Quote Of The Year

Timeless Quotes - Sadly The Late Paul Shetler - "Its not Your Health Record it's a Government Record Of Your Health Information"

or

H. L. Mencken - "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Monday, July 26, 2021

Weekly Australian Health IT Links – 26 July, 2021.

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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Rather a nothing week it seems in terms of BIG news but lots of innovation going on that will lead to good things later we hope!

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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/fed-govt-backs-away-making-electronic-charts-mandatory-aged-care

Fed Govt backs away from making electronic charts mandatory in aged care

The RACGP says the continued reliance on paper-based systems is one reason for the struggle to attract GPs

19th July 2021

By Antony Scholefield

Aged care facilities should be legally required to adopt electronic medication charts as a condition of operating, says the chair of the RACGP's aged care specific interests group.

The Federal Government is still resisting the move to address one of biggest bugbears for GPs, despite it being a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Instead, under a $45 million budget pledge, it is offering nursing homes cash to "defray" the cost of upgrading to electronic systems.

It added that, while the adoption of electronic charts was encouraged, their use would remain optional in the foreseeable future.

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https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/apac/telstra-health-eyes-majority-stake-powerhealth

Telstra Health eyes majority stake in PowerHealth

The investment will enable the company to expand its international footprint.

By Adam Ang

July 19, 2021 03:15 am

Today, Melbourne-headquartered Telstra Health, the digital health arm of Telstra Corporation, announced that it has entered into a deal to buy a majority stake in PowerHealth, a healthcare software solutions provider based in Adelaide.

A news report noted that the deal is for about A$150 million ($110.7 million).

Established in 1995, PowerHealth specialises in billing, costing and revenue solutions, budgeting, safety and quality, decision support and application integration solutions for hospitals and other healthcare businesses.

The company provides software that supports activity-based funding and is used in over 20 countries.

Aside from Australia and Canada, PowerHealth also operates in Ireland and the Middle East. Its biggest customers are the province of Quebec, the Hong Kong Government’s Hospital Authority and the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia, among others.

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/telstra-buys-majority-share-in-adelaides-powerhealth-for-about-150m/news-story/b52376af762ba37a3c1b6962cbe9fbf0

Telstra buys majority share in Adelaide’s PowerHealth for $95m

Valerina Changarathil

5:30AM July 19, 2021

Telco giant Telstra is paying $95m for a majority stake in Adelaide-based PowerHealth, a global healthcare software solutions business founded by Patrick Power.

Telstra’s e-health subsidiary, Telstra Health, has signed a deal with Mr Power to buy 70 per cent of the business, valuing the company at $135m.

PowerHealth’s software supports public and private hospitals and healthcare providers in more than 20 countries, including much of Europe, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.

It comes after months of negotiations since Mr Power first initiated an auction process with select suitors last year.

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https://www.theweeklysource.com.au/telstra-health-pays-95m-for-majority-stake-in-powerhealth-and-employs-its-creator/

Telstra Health pays $95M for majority stake in PowerHealth and employs its creator

Published on July 22, 2021

Telstra Health, which provides software products, solutions and platforms for the aged care sector, is to pay $95 million for 70% of Adelaide-based PowerHealth, a global leader in healthcare and hospital software solutions.

It is a specialist provider in billing, costing and revenue solutions, budgeting, safety and quality, decision support and application integration solutions.

Founded by Patrick Power in 1995, PowerHealth’s software supports public and private hospitals and healthcare providers in more than 20 countries, with its largest customers the Province of Quebec, the New Zealand Government, Hong Kong Government’s Hospital Authority, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health, the majority of Australian hospitals and Local Health Districts or Health and Hospital Service. 

Telstra Health’s Managing Director, Professor Mary Foley AM, said in a statement, partnering with PowerHealth would enable Telstra Health to provide a more connected and improved digital health experience for the health and aged care providers it supports.

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21 Jul 2021 8:10 AM AEST

Safety and standards dashboard facilitate quality care and informed decision making among clinicians                    

A $2.1 million project to collect patient data in one place aims to better equip healthcare workers when making critical and life-saving clinical decisions.

The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) project will deliver live streams of clinical analytics and reporting information in the form of online dashboards. The dashboards will drive quality improvement, safety assurance and more efficient accreditation in a hospital setting. The data will be drawn from hospital electronic medical records (EMR) and the Victorian Health Incident Management System (VHIMS).

The project will be led by Monash University Faculty of Information Technology and Eastern Health Clinical School, The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, Eastern Health and the Department of Health (Victoria) are collaborators.

Prof David Plunkett, Chief Executive of Eastern Health, said the project is the first of its kind in Victoria, with exciting potential for scalability.  

“This project is led by our Executive Director of Information, Technology and Capital Projects, Zoltan Kokai. It will display streamed data on dashboards extracted from Eastern Health hospital systems,” Professor Plunkett said.

“Importantly, it will bring together the areas of clinical practice, technology and the very important requirement of accreditation, to proactively improve the quality and safety of how care is provided.” 

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https://www.itwire.com/health/%242-1m-project-to-better-equip-healthcare-workers-for-making-critical,-life-saving-decisions.html

Wednesday, 21 July 2021 11:29

$2.1m project to better equip healthcare workers for making critical, life-saving decisions

By Staff Writer

A $2.1 million project by the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) to collect patient data in one place is aimed at better equipping healthcare workers when making critical and life-saving clinical decisions.

The project will be led by Monash University Faculty of Information Technology and Eastern Health Clinical School, with The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, Eastern Health and the Department of Health (Victoria) as collaborators.

The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) project will deliver live streams of clinical analytics and reporting information in the form of online dashboards.

The CRC says the dashboards will drive quality improvement, safety assurance and more efficient accreditation in a hospital setting - with the data drawn from hospital electronic medical records (EMR) and the Victorian Health Incident Management System (VHIMS).

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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/apac/new-project-implement-digital-safety-and-standards-dashboards-victoria

New project to implement digital safety and standards dashboards in Victoria

The dashboard project will deliver a live stream of patient data to aid in clinicians' decision making and accreditation.

By Adam Ang

July 22, 2021 02:40 AM

The Australian government-backed Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre has announced a A$2.1 million ($1.5 million) project to deliver real-time patient data through dashboards. 

The Faculty of Information Technology and Eastern Health Clinical School, both institutions under Monash University, will lead the project. The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, Eastern Health and Victoria's Department of Health will serve as collaborators.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Based on a media release, the four-year dashboards project, a "first of its kind in Victoria", will provide live feeds of clinical analytics and reporting information. It will draw data from Eastern Health's electronic medical records and the Victorian Health Incident Management System.

Chris Bain, a professor of Practice in Digital Health at Monash University, said the dashboards will "combine data engineering techniques with user-friendly visualisations" to display key information from large datasets. 

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21 Jul 2021 10:48 AM AEST - 

Bupa Dental Trials HITIQ Technology with Junior Rugby

·         Bupa Dental trials HITIQ concussion management technology in an Australian first Junior Rugby Pilot Project;

·         The initiative is aiming to revolutionise junior sport safety by enhancing concussion management protocols that can lead to better long term health outcomes for young players;

·         The technology has been deployed in a pilot including 100 junior players from the Wests Bulldogs Rugby Club who have been fitted with HITIQ mouthguards; and

·         The trial will conclude later this year where a review will determine the potential to expand the technology offering across the Bupa Dental clinicnetwork, which represents Australia’s largest dental network.

Transformative, concussion management technology company, HITIQ Limited (ASX:HIQ) (HITIQ or the Company),has entered into an arrangement with Bupa Dental for a trial of its concussion management technology with junior rugby players. This is the first time hi-tech mouthguard technology has been made available to junior Rugby players in Australia to monitor head impacts,with the aim of enhancing grassroots concussion safety protocols.

Concussion is a growing concern at professional rugby level with one concussion being recorded every 1.6 games according to recent reports1. The HITIQ mouthguards, currently used by professional AFL, Rugby and NRL players, is embedded with force measuring sensors that record and interpret head impacts and the accumulation of force from hits sustained during a game.
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Media release

Delivering new prevention and treatment approaches for heart disease with digital health

Digital health will take transformative steps  by supporting new clinical trials to address secondary prevention of Australia’s deadliest disease following an agreement between Australian digital health company Cardihab and medical research organisation, the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.

The five-year agreement between Cardihab and the Baker Institute will involve several clinical trials and cohort studies that provide evidence of the effectiveness of digital approaches to cardiovascular disease management, rehabilitation, prevention and treatment.

Cardihab is a landmark Australian digital health platform that facilitates the virtual delivery of cardiac rehabilitation and chronic disease management programs for patients recovering from cardiac events and living with heart disease.

Patients use Cardihab apps to complete their cardiac rehabilitation program virtually while under clinical supervision by qualified healthcare professionals.

Cardihab Chief Executive Officer Helen Souris said it was the first widespread research program to be conducted in Australia using broader applications of Cardihab’s digital health platform.

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23 Jul 2021 5:00 AM AEST

Media release 

23 July 2021

ImpaQt Group takes stake in digital health platform Cardihab to help manage Australia’s deadliest disease

Social impact investment consortium ImpaQt Group has invested in Australian digital health company Cardihab to help expand solutions for the prevention and treatment of Australia’s biggest killer – cardiovascular disease.

Cardihab is a landmark Australian digital health company with a head office based in Queensland, that facilitates the virtual delivery of cardiac rehabilitation and chronic disease management programs for patients recovering from cardiac events and living with heart disease.

Patients use the Cardihab apps to complete their cardiac rehabilitation program from home virtually while under clinical supervision by qualified healthcare professionals.

ImpaQt Group Managing Director Lisa Siganto said that the opportunity to invest early in Cardihab was overwhelmingly compelling.

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https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/australian-vaccination-passport-coming-to-apple-wallet

Australian ‘vaccination passport’ coming to Apple Wallet

The smartphone app will store COVID-19 test results and vaccination records as Australia gears up to reopen its borders.

By David Flynn, July 22 2021

Australians could be carrying a internationally-recognised 'vaccination passport' on their smartphones within months, with the potential to unlock quarantine-free travel to Covid-safe countries.

"We already have vaccine certificates (in Australia)," Prime Minister Scott Morrison remarked at a press conference yesterday, "and this month we expect them to be in a form that can be dropped into Apple Wallets, things of that nature."

"Later in the year, about October we estimate, we will have a vaccination certificate that will be able to be... internationally recognised to facilitate when people are moving out of the country and into the country, being able to recognise others' certificates."

"That is something that has been a common feature of the conversations I have been having with other leaders."

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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/australian-pm-says-covid-19-vaccine-certificates-coming-apple-wallets

Australian PM says COVID-19 vaccine certificates coming to Apple Wallets

Adam Ang | 23 Jul 2021

Australia's COVID-19 vaccine certificates will soon be available on Apple Wallets. In Wednesday's press conference, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he expects the country's vaccine certificates to come into the wallet app "this month".

He also said that later in the year, or around October, the COVID-19 digital vaccine certificates will be recognised internationally, enabling travels to and from the country.

Australian citizens who have completed their Pfizer or AstraZeneca jabs will automatically get their digital certificates via their accounts in the Express Plus Medicare app. The certificate can also be accessed in their MyGov account's immunisation history once they can link it to Medicare. Another way to get their certificates is by requesting an immunisation history statement from their vaccine provider or through the Australian Immunisation Register.

THE LARGER TREND

The federal government is currently seeking a developer for its smartphone app project that can store COVID-19 vaccine certificates and test results.

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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/573998/HealthOne-integrates-with-MIQ.htm

HealthOne integrates with MIQ

Wednesday, 21 July 2021  

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The HealthOne shared care record for the South Island is being accessed more than 10,000 times a day by clinicians working across more than 500 organisations. 

The system is also now integrated with the region’s six managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQ).

HealthOne general manager Rachael Page says after a decade of year-on-year growth in use, HealthOne is now central to the clinical workflow for almost 30,000 clinicians who rely on the platform.

HealthOne collects and holds a summary record for every patient in the South Island, including information such as, prescribed and dispensed medications, allergies and alerts, adverse reactions and observations.

There are more than 200 million pieces of data stored and more than 300,000 views per month.
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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/omniscient-neurotechnology-gets-us-fda-clearance-brain-mapping-software

Omniscient Neurotechnology gets US FDA clearance for brain mapping software

Adam Ang | 22 Jul 2021

Sydney-based Omniscient Neurotechnology has received the US FDA's 510(k) clearance for its brain mapping software.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Quicktome is a digital brain mapping platform that provides clinicians with a visualisation of a patient's brain networks which are responsible for complex functions such as language, movement and cognition.

Featuring intuitive browser interfaces, the platform analyses millions of data points drawn from a patient's MRI. Cloud computing is then utilised for processing big data.

WHY IT MATTERS

Quicktome incorporates "connectomics", or the study of brain connections, into routine neurosurgical planning.

The platform is designed by neurosurgeons and data scientists to assist clinicians in making informed decisions; it also reduces uncertainty by providing insights on a patient before and during life-changing brain surgery. The company says its solution can derive insights from various brain-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression, chronic pain and brain cancer.

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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/western-australia-rollout-ai-powered-foetal-monitoring-system

Western Australia to rollout AI-powered foetal monitoring system

Adam Ang | 23 Jul 2021

The state government of Western Australia is set to roll out a foetal monitoring system in all Country Health Service maternity sites across its regions through next year. Bunbury Regional Hospital, the state's busiest and largest site, will be the first to introduce the system.

It will implement the A$4.2 million Infant Guardian System from health record system provider K2 Medical Systems which runs on artificial intelligence to support the clinical review of foetal heart rate patterns.

WHY IT MATTERS

Based on a media release, the implementation of the AI-powered foetal monitoring system enables remote monitoring of clinical data delivered in real-time, which further enhances patient involvement. It also renders greater privacy and fewer intrusions during labour as foetal heart rates can be monitored remotely. There is also a potential for a much efficient discharge process using data.

The media release also noted that through the system, specialist support can be delivered to smaller maternity sites in real-time and remotely.

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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/e-scripts-hit-the-big-time/49430

21 July 2021

E-scripts hit the big time

PBS Technology

By Holly Payne

Australia’s digital health sector all too often fails to deliver on the hype, but electronic prescribing capabilities appear to be the exception.

Introduced in May last year as a pandemic safety measure, more than 12 million e-scripts have now been issued, according to Australian Digital Health Agency figures.

E-scripts act as replacements for a paper script by sending a unique digital token directly to patients via text or email, and can also be uploaded to Active Script List.

The interoperability with Active Script List allows patients, GPs and pharmacists to share access to a consolidated digital wallet containing all active prescriptions for the patient.

According to Fred Naismith, CEO of pharmacy sector tech vendor Fred IT, although e-scripts were implemented only last year, the concept has been in the works for almost a decade.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-says-119000-services-still-cant-reach-25mbps-peak-speeds-567760

NBN Co says 119,000 services still can't reach 25Mbps peak speeds

By Ry Crozier on Jul 22, 2021 4:37PM

Despite network being "built and fully operational".

NBN Co said there are still 119,000 active services that can’t achieve the minimum 25Mbps peak download speed the network is meant to deliver, including almost 24,000 services that can’t go higher than 20Mbps.

The updated number, current to the start of June, shows the issue is still present despite the NBN being declared “built and fully operational” at the end of last year.

However, it is well down on the almost 238,000 underperforming services that were active as at the end of last year.

“NBN Co advises that as at June 1 2021, 119,000 NBN services were unable to access speeds of 25Mbps or higher,” the company said, adding that “the majority (80 percent) of these premises are able to access speeds of more than 20 Mbps.”

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https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/commbank-takes-stake-in-nbn-rsps-to-offer-customers-broadband-plans.html

Friday, 23 July 2021 11:21

CommBank takes stake in NBN RSPs to offer customers broadband plans

By Sam Varghese

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has taken a 25% stake in two retail service providers that resell NBN services and says it will offer discounted plans to its customers through these two companies.

The bank announced the deal on Thursday, saying it had signed up with More Telecom and Tangerine.

In a statement, Angus Sullivan, group executive for Retail Banking Services, said: "We’re looking at how we can help save customers money with their everyday bills and commitments and our decision to partner with More Telecom and Tangerine highlights how we’re continuing to reward our customers.

“As the country’s biggest supporter of getting Aussies into homes, we are reimagining banking for our customers, creating more value for them, putting more money back in their pockets, and helping them save money by exposing them to new ways of doing things and new quality products and services.”

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/cba-takes-25-percent-stake-in-two-nbn-retail-service-providers-567729

CBA takes 25 percent stake in two NBN retail service providers

By Ry Crozier on Jul 22, 2021 8:28AM

Will offer 'discounted NBN and broadband' to customers.

CBA is making a surprise play in the Australia broadband market, taking stakes in More Telecom and Tangerine and using its banking app to try to persuade customers to switch their provider.

The bank said on Thursday it had entered a “new strategic partnership” with sister companies More Telecom and Tangerine, and acquired “a 25 percent ownership stake in both."

It will use the partnership to “offer discounted NBN and broadband services” to banking customers, mostly by recommending a provider switch through the CommBank app.

“The average monthly cost of internet in Australia is one of the most expensive in the world, and we are uniquely positioned to help customers manage these costs,” CBA’s group executive for retail banking services Angus Sullivan said.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-roundtable-returns-focus-to-customer-needs---and-nbn-cos-costs-567686

NBN roundtable returns focus to customer needs - and NBN Co's costs

By Ry Crozier on Jul 21, 2021 12:33PM

Areas of scrutiny revealed.

Retailers selling NBN services have sought to prioritise customers’ expectations of broadband services in critical discussions that promise to radically shake up the way NBN services are priced.

The retailers, together with other stakeholders, attended a roundtable discussion with Chatham House rules last month convened by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and NBN Co.

Both the ACCC and NBN Co released discussion papers before the roundtable, pointing to their present thinking around long-term pricing models.

The model that most retailers are advocating for is a single flat-price wholesale charge, and the removal of variable charges that create problems when trying to set retail prices.

A summary of the roundtable [pdf], released today, still shows a “preference” among “several attendees” for a flat-rate pricing model.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/accc-clears-5g-as-a-substitute-for-fixed-line-broadband-567607

ACCC clears 5G as a substitute for fixed-line broadband

By Ry Crozier on Jul 20, 2021 12:52PM

Sets high bar for a future ruling.

NBN Co hit a hurdle in its bid to rein in competition from 5G operators late yesterday, with Australia’s competition watchdog more clearly defining when it will consider 5G “substitutable” for fixed-line services.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) late yesterday confirmed a December draft decision to extend a set of regulations imposed on fixed-line rivals to NBN Co by a further five years.

Through the process, the ACCC had been under pressure from NBN Co to also regulate wireless competitors, including cellular providers of ‘home broadband’ 5G services.

“NBN Co considers that mobile technology, including 5G technology, are effective technical substitutes for fixed-line broadband services,” NBN Co had said. [pdf]

NBN Co reinforced that position last month, arguing 5G operators were challenging its monopoly status in many market segments.

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https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-limits-are-crucial-as-telcos-fight-over-5g-spectrum-20210718-p58as7.html

Why limits are crucial as telcos fight over 5G spectrum

Paul Fletcher

Contributor

July 19, 2021 — 9.30am

In recent days I’ve been interested to read in this masthead comments from both Telstra and Optus regarding the upcoming auction of low-band 5G spectrum.

Readers might wonder why this rather arcane issue is attracting such passion from the telcos. What is “spectrum” and why does it matter?

First, “spectrum” refers to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over. Those signals are what allow our mobile devices to operate.

Mobile networks use radio frequency spectrum across different ranges. Generally, the lower the frequency, the further a signal can travel.

The Government regularly reallocates blocks of spectrum, particularly to support the huge growth in mobile communications. In 2019 there were 28 million services in operation, compared to 6 million 20 years prior, and mobile networks today carry very large amounts of data—whereas, 20 years ago, they carried almost exclusively voice services.

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/nasa-selects-spacex-for-mission-to-jupiter-moon-europa/news-story/f1e99b7e0da1a2d8d1725cbea5e12388

NASA selects SpaceX for mission to Jupiter moon Europa

AFP

10:13AM July 24, 2021

NASA on Friday said it had selected SpaceX to launch a planned voyage to Jupiter's icy moon Europa, a huge win for Elon Musk's company as it sets its sights deeper into the solar system.

The Europa clipper orbiter will make about 40 to 50 close passes over Europa to determine whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life.

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Enjoy!

David.

2 comments:

Dr Ian Colclough said...

Telstra Health's acquisition of 70% of Adelaide-based PowerHealth for $95 million and contractual retention of PowerHealth's Founder, Patrick Power, is an astute strategic move by Telstra. This should be warmly welcomed and widely supported by Government Health Departments and the wider health technology sector.

When such acquisitions occur, the small company culture with its energetic, agile, flexible, creative, entrepreneurial management all too often becomes subsumed and smothered by the big company culture, with its deeply ingrained and relatively inflexible policies and procedures that tend to frustrate, obstruct, and by default undermine, the young fledgling.

It is to be hoped this does not happen to PowerHealth. At its fingertips, Telstra now has a unique opportunity at long last to genuinely become a serious participant in the Australian health care domain.

Anonymous said...

So if Telstra paid $95 million it a reasonable guess that that equates to a multiple of between 5 to 6 times annual earnings; ie. between $15 to $20 million before overheads and tax. Being a private company the figures are not readily available.

So the commercial reality becomes:- Was this a sound investment by Telstra?