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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!
It is worth pointing out that in last week ( beginning end July 2020) the ADHA took down the notification regarding the 19+ months since the last minutes notification. Embarrassed I guess – as they should be!
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.digitalhealth.gov.au/about-the-agency/publications/reports/interoperability-reports
Interoperability Reports
A function of the Agency is to contribute to development, monitoring and management of specifications and standards to maximise effective interoperability of public and private sector digital health systems.
Over the past four years, the Agency has commissioned reports in relation to standards and interoperability, with input from consultation from healthcare providers, consumer groups, industry and the standards community. These reports reflect advice from external experts to the Agency. While these reports have shaped the approach and thinking in this area, they do not reflect the Agency’s position. Their publication does not indicate the Agency’s view on, or acceptance of recommendations.
The Agency’s ongoing work on standards and interoperability will continue to be guided by the National Digital Health Strategy and planned engagement with jurisdictions and key stakeholders.
- Standards Development Model v1.1 2020 (PDF, 2.81 MB)
- Strategic Interoperability Framework Appendices v3.0 2017 (PDF, 5.20 MB)
- Strategic Interoperability Framework Summary Report v3.0 2017 (PDF, 632 KB)
- Strategic Interoperability Report Executive Deck v3.0 2017 (PDF, 1.71 MB)
- Strategic Interoperability Report v3.0 2017 (PDF, 4.75 MB)
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https://croakey.org/leading-health-and-medical-experts-sound-the-alarm-over-telehealth-restrictions/
Leading health and medical experts sound the alarm over telehealth restrictions
Melissa Sweet on: July 29, 2020 In: abortion, disabilities, health reform, HIV/AIDS, Indigenous health, public health, rural and remote health, sexual health, telehealth, women's health
Marie McInerney writes:
Hundreds of leading public health, nursing, midwifery and medical experts and organisations have signed an open letter urging the Federal Government to modify new restrictions on telehealth provision.
In an accompanying statement issued yesterday, the Government is warned that the changes “may already be having a devastating impact on sexual and reproductive health during the pandemic”.
Since 20 July, Medicare-subsidised telehealth services, introduced as part of the COVID-19 response, have been wound back to provide access in most cases only when providers “have an existing and continuous relationship with a patient”.
Under the changes, announced just 10 days before taking effect, a “relationship” is defined as the patient having seen the same practitioner for a face-to-face service in the last 12 months, or having seen a doctor at the same practice for a face-to-face service during the same period.
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Digital platforms need to play by the rules
For many Australians, Google and Facebook have become part of their daily lives. More than 17 million Australians use Facebook and 98 per cent of online searches from a mobile device are using Google. For the digital platforms, this has become incredibly lucrative. Australia’s online advertising market is worth almost $9 billion a year. For every $100 spent on online advertising, $47 goes to Google, $24 to Facebook and $29 to the other participants. As the technology has developed so too has the power, wealth and influence of these digital platform but our regulatory framework has not kept up with these changes. As a result, there is now a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses that produce original content and the digital platforms.
This is why the Government tasked the ACCC to undertake a detailed world-leading study over a period of some 18 months to examine the impact of online search engines, social media and digital content aggregators (digital platforms) on competition in the media and advertising services markets.
Their recommendation was for a code to govern the commercial relationships between digital platforms and the Australian news media businesses. A concept paper was issued in May of this year and a draft mandatory code was released today following extensive consultation with the parties.
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New electronic prescriptions to also reduce medication-related hospital admissions
By Helen Carter
Journalist
Electronic prescriptions are being introduced nationwide and will be convenient for patients but they also aim to help reduce Australia’s estimated 250,000 medication-related hospital admissions annually.
Andrew Matthews, Director of the Medicines Safety Program with the Australian Digital Health Agency, which has developed the initiative in conjunction with the Commonwealth Department of Health, said electronic prescriptions were another initiative to improve medicines safety as every year thousands of patients were hospitalised due to medication mishaps and medication-related problems.
E-scripts started to be introduced in Australia for a limited number of General Practitioners and community pharmacists in May 2020.There are two models for e-scripts being introduced and the second version is due to be implemented from the end of September 2020.
About 3500 of the new electronic scripts have been prescribed by GPs and dispensed by pharmacies nationwide so far in defined local areas before they are progressively rolled out nationwide to all GPs and other prescribers and pharmacists. Legislation was approved in Queensland this week so now all states and territories have legalised electronic scripts.
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https://www.facebook.com/MyHealthRec/photos/a.459863404445308/996079420823701/?type=3
My Health Record
Upgrades to the #MyHealthRecord system will take place from 2.00 pm to 9.50 pm Friday 31 July 2020 (AEST).
You can continue to use the system during the upgrade. If you are using a mobile app and lose your connection, please log in again.
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Google, Facebook asked to give insider access to algorithmic changes
By Justin Hendry on Jul 31, 2020 11:31AM
Under Australia's new mandatory media bargaining code.
Digital platforms like Google and Facebook would be forced to notify Australian news organisations of algorithm changes ahead of time under a landmark media bargaining code developed by the Australian competition watchdog.
The draft code of conduct, released for public consultation on Friday, is intended to “address bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms”.
If adopted, it will allow news organisations to bargain, either individually or collectively, with Google and Facebook “over payment for the inclusion of news on their services”, as well as introduce a number of enforceable minimum standards.
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Friday, 31 July 2020 11:25
Digital platforms face $10m fines if no news content deals negotiated
It looks like the days of freeloading for American digital platforms will end when the clock strikes midnight on 31 December. Unless, of course, the likes of Google and Facebook go crying to [US President] Uncle Donald Trump and ask him to give naughty Scott Morrison a rap on the knuckles to stop Australia from charging these two companies almighty fines for their use of Australian news content.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who might have just done enough to filch the title of Man of Steel from John Winston Howard, made it plain on Friday morning that the party was over and that Google and Facebook would have to fork out big fees to traditional news outlets, of face fines of up to 10% of their local turnover which could come to as much as $10 million.
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https://itwire.com/open-sauce/google,-facebook-caught-on-the-hop-as-frydenberg-strikes.html
Author's Opinion
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of iTWire.
Have your say and comment below.
Friday, 31 July 2020 11:59
Google, Facebook caught on the hop as Frydenberg strikes
For once, both Google and Facebook have been neatly shafted by the man who holds the country's purse strings: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
Any time there is a small turn of the screw, a statement about fines and the need to pay for news — in other words to follow the law and not demand a free lunch — both Google and Facebook invariably get wind of it and plant their propaganda in some newspaper or the other the night before.
Most of the time it is that august publication, the Australian Financial Review, that gives these digital platforms yards and yards of hard drive space to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt — yeah, the old FUD — about what the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been asking of them.
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All news or no news for Google, Facebook under new code
Max Mason and Natasha Gillezeau
Jul 31, 2020 – 9.48am
Google and Facebook will be forced to take an all or nothing approach to news content and not discriminate against Australian journalism in draft legislation the competition regulator believes will result in material payments from technology giants to local media.
A negotiate-arbitrate model for the draft code of conduct to regulate the imbalance of bargaining power between Facebook, Google and Australian media companies, will contain a non-discrimination provision to stop the tech duopoly from treating local news different to international news.
"The platforms won't be able to discriminate against media businesses – for any reason really – but based on particularly their participation in the code, so if one does a softer deal than the other, they can't discriminate towards the one who does the softer deal against the one who does the harder deal," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said.
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Tech giants Google and Facebook, Australian media in ‘world first’ mandatory bargaining code
Global tech giants will be forced to pay for news and face fines of up to $10m if they fail to treat Australian media companies fairly, under a new mandatory code unveiled on Friday.
Josh Frydenberg unveiled a mandatory bargaining code that will make digital platforms share key data with news companies, and warn them of any changes to their algorithms.
Google and Facebook will also be forced to negotiate with media companies, after years of pilfering their content for free.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will have the power to issue fines of up to 10 per cent of the tech giants’ revenue, which would amount to billions of dollars, if they break the rules of the code.
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Tech giants' ad revenue overwhelms major Australian media companies
By Fergus Hunter and Zoe Samios
July 31, 2020 — 12.00am
Google and Facebook together scooped up almost $400 million more in Australian advertising revenue than five major domestic media outlets combined last year, underscoring the significant market power to be targeted in a new code of conduct forcing the tech titans to share their revenue.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will unveil a draft code on Friday that seeks to rein in the might of the digital platforms and strengthen Australian media organisations that have lost hundreds of millions in revenue to the US companies.
Analysis of the companies' financial results shows that in 2019, Google's $4.3 billion and Facebook's $674 million of Australian advertising income topped the takings of the country's largest publicly listed media companies.
In that calendar year, Seven West Media's revenue was $1.1 billion, Southern Cross Austereo's was $633 million and Prime Media's was $184 million.
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Google and Facebook face fines and algorithm transparency under new code
By Fergus Hunter and Zoe Samios
July 31, 2020 — 10.50am
Google and Facebook will have three months to agree to revenue-sharing deals with Australian media companies before independent arbitrators intervene under a new landmark code designed to tackle the market power amassed by the US tech giants.
Draft laws unveiled by the Morrison government and competition watchdog on Friday will impose a raft of conditions on the digital platforms, forcing them to compensate news media businesses for using their content and be more transparent about their use of data and algorithms.
The companies will have to provide more detail on the data they collect on users' interactions with news content, come up with a proposal on recognising original content and provide 28 days' notice of changes to algorithms and policies that will affect news content and advertising.
"What we have sought to do with this mandatory code is not protect Australian news media businesses from competition or from disruption that's occurring across this sector," Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Friday.
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https://www.ddwmphn.com.au/upcoming-events/implementing-electronic-prescriptions-in-your-pharmacy
Implementing electronic prescriptions in your pharmacy
Electronic prescriptions is a key priority of the National Digital Health Strategy and offers new prescription format options and convenience for both patients and healthcare providers. This session is designed to discuss pharmacy staff’s role in supporting the roll-out of electronic prescriptions and consumer education considerations. The Australian Digital Health Agency will provide an update on progress to date, detailed resource lists, preparation steps and communications tools to ensure both your patients and pharmacy are ready for electronic prescriptions. There will be plenty of opportunities for Q&A during the session.
When
6:30pm - 8:00pm,
Tuesday 25th August 2020
Where
Webinar
Organiser
Australian
Digital Health Agency
CPD
Points Available?
No
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https://www.afr.com/technology/whinging-risks-drowning-out-big-tech-reform-20200730-p55gvi
Whinging risks drowning out big tech reform
Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon were all unconvincing when confronted by evidence of monopolistic behaviour, but irrelevant arguments about bias took up crucial time.
Paul Smith Technology editor
Jul 30, 2020 – 4.32pm
Four of US tech's big five CEOs will by now be applying the metaphorical ice to the verbal bruises inflicted in a fascinating six-hour grilling by a bipartisan committee of US senators.
The spectacle of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Google's Sundar Pichai and Apple's Tim Cook virtually together to answer questions about monopolistic practices represents a theoretically crucial event in the modern business world, and yet the lingering feeling is that things will just carry on the same when they get back to work tomorrow.
Evidence portrayed in the questioning from a range of senators of differing tech-savvy showed clearly, to all impartial observers, that each of the companies have serious questions to answer and changes to make if they are to genuinely practise the virtuous principles they publicly espouse.
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Improved quality of life within the aged care setting: the case for My Health Record
ADHA Propaganda
Realise the benefits of My Health Record for residents within your facility. Understand your advantage in having accurate and relevant clinical information, to assist in improving quality of life, care coordination and ultimately reduce potential medication misadventures.
Please join the Australian Digital Health Agency and Western Australia Primary Health Alliance for an interactive session and a panel discussion focusing on how digital health tools, such as My Health Record, can support person-centred care, in-line with their wishes and goals of care. We are pleased to have speakers with a range of expertise join us, who will be able to share their experience and insights on this topic.
All healthcare providers and care workers working across primary care and in aged care facilities are welcome to attend this session.
When
7:00pm - 8:00pm,
Wednesday 26th August 2020
Where
Webinar
Organiser
Australian
Digital Health Agency
CPD
Points Available?
No
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Media release - East Arnhem announced as site for Digital Health Communities of Excellence Program
ADHA Propaganda
30 July, 2020: Under a national initiative led by the Australian Digital Health Agency, East Arnhem will become a Community of Excellence for digital health.
The new program is funded through a Commonwealth Government $750 000 commitment over two years from the Australian Digital Health Agency (Agency) and a co-contribution valued at $240 000 over two years from NT Health, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) and Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NT PHN).
The Communities of Excellence program aims to embed digital health capabilities in East Arnhem focused on four key initiatives: My Health Record system, secure messaging, telehealth and medicines safety.
NT Health Chief Executive, Professor Catherine Stoddart, said the digital program would address a number of key health challenges facing residents of the East Arnhem region.
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East Arnhem announced as site for Digital Health Communities of Excellence Program
30 July, 2020 ADHA Propaganda
Under a national initiative led by the Australian Digital Health Agency, East Arnhem will become a Community of Excellence for digital health.
The new program is funded through a Commonwealth Government $750 000 commitment over two years from the Australian Digital Health Agency (Agency) and a co-contribution valued at $240 000 over two years from NT Health, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) and Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NT PHN).
The Communities of Excellence program aims to embed digital health capabilities in East Arnhem focused on four key initiatives: My Health Record system, secure messaging, telehealth and medicines safety.
NT Health Chief Executive, Professor Catherine Stoddart, said the digital program would address a number of key health challenges facing residents of the East Arnhem region.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/what-digital-healths-covid-pivot-really-means/
What digital health’s Covid pivot really means
July 30, 2020
Wild Health asks four of Australia’s leading digital health influencers what changes created by COVID-19 are here to stay, why, and what is likely to be reigned back in by government
REGISTER FOR WEBINAR HERE August 25, 2020
COVID-19 has revealed digital health for what it is. Highly effective and game changing if we just can get out of the way of ourselves. The question now is, to what extent can we stay out of our own way moving forward? How much of the collaboration and pragmatism can be maintained, how and what will have to return to business-as-usual government oversight and regulation?
To some extent, a lot is never going back to the way it was. It’s impossible to imagine the government is not going to persist now in some significant way with telehealth across the system. That cat had to be let out of the bag, and it didn’t cause MBS mayhem. It just became something we should have done a long time ago.
There are other technologies and issues – security and privacy for instance – that COVID-19 has tested and provided insights we were previously afraid to test. A lot of those insights now need to be put into new context by the powers that be.
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ANU finds health crisis improves trust in govt, business to handle data
By Matt Johnston on Jul 30, 2020 12:47PM
Telcos and banks see biggest lift.
Australians have become more trusting of organisations and governments to handle their personal data and privacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research.
A longitudinal study from the Australian National University measured more than 3200 Australians' attitudes toward data privacy and security before and during the health crisis, including attitudes related to the use of the COVIDSafe app.
By asking respondents to rate their trust in how their personal data is handled by governments and other organisations on a scale of one to 10, the researchers found trust had increased in every sector.
"The organisation with the highest level of trust was the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which jumped from 6.42 to 7.10 between 2018 and 2020," study co-author Professor Nicholas Biddle said.
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Facebook fake news spirals out of control
Facebook’s propagation of dangerous misinformation is out of control and the company is making huge profits from it.
That’s a charge that its CEO Mark Zuckerberg couldn’t adequately address at a mammoth four-hour hearing looking at the monopolistic behaviour of tech giants Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple.
The four CEOs faced a grilling at the congressional antitrust hearing early today AEST.
The hearing covered a broad range of issues and all four were vigorously confronted with persistent questioning via video link.
Questions homed in on these companies’ ability to bully, muscle out and destroy their competitors, and make billions through monopolistic practices. They were accused of stealing the intellectual property of fledgling businesses they purported to help.
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Why GPs are queuing up to apply for telehealth jobs
Written by Clifford Fram
Published 21 Jul 2020
Medicare-funded telehealth consults have fast become part of the new normal for GPs, with doctors enjoying the flexibility, safety and earning potential of the new subsidies.
This is evidenced by the rapid growth in telehealth roles being advertised on AusDoc.JOBS and by the correspondingly high number of applicants.
It seems Chief Medical Adviser Professor Michael Kidd was right back in March when he described the new telehealth item numbers as the most significant change in the history of Medicare. By the end of April, there had already been 4.6 million GP telehealth consults, according to data published by the University of Queensland.
The idea is also gaining popularity with patients and telehealth has helped make up for some of the fall-offs in attendance and income during COVID-19, says a NSW Central Coast GP. One of the obvious benefits is reduced exposure to infections, he says.
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https://www.facebook.com/ABCSunshineCoast/photos/a.578179792228798/3219420204771397/?type=3
❌MY HEALTH RECORD EPIC FAIL ❌
A Sunshine Coast GP has labelled the Federal government's My Health Record as an "epic fail."
The national scheme was rolled out last year as a comprehensive way of keeping track of an individual's various interaction with the health care system, including GP and specialist visits, blood tests, prescribed medications.
It means that wherever you are in Australia, a medical professional will be able to access and see your medical records to hopefully make sure you receive the right treatments.
But Sunshine Coast Medical Association President Roger Faint said there have been a number of issues with the system.
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The ACCC is suing Google for misleading millions. But calling it out is easier than fixing it
July 28, 2020 4.38pm AEST
Author
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Academic Lead, UNSW Grand Challenge on Trust, UNSW
Australia’s consumer watchdog is suing Google for allegedly misleading millions of people after it started tracking them on non-Google apps and websites in 2016.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says Google’s pop-up notification about this move didn’t let users make an informed choice about the increased tracking of their activities.
Google uses some of this data in its targeted advertising business. It can also collect sensitive information about us from third-party websites and apps which it may use in its non-advertising businesses.
The ACCC isn’t the first to claim Google hasn’t been straight about how it uses our data, nor is this the first time it has sued Google.
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Trust Exercise: a new podcast explores ‘trust’ from different perspectives
UNSW’s Grand Challenge on Trust reaches a broader audience in fortnightly conversations with national and international thought leaders.
When UNSW’s Grand Challenge on Trust was launched in February, the Academic Lead Dr Katharine Kemp said she was having fascinating interviews with a range of experts as they were planning events and activities.
“We had to cancel those events, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I thought, why should the interviews stop?”
The solution is the Trust Exercise podcast series, Dr Kemp’s fortnightly conversation with national and international thought leaders across industry, government, regulators and academia.
“I speak with some of the great minds who bring different perspectives on trust and do deep work on the issues, but who also know how to explain what they do for a broad audience,” she said.
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Search and annoy: Google’s secret tracking exposed in probe
Google is facing a blockbuster court showdown in coming months, after Australia’s consumer and competition watchdog launched world-first action alleging the tech giant took sensitive user data without proper consent.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission claimed that over a period of years Google combined personal information from users with their browsing activities on non-Google websites, without their knowledge or consent.
The alleged behaviour affects millions of Australians with Google mail and app accounts, and ACCC chair Rod Sims said the company had caused “significant harm” with its privacy practices.
The upcoming Federal Court trial is expected to be closely watched as regulators around the world increasingly crack down on the market power of technology companies.
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White House moves to weaken Twitter, Facebook's legal protections
By Todd Shields
July 28, 2020 — 9.42am
Washington: The Trump administration pressed its offensive against online companies it accuses of censoring conservatives, asking regulators to dilute a decades-old law that social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google say is crucial to them.
The Commerce Department on Monday asked the Federal Communications Commission to write a regulation weakening protections laid out in Section 230, language in a 1996 law that protects online companies from legal liability for users' posts, and for decisions to remove material.
The request was called for in an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in May. Tech trade groups, civil liberties organisations and legal scholars have slammed the executive order, saying that it was unlikely to survive a court challenge.
But the petition renews attention on web companies ahead of an antitrust hearing in Congress on July 29 that is scheduled to include chief executives of Amazon.com, Facebook, Google parent Alphabet and Apple. The hearing concerns competition online, and it may also include discussion of web posting practices.
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https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Media-releases/2020/Clarification-of-reported-data-breach
20 July 2020
Clarification of reported data breach
Today the Department of Health was alerted to a breach of confidential data associated with the use of a third-party pager service.
The Department of Health immediately contacted the vendor and asked that the paging component of its service be ceased until the issue is addressed.
The paging service provider has indicated their services have not been compromised and is working with the telecommunications provider.
Patient confidentiality is of utmost importance to the Department of Health, and it is dismayed that confidential information may have made it into the public domain.
As a result of the breach, the Department has also reviewed its own data systems, and those of Health Support Services (HSS) – the shared service centre for the WA health system.
The Department and HSS can confirm that there has not been a breach of health data sources. These systems remain secure.
ENDS
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Why the pandemic will boost telehealth services across Asia-Pacific
By Jia Jen Low | 27 July, 2020
- The global telehealth market is predicted to reach US$55.6 billion by 2025
- Telehealth services can help advance the delivery of healthcare in Asia-Pacific
As the coronavirus pandemic rages across the globe, overstretched healthcare bounded by social distancing measures is turning towards telehealth services to curb the spread. Telehealth, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is the use of telecommunications and virtual technology to deliver healthcare services out of traditional healthcare facilities.
Telehealth and telemedicine include “videoconferencing, transmission of still images, e-health including patient portals, remote monitoring of vital signs, continuing medical education, and nursing call centers.” The global telehealth market is set to hit US$55.6 billion by 2025, based on MarketsandMarkets.
The potential of telehealth services is tremendous in the Asia-Pacific region as its diverse economies from South Korea to India are looking towards technology-inspired solutions to deliver healthcare services.
For nations such as Singapore, which is at the forefront of telehealth and telemedicine, the pandemic provided a boost in the nation’s efforts to further consolidate its telehealth infrastructure and systems. The nation saw the growth of the telehealth services, especially in the context of the pandemic, where convenience and safety are the primary drivers.
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ACCC takes second swing at Google for allegedly misleading customers
By Matt Johnston on Jul 27, 2020 11:32AM
This time over expanded use of personal data.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has again taken aim at Google for allegedly misleading customers, this time in regards to the search giant’s use of personal data.
The case is the second attempt by the ACCC to take Google to court in nine months after the watchdog claimed in October last year that the company misled users about the way it collects, stores and uses location data.
The ACCC today launched fresh Federal Court proceedings against Google, alleging the web giant misled users to obtain consent to expand its collection and use of personal information to increase its ability to deliver targeted advertising.
“We are taking this action because we consider Google misled Australian consumers about what it planned to do with large amounts of their personal information, including internet activity on websites not connected to Google,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said in a statement.
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Facsimiles, telegrams and cassettes: NSW's outdated language and laws
July 27, 2020 — 12.00am
Artificial intelligence has been used to hunt down out-of-date laws and archaic words still contained in NSW legislation as well as uncovering significant duplication and overlap of many regulations.
A new report commissioned by NSW Treasury found dozens of examples of language more suited to the last millennium are still on the statute books, with some dating back to the horse and cart era.
These include multiple references to cassettes, facsimile machines and even telegrams.
The report, Regulating for NSW’s Future, was produced using an artificial intelligence and data analytics tool, which also showed overlap and duplication was a major unintended burden on business.
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https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2020/29/single-portal-electronic-medical-record-friend-or-foe/
Single portal electronic medical record: friend or foe?
Authored by Joseph Ting
CONTEMPORARY Australian health care is complex, subspecialised and difficult to coordinate. Patients live longer and incur a greater burden of illness and injury.
For example, a typical patient with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus suffering an acute myocardial infarction and gangrenous foot will require single acute episode endocrinology, cardiology and vascular surgical expertise in an acute care hospital.
Multispecialty care at a single hospital requires seamless integration, made possible by the timely awareness of what various clinicians are planning to do, enabled by an electronic medical record (EMR) (here, and here). EMRs are positive innovations that potentially reform medical care to improve life and health outcomes.
An EMR, with clinical management information able to be accessed by all clinicians at the treating hospital, optimises interdependent care. Synchronised care for the abovementioned calamitous threat could include a percutaneous coronary stent followed by surgical foot debridement and diabetes education prior to discharge from the ward.
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http://medicalrepublic.com.au/telehealths-ups-and-downs-for-mental-health-care/32124
27 July 2020
Telehealth’s ups and downs for mental health care
One hundred and forty-four years after the invention of the telephone, that magical technology has at last been fully, officially integrated into our health system.
It may have taken a global pandemic to get telehealth services covered by Medicare for the whole Australian population, but now that it’s here, experts say it could transform approaches to health care, especially mental health care.
“We should have done it 10 years ago but it’s great we’ve done it now,” Professor Ian Hickie, co-director of Health and Policy and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney, tells TMR. “There is an opportunity here for transformative care.
“There have been many, many barriers we have not been able to overcome with traditional clinic-based services so now we have a real opportunity to make progress. It provides contact and flexibility and opportunities that traditional clinic based or real estate-based services don’t. Connecting with people in their own time in their own place in ways that people often prefer.”
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Monday, 27 July 2020 01:19
Internet Australia says flawed Encryption Bill weakens, not protects, Australian's security
The Assistance and Access Bill was passed in late 2018 but despite its nickname "the encryption bill" it promotes insecurity and a dangerous global precedent, says the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. Expecting Parliament to commence a review of the bill today, Internet Australia calls for the INSLM recommendations to be accepted.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security is expected to commence a review of the bill on Monday. The committee was due to meet in early March but this was postponed due to the disruption caused by COVID-19.
Since the legislation's release, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor has published its report recommending significant changes to the law to keep Government powers in check and prevent increased damage to Australian industry.
The INSLM report draws upon submissions to the Government from Internet Australia. “We raised concerns about secrecy, safeguards, the risks of backdoors, and the impact on Australian industry, and they listened. We must be vigilant to ensure well-intentioned measures to assist law-enforcement investigations do not reduce security or privacy for the vast majority of legitimate and law-abiding uses, or retard the ongoing development of future secure and trusted methods of communication," said Dr. Paul Brooks, Chair of Internet Australia.
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https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/6850170/ama-wants-tasmanian-hospital-records-done-digitally/
July 26 2020 - 5:21PM
AMA president Dr Helen McArdle says hospitals can't share information digitally
Sue Bailey
It is vital that outdated paper records in hospitals are replaced so patient information can be shared quickly and digitally especially during COVID-19, the Australian Medical Association says.
Labor Braddon MHA Anita Dow wants the government to bring forward infrastructure spending including the $35 million redevelopment of the Mersey Community Hospital, and establishment of dedicated palliative care beds.
"The government also promised to invest $6 million to build a new ambulance station at Burnie but, to date, there appears to have been no progress on this important project," Ms Dow said.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney said the government was funding health at record levels as well as providing additional funding to deal with the COVID-19 response.
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Australia's COVID-19 response: Digital infrastructure of help but implementation remains a challenge
Australia's ongoing plans to upgrade its health information system helped by the Digital Health Strategy seem even more practical due to the pandemic. But as evident during the pandemic, administrative lapses and the complex matrix of power between state and federal government could tarnish those plans.
COE-EDP | Updated: 25-07-2020 15:45 IST | Created: 25-07-2020 15:45 IST
Reports have claimed Australia's COVIDSafe app hasn't been able to identify any close contacts of infected persons who had not already been found through manual contact tracing. Image Credit: Twitter (@healthgovau)
Australia has been lauded for its efficient response to COVID-19 which has helped the country keep its total cases tally much below even the daily increase levels in some of its developed counterparts. After hitting the daily peak of 460 cases on March 28, Australia had managed to bring down daily cases to below 30 just a month later. Since April 20, daily cases have been below that number albeit a surge in late June which has raised concerns over a second wave reportedly linked to lapses in the state of Victoria.
The country recorded its first COVID-19 case on January 25, less than a month after China had detected early cases of the then-unnamed virus. Australia was quick to ban foreign travelers first from the epicenter Hubei and then from the whole mainland China as cases rose. Australian citizens returning from China were also required to self-isolate for 14 days.
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