Tuesday, October 06, 2020

Commentators and Journalists Weigh In On Digital Health And Related Privacy, Safety And Security Matters. Lots Of Interesting Perspectives - October 06, 2020.

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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 were dated 6 December, 2018 and we have seen none since!

It is worth pointing out that it was only in last little while ( beginning end July 2020 ) the ADHA took down the notification regarding the most recent minutes notification. Embarrassed I guess – as they should be! I wonder will the new CEO make a difference?

The new CEO has been in place 1 week – no new minutes obvious yet!

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.zdnet.com/article/digital-pioneer-geoff-huston-apologises-for-bringing-the-internet-to-australia/

Digital pioneer Geoff Huston apologises for bringing the internet to Australia

Huston says the internet is a 'gigantic vanity-reinforcing distorted TikTok selfie' and web security is 'the punchline to some demented sick joke'. But Australia's first Privacy Commissioner thinks he's being optimistic.

By Stilgherrian for The Full Tilt | October 2, 2020 -- 01:54 GMT (11:54 AEST) | Topic: Security

Geoff Huston is an Internet Hall of Fame global connector, an honour which acknowledges his "critical role" in bringing the internet to Australia in the 1990s.

"While the Internet was still in its infancy in the US, he was able to complete the construction of a new and rapidly growing network within a few months," the organisation wrote.

On Thursday, Huston apologised for that.

"The internet is now busted, and to be perfectly frank, it's totally unclear how we can fix it. We can't make it better," said Huston, now chief scientist with the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC).

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," he said.

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https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/news-and-media/events/electronic-prescriptions-follow-qa

Electronic prescriptions follow up Q&A

Details

Webinar

Hosted by : Australian Digital Health Agency

Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - 19:00 to 20:00

Online

Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Register

Due to the number of participants and questions asked in the previous session on 23 September, we are providing another electronic prescriptions Q&A session, which will address common questions raised by healthcare providers, (e.g. workflow changes, consumer resources) and what you need to do to enable your practice/pharmacy for electronic prescriptions. The Australian Digital Health Agency will be available to respond to your questions and provide practical advice around implementation aspects.

All healthcare providers and their staff are welcome to attend this session.

The webinar time will be:

NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS: 7pm - 8pm (AEDT)

QLD: 6pm - 7pm (AEST)

SA: 6.30pm - 7.30pm (ACDT)

NT: 5.30pm - 6.30pm (ACST)

WA: 4pm - 5pm (AWST)

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https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/news-and-media/events/ensuring-compliance-my-health-record-access-policies

Ensuring compliance with My Health Record access policies

Details

Webinar

Hosted by : Australian Digital Health Agency

Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 13:00 to 14:00

Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Register

The Australian Digital Health Agency is pleased to be hosting a session on My Health Record participation requirements and will provide practical advice to implement security and access policies. All healthcare providers and their teams (e.g. Practice Managers, Pharmacy Assistants etc.) are welcome to attend this session.

Key discussion topics include:

  1. Developing and maintaining My Health Record security and access policies
  2. Roles & responsibilities of staff and purpose of regular training
  3. Managing user accounts and configuring your software for appropriate My Health Record access
  4. Handling of privacy breaches and complaints
  5. Relevant patient/client communication on privacy controls

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https://www.intheblack.com/articles/2020/10/01/digital-health-post-pandemic

Digital health: Here to stay post-pandemic?

Strategy Technology 01 Oct 2020

By

Digital health services are on the rise, forcing the medical profession to rethink service delivery and business models.

At a glance

  • The valuation for the global digital health market is expected to exceed US$639.4 billion (A$917 billion) by 2026.
  • In the past, the medical profession has viewed telehealth services as useful in restricted scenarios, but advancements in medical telemetry devices have expanded its potential.
  • A large shift to digital health services could change many aspects of the medical profession, including service delivery, medical training and the screening of patients, but it will also have implications for medical insurance.

Azran Osman-Rani envisages the day when general practitioners (GPs) prescribe a digital app for patients in the same way that they now so commonly prescribe a drug.

The serial entrepreneur is co-founder and CEO of Naluri, a digital therapeutics company in Malaysia that uses behavioural science, data science and digital design to build patients’ mental resilience and target chronic disease.

Osman-Rani believes a coordinated online approach from medical practitioners who address mental health issues while treating conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer is the key to the future of medicine.

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/google-pledges-1bn-to-publishers/news-story/5dd8fcc8f72ba11ea1c89e0d471ed2b9

Australia’s competition watchdog ACCC sees Google’s pledge of $US1bn to publishers as a positive step

David Swan

Chris Griffith

Australia’s competition watchdog says Google’s move to pay publishers in Germany and Brazil to use their content in the new Google News Showcase is a step in the right direction.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Google will pay publishers more than $US1bn ($A1.4bn) over the next three years to license news content for the new service. Details are in a post below.

News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson told the Journal: “We applaud Google’s recognition of a premium for premium journalism and the understanding that the editorial ecosystem has been dysfunctional, verging on dystopian. There are complex negotiations ahead but the principle and the precedent are now established.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is in an advanced stage of devising a code that will require Facebook and Google to negotiate payments with media organisations for using their content. It includes an arbitration process, and there is an expectation of legislation this year.

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https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/google-to-pay-us1b-for-news-but-australia-depends-on-accc-code-20201001-p5618b

Google to pay $US1b for news, but Australia depends on ACCC code

Max Mason Media and marketing editor

Oct 1, 2020 – 10.52pm

Google says it will pay publishers $US1 billion ($1.4 billion) over the next three years to licence content across the globe, but the tech giant has warned the new product's launch in Australia will depend on an Australian government plan to force it to pay for journalism on its platform.

Sundar Pichar, chief executive of Google and its parent company Alphabet, announced the News Showcase investing in a blog post on Thursday night (AEST) and the search and display advertising giant facing increasing scrutiny from governments and regulators across the world about paying for content.

"I’m proud to announce Google is building on our long-term support with an initial $US1 billion investment in partnerships with news publishers and the future of news," Mr Pichai wrote.

"This financial commitment—our biggest to date—will pay publishers to create and curate high-quality content for a different kind of online news experience."

Mr Pichai said the News Showcase product builds upon a number of licencing deals it has already signed with nearly 200 publishers, including in Australia, UK, German, Brazil, Canada and Argentina.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/govt-fails-to-deliver-identity-review-after-two-years-554192

Govt fails to deliver identity review after two years

By Justin Hendry on Oct 2, 2020 6:55AM

As identity crime climbs $1.1bn.

The federal government is sitting on a major review it commissioned two years ago to explore better ways to protect and manage the identity information of Australians.

The review of national arrangements for the protection and management of identity information was launched in October 2018 to inform the government’s next identity strategy.

Led by former Attorney-General’s Department secretary Roger Wilkins, it was to determine how to strengthen the government’s protection and management of identity information.

One focus area was how identity documents and credentials that are “most commonly relied upon as evidence of a person’s identity” are issued, used and managed.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/google-to-pay-publishers-us1bn-over-three-years-for-their-news-554215

Google to pay publishers US$1bn over three years for their news

By Foo Yun Chee on Oct 2, 2020 6:53AM

Launches Google News Showcase.

Alphabet's Google plans to pay US$1 billion to publishers globally for their news over the next three years, its CEO said on Thursday, a step that could help it win over a powerful group amid heightened regulatory scrutiny worldwide.

News publishers have long fought the world's most popular internet search engine for compensation for using their content, with European media groups leading the charge.

CEO Sundar Pichai said the new product called Google News Showcase will launch first in Germany, where it has signed up German newspapers including Der Spiegel, Stern, Die Zeit, and in Brazil with Folha de S.Paulo, Band and Infobae.

It will be rolled out in Belgium, India, the Netherlands and other countries. About 200 publishers in Argentina, Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada and Germany have signed up to the product.

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https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/why-is-the-accc-going-soft-on-nbn-co-20200928-p55zsv

Why is the ACCC going soft on NBN Co?

NBN Co is at the tail end of a three-year long inquiry into its access pricing and service standards. It would seem it has convinced the competition regulator to allow it to call the shots.

Oct 1, 2020 – 8.50am

A three-year investigation into NBN Co's access pricing and wholesale service standards looks like it will end with a cosy agreement between the competition regulator and the government-owned monopoly.

Masterful negotiation by NBN Co has seen the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) back away from its initial tough approach to regulating NBN Co.

Instead of being hit with a final access determination (FAD), which would have given the ACCC the power to set NBN Co's pricing and service standards, NBN Co is being allowed to set its own terms and conditions.

This has caused consternation in some quarters of the telecommunications sector.

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https://soundcloud.com/adhapodcast/electronic-prescriptions-a-guide-for-dispensers

Electronic Prescriptions - A guide for dispensers

Hear from digital health experts and leading health professionals currently using electronic prescriptions and find out how to get your pharmacy ready.

Speakers

Dr Andrew Rochford (Facilitator), Andrew Matthews (Agency Program Director Medicines Safety), Dr Amanda Seeto (Pharmacy owner, Pharmacy Guild of Australia Queensland Branch Committee member) and Andrew Robinson (Pharmacy owner).

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http://medicalrepublic.com.au/digital-health-can-strengthen-covid-vaccination-program/35018

30 September 2020

COVID vaccine safety will need government digital monitoring

Posted by Dr Rob Hosking, Dr Nathan Pinskier & Dr Oliver Frank

The impending immunisation program for COVID-19 is an opportunity to capitalise on digital health infrastructure Australia has put in place over recent years.

Digital health solutions have not been included early in the pandemic, and opportunities have been missed including communication of COVID-19 test results to patients and their GPs, the management of hotel quarantine, and contact tracing in Victoria.

It is highly likely there will be a mass immunisation program in Australia for COVID-19 some time in 2021. How this is managed and recorded will have huge consequences for all of us.

Obviously, the effectiveness of the vaccine(s) will be paramount, as will the proportion of the population that completes the schedule (if they require multiple doses or boosters).

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https://hospitalhealth.com.au/content/technology/article/robots-the-new-consumer-truth-serum-1282023389

Robots: the new consumer truth serum

By Tomas Haffenden, Futurist at VERSA
Monday, 28 September, 2020

Honesty is the currency of human interaction, with those caught bending the truth living in fear of punishment, both criminally and socially. Yet anyone who has sat waiting for a friend or partner outside of a changing room appreciates that telling the truth is far from straightforward. As the curtain twitches, you brace yourself for the hardest question known to humanity — “So, what do you think?”

But it would seem we are not always trapped by our social conventions. There is an increasing number of conversations happening that only contain the stark and unfiltered truth. An honesty of unheard purity where the answer to “what do you think?” is truthfully “you look like a hot mess”. It seems we don’t lie to our robots.

The human inability (perhaps unwillingness is a better word) to tell the truth is closely linked to how we form social groups. Degrees of truth are tightly controlled and allocated based on trust and closeness to the person we are interacting with. Ask yourself, are you ever 100% open, even with your closest confidant?

Let’s be honest — we are all guilty of the odd white lie, commonly told to grease the wheels of interaction or to protect our own or someone else’s blushes. Yet this inability to tell the truth, whether stimulated by shame, embarrassment or good intentions, is a significant challenge to brands and medical professions, for whom the only way in is what we are willing to let out.

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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/lessons-future-digital-health-implementation-australia

Lessons for future digital health implementation in Australia

Roy Chiang | 28 Sep 2020

In the final episode of HIMSS Australia Digital Dialogue Series hosted by Tim Kelsey Senior Vice President of HIMSS Analytics International and guest speakers- Dr Mukesh Haikerwal AC (GP in Melbourne, Former Chair of Council of the World Medical Association and Federal President of the Australian Medical Association,AC) , Bettina McMahon (Interim Chief Executive Officer at Australian Digital Health Agency), Leanne Wells (Chief Executive Officer, Consumers Health Forum of Australia) and Penny Shakespeare (Deputy Secretary, Health Financing, Australian Government Department of Health) reveal more about how COVID-19 has served as an impetus in driving the digital health agenda across Australia, as well as possible learning points to take note of to ensure the continued success of telehealth within the country in future.

Accelerating digital health opportunities in Australia

“COVID has given us the opportunity to accelerate the work that we’ve had underway for some years on a slightly lower trajectory,” began Shakespeare. The global epidemic paved the way for the swift development of news models of healthcare conceived by relevant stakeholders as well as medical advisors which were aimed at effectively dealing with infection control and to deliver care. These included models of care revolving around primary care in hospitals, aged care for at risk individuals as well as those who were faced with chronic illnesses. The realization of the importance of telehealth as a critical part of the primary model of healthcare also became more pertinent.

Health care providers worked with public health authorities closely to implement better health protection policies as well as manage models of care. Funding for healthcare services also received a huge boost from the government. There are now 30 million healthcare services funded under Medicare since March as compared to 394,000 in the most recent financial year which sparked a massive expansion in healthcare.

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/budget-2020-scott-morrisons-7bn-digital-fasttrack-push/news-story/9ab6480605b8a00031c1fb56e9b7b495

Budget 2020: Scott Morrison’s $7bn digital fast-track push

Geoff Chambers

Scott Morrison will spend more than $7bn fast-tracking Australia’s digital economy, speeding up broadband and beefing up cyber security to streamline business operations and increase connectivity and economic output.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday will announce an $800m digital business plan, accelerating the rollout of 5G and boosting digital capacity across the agriculture, fin­ancial services, manufacturing, mining and logistics sectors.

The plan will work in tandem with the government’s $4.5bn NBN upgrade and $1.67bn cyber security strategy and prioritise jobs growth through modernising business operations, slashing red tape and improving private sector contact with government departments and agencies.

Keeping up with rapid changes in the digital landscape, enhanced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government will move to change the Corporations Act allowing virtual meetings and execution of documents.

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https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/internet/jobmaker-digital-business-plan-aims-for-better-internet/news-story/8215ecf7350878976f306c1b399fce24

JobMaker Digital Business Plan aims for better internet

Funding to accelerate 5G, and more support for small to medium enterprises to expand their digital profiles are part of the JobMaker Digital Business Plan.

Emily Cosenza

NCA NewsWire

September 28, 202010:30pm

Funding for 5G trials and testbeds are on offer for Australia’s private sector under the Federal Government’s new JobMaker Digital Business Plan.

The plan, announced on Monday, aims to provide training, develop systems and establish needed infrastructure to support a greater adoption of new technologies for businesses and consumers.

By doing so, the Federal Government believes business costs will fall, consumer choice will be enhanced, and businesses will have greater flexibility interacting with customers and shareholders.

It will invest almost $800 million in new initiatives, including $22.1 million in grant funding to support the private sector to invest in 5G trials and testbeds.

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https://www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/winners-and-losers-from-the-nbn-fibre-push-20200925-p55zcf

Winners and losers from the NBN fibre push

What does the move mean for telcos and other companies that have built businesses and made investments based on the current state of play?

Elio D'Amato Contributor

Sep 29, 2020 – 12.00am

The federal government’s recent decision to support the ailing national broadband network with an additional $4.5 billion to lay fibre-to-the-premises on demand has become the subject of political football.

Political jousting aside, observers knew the current infrastructure was never going to meet the future needs of the community and a more robust solution was required, and NBN 2.0 is seen as a necessary step to bridge that gap.

But what does this mean for the current incumbents – companies that have built businesses and made investments based on the current state of play and sought to profit from the original multiple technology matrix plan and its inadequacies?

While time will tell how a “back to the future” NBN 2.0 will affect these businesses, we take a look at those most likely to be discussing this issue at their next board meeting.

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https://www.ddwmphn.com.au/upcoming-events/acute-care-nurses-navigating-my-health-record-q-a-with-experts

Acute care nurses navigating My Health Record: Q&A with experts

ADHA Propaganda

Over two billion documents have been uploaded to the national My Health Record system and with increasing clinical content, nursing staff may have access to more current and up to date information than ever before about their patients.

Come and join us for a panel discussion attended by representatives from the Australian College of Nursing, Australian Digital Health Agency and a Nurse who has incorporated My Health Record into their daily workflow. There will be opportunity to ask questions throughout the session.

This education is CPD accredited and delivered in collaboration between the Australian College of Nursing and the Australian Digital Health Agency.

Wed 21 Oct

When 11:30am - 12:30pm,
Wednesday 21st October 2020

Where Webinar

Organiser Australian Digital Health Agency

CPD Points Available? No

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https://www.afr.com/technology/conrovia-here-we-come-time-to-look-forward-after-nbn-backflip-20200927-p55zpa

Conrovia here we come, time to look forward after NBN backflip

Ed Husic Contributor

Sep 28, 2020 – 3.00pm

Next stop: Conrovia!

It was Malcolm Turnbull who proudly put Conrovia on the political map. However, it wasn’t a town or a place.

It was the Coalition’s attempt at humour, a label to apply to the former Labor Government’s plan – spearheaded by then Communications Minister Stephen Conroy (get it: Conrovia) – to deliver fibre to the premises, reaching 93 per cent of homes.

“Conrovia” was used to scoff at the NBN FTTP ambition; a fantasy so crazy, so expensive, and so impossible to deliver ... a thing to be mercilessly ridiculed by the Coalition in parliament and by their backers in the media.

Spoiler alert – it wasn’t funny. And judging by last week’s Coalition backflip to deliver fibre to the premise (FTTP), it looks like it wasn’t so crazy either.

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https://hospitalhealth.com.au/content/facility-admin/article/the-state-of-safety-and-security-in-australia-s-hospitals-146273429

The state of safety and security in Australia's hospitals

By James Boddam-Whetham*
Friday, 25 September, 2020

On 12 January 2016, a 39-year-old patient in a psychotic mental state brought on by methamphetamine use held a pair of scissors to a doctor’s throat at a Sydney hospital, threatening, “I’m going to kill you”. A constable managed to make it to the scene but, following a struggle, the patient gained control of the constable’s service weapon, shooting the police officer and a hospital security guard.

Far from an isolated occurrence, the violent incident is part of a disturbing pattern for the at-risk healthcare sector. Across the country, workers in care settings face a significant risk of patient-initiated, occupational violence, whether they’re operating in emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, community health clinics, social service offices or people’s homes.

The security issue has been at crisis levels for some time now. Since 2009–2010, the sector has consistently logged the highest number of serious workers compensation claims, with disproportionately high rates of homicide and other violent incidents.1 In fact, the Australian Institute of Criminology identified nurses as the occupational group most at risk of workplace violence.2

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Comments more than welcome!

David.

 

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