Here are a few I have come across the last week or so. Note: Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
General Comment
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Things have come back with a bang this week – with the fun surrounding developing a Vaccine Management / Scheduling / Booking system noticing the complexity. Hard to know who this will all play out.
Otherwise a lot of fun stuff to browse!
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Federal government reveals plans for ‘proof of vaccination’ certificates to be stored and displayed on phone apps
Proving you’ve had the COVID jab could be as simple as tapping your smartphone, under plans being finalised by the federal government.
Kathryn Bermingham
NCA NewsWire
February 7, 20218:19am
In the near future, travel may require digital documentation showing that passengers have been vaccinated or tested for the coronavirus.
Digital “proof of vaccination” certificates will be stored and displayed on phone apps as part of the federal government’s plans for the national coronavirus vaccine rollout.
The Express Plus Medicare app and MyGov accounts will both store digital proof-of-vaccination certificates, while those who require a hard copy will be able to access a printout from vaccine providers and Services Australia offices.
Cabinet approval for the scheme is due in the next two weeks, The Sun-Herald and The Age reported on Sunday.
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Jab and go: Morrison government readies rollout of vaccine certificates
February 7, 2021 — 12.01am
Australians will be able to tap and display COVID-19 “proof of vaccination” certificates on their phones or carry hard copies with them under plans being finalised by the Morrison government ahead of the rollout of vaccines later this month.
The Express Plus Medicare app and Australians’ MyGov accounts will both hold digital proof of vaccination certificates, while vaccine providers and Services Australia offices will be able to print out certificates too.
Down the track, retrieving your vaccination certificate could be as simple as double tapping asmartphone to access the certificate in a digital wallet.
The rollout of the certificates program has gone to the federal cabinet and The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age can reveal detailed discussions were held in the cabinet about the project 10 days ago.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/covid19-vaccinations-gps-wont-need-use-govts-appointment-system
COVID-19 vaccinations: GPs won't need to use the govt's appointment system
Health officials say practices can use their usual channels to book patient appointments
2nd February 2021
GP practices administering COVID-19 vaccinations will not have to use the Federal Government's online appointment system and will be free to book patients as normal, health officials say.
More than 1000 practices applied to join Phase 1B of the national rollout covering the six million Australians who are eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
With TGA approval expected this month, the first doses are scheduled by the end of March for delivery to the practices selected by the government.
Patients were expected to use a 'National Booking System' being developed by the government as a “single point of entry” for the vaccinations.
The government also said last week that GP practices signing up to the rollout would be required to use it.
But it has now clarified that practices will only need to provide the system with their opening hours and contact details — plus a link to their own online booking system if they have one.
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Scott Morrison in talks over vaccine supply as Labor wants booking system details
By Rachel Clun
February 2, 2021 — 6.25pm
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has talked with German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the importance of keeping vaccine supply chains open, as Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed Australia is on schedule to begin rolling out the Pfizer vaccine from the end of the month.
The European Union has given itself the power to block COVID-19 vaccine shipments due to supply shortages. The controls could affect shipments of the Pfizer and international AstraZeneca vaccines Australia is expecting in coming weeks.
“We are on track on current advice, repeated this morning by our officials who have been working with the EU for commencement of Pfizer vaccinations beginning in late February - that’s always subject to shipping and national events,” Mr Hunt said during question time on Tuesday.
In the Prime Minister’s talks with his German counterpart on Monday night, the pair discussed the economic impact of the pandemic and compared vaccine rollout strategies. Australia has a four-phase vaccine rollout plan, which will be delivered by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and community health networks among others.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/from-brain-fart-to-plan-inside-the-doh-covid-booking-system-meeting/
From thought bubble to plan: inside the DoH COVID booking system meeting
February 3, 2021 Jeremy Knibbs
The government’s promise for a National Booking System doesn’t engender a tonne of confidence in the rest of this massive logistics exercise.
The DoH has been making things up as it goes in terms of its promise to deliver a centralised booking system for COVID vaccinations.
If even half of what was discussed yesterday on a national conference call between tech vendors, the MSIA, the DoH, HealthDirect and other interested parties, could be achieved, we would be witness to one of the most agile and pragmatic software solution deliveries by a large commonwealth government department in generations.
In the expression of interest for GPs released on Saturday 25 January, the Department of Health vaguely indicated that practices would need to use a National Booking System that was being developed.
This seemed to defy the logic of using the existing infrastructure of booking engines to do that job. As of Friday last week none of the major booking engines were clear what was going on.
On Monday the DoH released its pharmacist EOI and it had the same message that was given to GPs. Pharmacists “will receive vaccine stock and access to a National Booking System”.
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https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/686072/nsw-health-splurges-7-2m-digital-projects/
NSW Health splurges $7.2M on digital projects
Contracts awarded to Telstra, Orion Health, NGIS Australia and US-based Apptio
NSW Health has awarded a collective $7.2 million across four contracts to Telstra and three other organisations for various digital projects across the agency.
Out of the total figure, Telstra was awarded $2.6 million; $1.5 million went to independent software vendor Orion Health; geospatial technology consultancy NGIS Australia nabbed $1.1 million and the US-based cloud business management software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Apptio received $2 million.
Both Telstra’s and Orion Health’s contracts were related to the state’s Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, which provides health services to those in contact with the NSW criminal justice and forensic mental health systems.
The telco's five-year contract is focused on connecting 47 of the Network sites to eHealth NSW’s Health Wide Area Network (HWAN) and is expected to “enable direct, robust, high-speed network connectivity to NSW Health services and systems,” according to a spokesperson from eHealth NSW.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/racgp-refuses-release-review-last-years-exam-disaster
RACGP refuses to release review on last year's exam disaster
An internal investigation was completed by college staff last year and has now been accepted by the board
1st February 2021
The RACGP has completed an internal review into last year’s aborted online fellowship exams but says it won’t be sharing its findings, for now.
Two college employees with legal, audit and business analysis expertise were tasked with gathering information on what went wrong and interviewing key college staff involved in the exams.
The reviewers, who had no involvement with the exams themselves or provider Genix Ventures, have since delivered a report with 10 recommendations related to project management, contract management and procurement processes.
The General Practice Registrars Australia said it should be shared with trainees and college members.
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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/550549/HealthOne-to-increase-access-for-patients-and-providers.htm
HealthOne to increase access for patients and providers
Thursday, 4 February 2021
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
HealthOne is working to expand access to the shared care record
system by providing an API for accredited patient portal providers and making
it web-based.
HealthOne brings together and electronically stores health information about a
person -including such information as GP records, prescribed and dispensed
medications and test results - and covers everybody living in the South Island.
The records are accessed more than 300,000 times every month by people involved
in a patient’s clinical care, up from around 130,000 in July 2018.
There are more than 27,000 active account holders
for the system and it is accessed via the Connected Health Network, a Ministry of Health
encrypted network for the health sector.
HealthOne programme manager Nigel Kingshott says this means users have to be
able to access that network, which comes at a cost, to be able to view the
shared records.
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Fullerton Health Australia acquires WA-based corporate health provider Capstone Health
Healthcare IT News staff | 02 Feb 2021
Leading healthcare provider Fullerton Health has further strengthened its position in Australia with its recent acquisition of Western Australia (WA) based Capstone Health.
Capstone Health provides specialist medical and emergency services to the energy, mining, and infrastructure industries, and has been acquired by Fullerton Health Australia's remote services division Baseline Group.
The acquisition of Capstone Health sees Fullerton Health Australia continue to build on its national growth plans. The business significantly extends its onsite medical services capabilities, and the addition of the Wembley clinic expands its WA network to 6 dedicated occupational health clinics, 8 primary care clinics, and 4 skin cancer clinics.
ON THE RECORD
Steven Harvey, Managing Director of Fullerton Health Australia, says the management team has been working closely with Capstone Health leading up to the acquisition to ensure a smooth transition.
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100 - What does the future hold for digital health in Australia? Bettina McMahon, AIDH
This episode of Talking HealthTech features Bettina McMahon. Bettina has the most intriguing story that led her to become Interim CEO of the ADHA (Australian Digital Health Agency). In this conversation, we discussed her time at the ADHA, the future of digital health in Australia, as well as, the achievements of women in leadership roles within digital health, and many more things.
Who Is Bettina McMahon
Bettina is Chair Of The Board of The Australasian Institute Of Digital Health, which is Australia's leading professional organisation in health informatics, and digital health. She has held several senior leadership positions, including CEO and executive positions in national digital health organisations, the Australian digital health agency (ADHA), and national e-health transition authority (NeTA). Bettina holds postgraduate qualifications in public policy, applied finance business, and IT.
She began working in the tech field in the late 90s after university, even though her degree was in arts and education. Her job choice was due to her interest in reform. She noted that reform has become integrated with technology over the last twenty years. For the past two decades, Bettina has worked with a range of government agencies on a state government or federal level on major IT programmes that would drive reform. Bettina explained that she naturally found herself in the health sector since it has so much room for improvement with utilising digital and data. Bettina began working at NeTA in 2009, the organisation then transitioned into the ADHA.
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99 – Using data to create the tools to deliver value to healthcare – Tim Kelsey, Pacific Knowledge Systems (PKS)
In this episode we cover: * Tim Kelsey’s background * Digital health in response to COVID-19 globally * Digital health in Australia today * Interoperability in digital health * Possible focus areas for healthtech vendors * The importance of My Health Record * Tim’s new role at Pacific Knowledge Systems (PKS) * The future of digital health
January 31, 2021
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/even-sportsbet-wont-back-the-covid-vaccination-deadline/39944
5 February 2021
Even Sportsbet won’t back the COVID vaccination deadline
Comment COVID-19 Know Cents Vaccination
If you’re keen to offer COVID vaccinations, despite the economics, here’s a bit of detail we hope will help you prepare for an interesting journey
As the week wore on, and more and more confusion started to layer around the COVID vaccination program, TMR decided in a well earned tea break to ring one of our largest betting companies to see if they’d take an exotic bet on whether the government would meet their end of October deadline to vaccinate the entire population.
It was an interesting call.
The very nice man in customer service listened intently to the proposition and the bets we were proposing to take (see end of article) and with what seemed like an excited tone in his voice said he would to run it past management to see.
He put me on hold.
Twenty minutes later he got back and said that, unfortunately – I guess unfortunately because it could have ended up a pretty hot betting market – it was against the law to run a tote on anything to do with the government.
Hmmmmm … sounded a bit convenient. Don’t they take bets on the general election? Maybe they felt that betting on the government doing anything on time, particularly something involving a significant IT component, wouldn’t attract odds good enough to make it a market?
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/what-your-booking-engines-are-developing-for-covid-vaccinations/39946
5 February 2021
What your booking engines are developing for COVID vaccinations
Comment COVID-19 General practice Vaccination
If the federal government is going to meet its October vaccination deadline it’s going to need things to go smoothly with GPs as it is estimated that during the vaccination period practices may need to accommodate up to 30% more appointments at any one time.
One of our largest booking engines, HotDoc, which claims it is used by over 18,000 Australian GPs and over six million patients, has sent TMR the following list of functionality it is building for its practices.
- Eligibility screening of patients during booking to ensure priority patients are seen in line with the government’s phased approach, automatically updated with the latest guidelines.
- Pre and post-appointment communications to patients to clarify on-site protocols, post-vaccine care and adverse reactions reporting.
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Emailed COVID-19 vaccine certificate part of rollout plan, as Australia gets closer to first vaccinations
By medical reporter Sophie Scott and the Specialist Reporting Team's Nick Sas
5th February, 2021
Australians are likely to be told by their GP when it is their turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine and will receive an emailed vaccine certificate after receiving the jab, as more details of Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout are revealed.
Key points:
- The finer details of Australia's vaccine rollout plan are emerging as the country gets closer to first inoculations
- It comes as early modelling suggests 200,000 Australians a day will need to get jabs for the Government to reach its October target
- Despite a huge number expressing interest, some GPs are concerned about the logistics and financial burden of the rollout plan
As the first Australians get set to receive the Pfizer jab later this month, more information is emerging about the operation, which has been described as the largest logistical effort since World War II.
It is understood Australians are likely to get sent the information directly or through their GP when it is their turn to get the COVID vaccine, with a national public health campaign to alert Australians when the rollout moves into its different phases.
Other details in the plan include:
- A national front door booking system so people can book directly with a GP clinic or pharmacy once contacted
- As the rollout is primarily based on age, most people will only need to show their driver's license to show they are eligible
- Healthcare providers will email through a certificate which can be printed out once a person is inoculated
- The medical provider will upload details of who has had a vaccine to the person's Australian Immunisation Register, which records all vaccines given to people in Australia
Authorities will set up a national database and any side effects or adverse events, if they occur, will be made public
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Building a stronger Australian Immunisation Register
Australia’s vaccination system has been strengthened with the passage of new legislation through the Australian Parliament, making it a requirement for all vaccination providers to report life saving vaccinations to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
Media event date: 4 February 2021
Date published: 5 February 2021
Media type: Media release
Audience: General public
Australia’s vaccination system has been strengthened with the passage of new legislation through the Australian Parliament, making it a requirement for all vaccination providers to report life saving vaccinations to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
The Australian Immunisation Register is a whole of life, national immunisation register, which records vaccines given to all people in Australia.
The AIR includes vaccines given under the National Immunisation Program, through school-based programs and privately, such as for seasonal influenza and vaccines required for travel purposes.
Importantly, it will also include COVID-19 vaccinations.
The changes will mean more comprehensive reporting of vaccinations, which over time will help increase vaccination coverage rates and the effectiveness of Australia’s world-leading vaccination programs.
While the Government strongly supports immunisation and invests over $400 million each year in the National Immunisation Program (NIP), vaccination is voluntary in Australia.
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Keeping health care cyber safe
By Adam Sloan, Principal Sales Engineer, BlackBerry Spark
Thursday, 04 February, 2021
Health care is facing a crisis of cybersecurity. To ignore it might prove fatal for trust — for both patients and healthcare professionals. As cyber professionals, we know the pandemic has created enormous opportunity for cybercriminals to target healthcare systems and they are being helped by the current assumption that Australian healthcare organisations don’t need to focus on cybersecurity as a priority.
It is possible to thwart the threat of cyber attackers, but to do so healthcare providers need to acknowledge there is a problem facing their sector.
2020 saw emergency deployments of technology to keep Australians safe and healthy, ranging from contact tracing apps to telehealth services to remote working systems for non-patient-facing staff.
However, what hasn’t been evident is focus on protecting the sector’s vulnerability to cyber attack. We saw in the latest breach report by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) that health was once again the highest reporting sector with 22% of the 518 notified breaches.
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UNSW team prints 'bones' with living cells
Sunday, 31 January, 2021
Scientists from UNSW Sydney have developed a ceramic-based ink that may allow surgeons in the future to 3D print bone parts complete with living cells that could be used to repair damaged bone tissue.
Using a 3D printer that deploys a special ink made up of calcium phosphate, the research team developed a technique called ‘ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions’ (COBICS), which enables the printing of bone-like structures that harden in a matter of minutes when placed in water.
UNSW School of Chemistry researcher Dr Iman Roohani said although 3D printing of bone-mimicking structures is not a new concept, this is the first time such material has been created at room temperature — complete with living cells, and without harsh chemicals or radiation.
“This is a unique technology that can produce structures that closely mimic bone tissue,” he said.
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Service NSW piloting secure data transfer after email compromise
By Justin Hendry on Feb 4, 2021 6:54AM
But email remains core to data sharing with agencies.
Service NSW has begun piloting a series of secure data transfer applications to end its unhealthy reliance on email for sharing sensitive personal information with other government agencies.
But, for now, email remains a main mechanism of transfer, despite the practice being labelled a key factor in last year’s massive email compromise attack in which 736GB of data was exposed.
The data breach, which took place in March 2020, was the result of a malicious phishing campaign that prompted Service NSW employees to enter their credentials into a fake Office 365 login page.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/intelligent-clinical-trials/
Intelligent clinical trials
February 3, 2021 Manuela Callari
Artificial intelligence and data mining advances could help accelerate clinical trials, improve efficiency and reduce costs, but raise privacy concerns.
Clinical trials remain the only way to ensure the safety and efficacy of medical interventions. Yet many medical interventions fail to reach from the regulatory authority.
An analysis of clinical trial data from January 2000 to April 2019 estimated that only around 12% of drug-development trials were completed and resulted in a medical intervention being approved.
Although this trend is changing, the percentage of interventions that navigate all three stages of clinical testing and remains around 30%.
“There are many different ways that a clinical trial can go wrong,” said Professor Wray Buntine, a data scientist at Monash University in Melbourne.
Now, researchers and pharma companies are turning to data mining and AI to reduce clinical trial cycle times, save billions of dollars and expand access to experimental treatments.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/tracking-the-impact-of-telepharmacy-during-covid/
Tracking the Impact of Telepharmacy During COVID
February 3, 2021 Rachel Fieldhouse
Offering telepharmacy and digital prescription services in the pharmacy has been fast-tracked and made permanent in the wake of COVID.
Telehealth and telepharmacy have seen a surge in use and discussion with the arrival of COVID. For pharmacists across the country, it has been a challenge while also accelerating the move to digitised services such as electronic prescriptions.
Since April 2020, pharmacists have been able to perform Home Medicine Reviews (HMR), MedsChecks, Diabetes MedsChecks, and Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMR) via video-conferencing technology or over the phone.
Traditionally, these services are one-on-one consultations between the pharmacist and patient to identify any issues the patient is experiencing while taking medication and ensure that their current medicines are having the desired effect. MedsChecks and Diabetes MedsChecks are typically held at the pharmacy, while HMR and RMMR services involve the pharmacist visiting the patient’s home or the aged care facility they live in.
These changes also included a broadening of the eligibility criteria for telehealth, and the inclusion of two additional follow-up appointments for HMRs and RMMRs.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/digital-mental-health-services-are-here-to-stay/
Digital mental health care is here to stay
February 3, 2021 Professor Nick Titov
While the concept is not a new one, Australia experienced a massive surge in interest and demand for these services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We all recall the intense feelings of isolation, despair, uncertainty, and fear as we watched COVID-19 unfold. It is unsurprising then that so many people went searching online to find information and support.
Here at MindSpot, our online mental health clinic based at Macquarie University, we saw an explosion in the uptake of our services. Any adult in Australia can access our clinically-proven treatments for free – delivered online and by telephone – to help overcome anxiety and depression. Normally, we have 400 people using our services each week. During the peak periods of the COVID-19 lockdowns, this number doubled to 800 people a week.
The spotlight is now firmly on Digital Mental Health Services (DMHS), the unique role they will play in contemporary health systems, and whether they are ready and capable of meeting the community’s needs.
Proving the value of digital mental health services
While demand and delivery of digital and telehealth mental health services has grown globally, information about actual clinical outcomes has been scarce. As one of the world’s first digital mental health services we regularly publish our clinical results and our learnings, to demonstrate accountability and save others from re-inventing the wheel.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/special-interest-gps-should-be-exempt-mbs-telehealth-rules-racgp
Special interest GPs should be exempt from MBS telehealth rules: RACGP
It remains supportive of the MBS restrictions, but says loopholes are warranted for situations where it is 'appropriate' for GPs to treat unknown patients
4th February 2021
By Kemal Atlay
GPs offering advice on abortions or obesity via telehealth should be exempt from Medicare’s 'existing relationship' rule on phone and video consults, the RACGP says.
Introduced in July last year, the rules limit the items to doctors and practices who have seen the patient face-to-face at least once in the previous 12 months.
There are exceptions for homeless patients, infants under 12 months, patients of Aboriginal Medical Services and anyone under mandatory COVID-19 lockdown.
But the RACGP says there are other situations where it is appropriate for a GP to provide care to an unknown patient via telehealth.
It wants the rules eased for GPs with specialised practices in areas such as women’s health, eating disorders, mental health, obesity and LGBTIQ services.
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Call for expression of interest to contribute to “Digital Health: A Workforce Approach 1st edition”
Elsevier has commissioned a new Health Informatics text for Australasia, titled Digital Health, A Workforce Approach 1st edition (working title), to be edited by AIDH fellows – Helen Almond and Carey Mather.
This educational text will focus on enabling students in gaining a comprehensive understanding of digital health. The target audience will be undergraduate, or postgraduate level healthcare professionals, or those professionals upskilling into the field.
Aligned to the National Digital Health Workforce and Education Roadmap and supported by the National Nursing and Midwifery Digital Capabilities Framework (formative to proficient levels); the Digital Health, A Workforce Approach 1st edition will be the first local health informatics title in Australia and New Zealand, reflecting Australasia-specific contexts and supported by evidence-based practice and research.
Digital Health, A Workforce Approach 1st edition will comprise four units: Foundation of Digital Health; Safe, Ethical, and Effective use of Digital Health; Integrated Technologies; and Digital Health Transformation. Each unit will include approximately three chapters. To promote learning, discussion questions, case studies and further reading will be included. Firm details of the contents are yet to be confirmed as the pace of change is rapid.
You may wish to contribute your expertise to the publication and contribute to one or more chapters. If you are interested in being involved and would like to know more details please respond to hkeeoing@gmail.com by Friday 26 February 2021.
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Fresh warnings on Apple iPhone 12 magnets and implants
Heart Rhythm Society demonstrates the interference caused by placing an iPhone 12 close to a cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)
Two Australian cardiac focused bodies have added to international concern about the magnets in iPhone 12 handsets potentially interfering with pacemakers and implanted defibrillators.
Apple has implanted magnets inside iPhone 12 handsets that allow them to attach to external chargers and accessories.
The Heart Foundation and the Australian and New Zealand Cardiac Device Advisory and Complication Committee (ANZCDACC) both called on iPhone 12 users with implants to be wary of how close they carry iPhone 12 to their bodies. Placing it in a top shirt pocket was risky.
Their concern follows research by The Heart Rhythm Society, a specialist body representing medical, allied health, and science professionals from more than 70 countries.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/it-time-step-back-telehealth
Is it time to step back from telehealth?
Gold Coast GP Dr Sonu Haikerwal argues telehealth needs to go on the backburner, for the sake of GPs and patients
5th February 2021
It’s time for GPs to step back from telehealth and encourage face-to-face consultations, to benefit patients and protect their practices’ bottom lines, says Queensland GP Dr Sonu Haikerwal.
The Gold Coast GP stresses telehealth is a welcome initiative, which will continue to play an important role in general practice, for follow-up and quicker consultations.
But nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and with community transmission largely controlled, the priority should be returning to the “norm” of in-person consultations, as circumstances allow.
“Telehealth has got its pluses, I’m not refuting that, but I think we must not kid ourselves to think it is an alternative. It is a complementary service to what we do,” she tells 6minutes.
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05 Feb 2021 10:42 AM AEST –
Emyria wins digital health monitoring grant with UWA
Highlights:
- Emyria’s remote monitoring service - Openly - will provide advanced digital and mental health monitoring as part of successful grant
- Total grant award totals $880,000, of which Emyria expects to receive between $320,000 and $400,000 over 2 years
- Aims of the grant are to boost digital health infrastructure in WA and will involve monitoring the vital signs and mental health of at-risk individuals and confirmed COVID-19 individuals
- Key researchers and collaborators involved include:
- Professor Bruce Robinson - Principal investigator, respiratory physician and scientist with the Institute for Respiratory Health
- Dr Ben Scalley - Head of WA’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre and;
- Professor Sean Hood - Head of clinical psychopharmacology with UWA’s Division of Psychiatry+
Emyria Limited (ASX: EMD) (Emyria or the Company) is pleased to announce that their advanced remote monitoring digital health platform and service - Openly - will play a central role in a recently awarded grant from Western Australia’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund. [1]
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KLAS Research honours InterSystems TrakCare® and HealthShare® Unified Care Record for exceptional work and customer satisfaction
Sydney, Australia, February 4, 2021 – InterSystems, a global leader in information technology platforms for health, business and government applications, today announced that KLAS Research has named the InterSystems TrakCare® unified healthcare information system as the 2021 Best in KLAS award winner in the Asia/Oceania Region for Acute Care EMR, and InterSystems HealthShare® Unified Care Record as a Best in KLAS award winner for Interoperability Platforms.
“Each year, thousands of healthcare professionals across the globe take the time to share their voice with KLAS,” said Adam Gale, President of KLAS Research. They know that sharing their perspective helps vendors to improve and helps their peers make better decisions. These conversations are a constant reminder to me of how necessary accurate, honest and impartial reporting is in the healthcare industry. The Best in KLAS report and the awards it contains set the standard of excellence for software and services firms. Vendors who win the title of “Best in KLAS” should celebrate and remember that providers now accept only the best from their products and services. The Best in KLAS award serves as a signal to provider and payer organisations that they should expect excellence from the winning vendors.”
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Australian Digital Health Agency Podcast
Managing your digital footprint
4 February, 2021
· 15 plays
Australian Digital Health Agency Podcast
· 7 tracks
Follow Australian Digital Health Agency Podcast and others on SoundCloud.
Learn how to protect your identity by effectively managing your digital footprint.
Speakers:
Dr Andrew Rochford (Facilitator), Suzanne Selby (Agency Cyber Security
Professional), Kellie Britnell (Office of the eSafety Commissioner Manager
Education and Training Manager), Dr Jaffly Chen (Clinical Reference Lead,
Junior Medical Officer) and Shane Jackson (Community Pharmacist).
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to Transition to Executive Chairman
· Dow Jones
Amazon.com said chief executive and founder Jeff Bezos will step down and hand over the CEO role to Andy Jassy, who has run the company’s booming cloud-computing business.
The company said that Mr Bezos would transition to executive chairman after the leadership change in the third quarter of 2021.
Mr Bezos said he planned to pivot towards philanthropic work, space and media projects when he steps down, but would “stay engaged” with major initiatives at the company.
“Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming,” Mr. Bezos wrote. “When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.”
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Thursday, 04 February 2021 00:08
Comms Alliance says telco industry welcomes 11.2% drop in customer complaints
Australia's Communications Alliance has "welcomed the announcement by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) that complaints dropped by 11.2% in the most recent quarter."
This quarter’s report follows the TIO’s 2019-2020 Annual Report, published in September, which reflected a third annual decrease in complaints.
Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton said: "Challenges during COVID such as shutdowns of call centres impacted customer experience last year, but this significant drop in complaints – across all service types - reflects the work by telcos to meet these challenges and keep Australians connected."
Telcos are delivering improved customer service while constantly increasing value and offering lower prices, as shown by the ACCC’s 2019-2020 Communications Market report.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-to-stop-taking-new-hfc-orders-for-several-months-560482
NBN Co to stop taking new HFC orders for 'several months'
By Ry Crozier on Feb 1, 2021 11:59AM
Due to challenges sourcing chips for NTDs.
NBN Co will stop taking new orders for hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) services from tomorrow due to a global shortage of chips used in the network termination devices that are installed at customers’ premises.
The network builder said that the pause on HFC sales is expected to last “several months”, though it still had an existing supply to lean on for vulnerable customers or as replacements if faults arise. The pause was first reported by CommsDay.
“We apologise to new customers that may be affected by this global supply chain issue and the anticipated delays,” NBN Co said in an advisory on its website.
“While this issue only affects a small number of potential customers relative to those on HFC, and this decision will not affect other customers connected to the nbn by other technologies, we appreciate that for those customers yet to connect to the nbn HFC network, this is frustrating.”
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Galaxies of stars like to go it alone
When and why a galaxy chooses to form a star has always puzzled astronomers — until now.
A landmark Australian-led survey has determined what makes galaxies produce more stars, showing that they do so when they are separated from other galaxies.
A total of 3068 galaxies were observed through the course of the seven-year project, all to answer a broader question scientists have asked for centuries: why do galaxies look and act the way they do?
“It is not an easy question, but it’s a fundamental question,” said co-author of the research paper Matt Owers, from Macquarie University in Sydney.
“We looked into the universe, and galaxies in various areas looked different depending on where they were. We needed to know why that was.”
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Enjoy!
David.
9 comments:
Re the COVID vaccine
As with most of health, one size does not fit all.
Which means integrating the data in all the systems that will be used by different people for different parts - appointments, follow-ups, "proof of jab" etc.
All I can say is good luck. The government couldn't do it with MyHR, what chance have they with COVID?
A few weeks ago the Australian Immunisation Register didn't rate a mention. Now it is being promoted as the central source for recording COVID immunisations.
This makes a lot of sense provided it is easy for all to access, to update the AIR Record with the vaccine's batch, date, time, location and health provider, and toenquire on the currency of an individual's immunisation status.
the Australian Immunisation Register is being promoted as the central source for recording COVID immunisations.
The name is a bit of a clue.
There is a significant risk in over complicating the recording or vaccinations. Just park all this nonsense about my health record, passports to international travel, stars for those who do and stigmas for those who do not. There are too many things to be worked through in great detail. Overstating is merely going to sow confusion and set expectations that Will be difficult if not impossible to meet.
The primary goal should be to get the population vaccinated for health reasons and manage the spread and effects of COVID-19.
I already see far too many people speaking nonsense and being cheap opportunist on LinkedIn. The same folly they made when indorse got the safety of and security of that COVID tracking app.
Agree Sarah, it is a mammoth task as it is. No need to bold on all these nice to haves.
I have a question.
When it is said that a COVID-19 vaccine has "xx% effectiveness" what does that mean?
Does it mean that only xx% of the people who are vaccinated will develop immunity?
If so, what use is a certificate saying you have been vaccinated if there is a 100-xx% chance you are not immune and might pass the virus on?
If not, what does it mean?
there are 2 different efficacies to think about:
1. the % likelihood of developing covid-19 isease after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
2. the % likelihood you'll become infectious to other people after exposure to the virus
the numbers that are quoted in the range of 67 - 99% are for #1, based on the clinical trials that have been carried out. By and large, the clinical trials didn't do the testing that would answer the second question, so it's presently unknown. There are biological grounds for thinking that you might be immune from covid-19 while still being infectious - nasopharyngeal infection, like the other coronavirii; they are endemic, you get them you spread them, you move on with your life. Preliminary data is that #2 is >0, but we don't know how great yet. indicative numbers are 30-50%. That's probably not enough to make the virus extinct, but it's too early to call.
It's still worth having a certificate even if efficacy is <99%. Note that efficacy is not a single number. It seems to be a sliding scale, where everyone is more resistant, even if they get some evidence of covid-19 disease it's not as bad (again, not yet proven by clinical trial)
Suggest to listen to the ABC cononacast podcast - they cover these details fairly often
A great question Bernard. And what is install for those for whom the vaccine is not effective? How will their rights be protected, and what role will they have in a post-pandemic paranoid era?
Given that this is an experimental vaccine a very important role is to pick up possible adverse events as early as possible! Not sure I would rely on the ABC for information.
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