusion to, depending on how you look at it — the initial announcement by Brad Bender, the company's vice-president of Product Management in the news division.
The first clarification was offered to The Australian newspaper by Google Australia managing director Mel Silva and was related to the fact that Bender's announcement did not mean Google would pay Australian publishers money for using their news snippets in search results. A small variation of Money for nothing and your chicks for free as Dire Straits icon Mark Knopfler sang so many years ago.
Silva was careful to avoid any comment about this when iTWire raised a query with the company; instead, there was a rather hashed response which I have written about here.
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Author's Opinion
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of iTWire.
Sunday, 28 June 2020 11:08
Google keeps Mel Silva under wraps after 'clarification' on news proposal
Google appears to be reluctant to offer comments from its Australia managing director Mel Silva to any other publication after she went on the record with The Australian to clarify that the news initiative announced by the company on Thursday would not be about offering cash to Australian publishers for the use of news snippets in search results.
After Brad Bender, Google's vice-president of Product Management in the news division, issued a blog post on what he described as a "new news experience launching later this year", The Australian, which along with its stablemate in the US, The Wall Street Journal, has been leading the charge to get Google to pay for what it uses, spoke to Mel Silva and quoted her from what was referred to as a briefing (screenshot below).
The Australian's report has Silva saying "however that the agreements would be limited to a new app that Google will launch later next year and won‘t cover news snippets that appear in Google’s Web searches".
iTWire contacted the company on Saturday morning, asking for a statement on this clarification. And I could not have been clearer on what I was asking for:
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https://exchange.telstra.com.au/telstra-health-and-the-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Telstra Health and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic
By Mary Foley June 29, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on how we all think about healthcare. This period has reinforced the drive for digitisation that most healthcare providers are already undertaking, and has dramatically accelerated newer technologies such as telehealth, in-home monitoring and access to information directly by patients. It has also demonstrated the importance of high quality, real-time health information for both clinical and health policy purposes.
Healthcare in Australia has been digitising for decades, but it is a gradual process and paper and faxed records are still commonplace. Most records in general practice, hospitals, aged care and pharmacies are digital, but there are still challenges with shaDigitaring this information efficiently.
During the pandemic, however, there has been an increased focus on the importance of sharing high-quality digital health information, as well as the ability to provide options for the public to access care and advice in a socially distanced world.
At Telstra Health we have been working collaboratively with hospitals and healthcare professionals to help digitise different systems and help them move to a new virtual consultation model.
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Comments more than welcome!
David.
2 comments:
New modelling suggests that Australia's troubled contact tracing app could help mitigate the severity of a COVID-19 second wave if problems are fixed and more people use it.
And we’re off racing. Sure we fail but we learn how to fail a bit better each time
if problems are fixed and more people use it
Rather like - there would be no poverty if poor people had more money
So, it's a total failure.....
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