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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Really a very quiet week with very little of note – except some extra Digital Health development funding from the Government.
Interesting to see some emerging competition for the NBN from 4 and 5G providers!
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https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/hopes-telehealth-detox-service-could-be-a-game-cha
Hopes telehealth detox service could be a ‘game-changer’
Sydney-based Dr Chris Davis has already set up a GP-led home detox program. Now he hopes a new telehealth program will help even more people.
18 Aug 2021
For anyone with concerns about alcohol use, the pandemic has
been a troubling time.
While the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is circumspect
about whether consumption has increased during COVID-19, alcohol
retail sales certainly spiked when the pandemic began.
Good news for liquor store owners, not so much for health practitioners such as
Dr Chris Davis, a Darlinghurst GP with a passion for treating addiction.
However, the limitations of lockdown may also have spurred a project that could
have an enduring positive impact.
Dr Davis, who treated alcohol dependency in London before moving to Sydney in
2014, has the experience; he set up Clean Slate Clinic
in Blacktown to
treat mild-to-moderate alcohol dependency after being surprised there was
no GP-led home detox service on offer in Australia.
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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/australia-continues-subsidise-sms-costs-e-prescriptions
Australia continues to subsidise SMS costs for e-prescriptions
Adam Ang | 17 Aug 2021
The Australian government will continue shouldering the SMS cost for e-prescriptions until 30 June 2022.
WHY IT MATTERS
Subsidies are specifically provided for costs related to the issuance of e-prescription tokens. SMS costs are incurred each time a prescriber writes an e-prescription and sends a token to a patient's mobile phone.
The subsidy extension comes after prodding by the Australian Medical Association, which has been calling on the Health Department and the Australian Digital Health Agency to develop long-term solutions to avoid passing those costs onto prescribers.
Earlier, the provision of subsidies was supposed to lapse at the end of March but was extended until 30 June.
THE LARGER TREND
There are other means for prescribers to issue digital prescriptions without incurring costs, such as the Active Script List system. Among providers, Fred IT introduced in May its My Script List solution that combines a patient's e-prescriptions in one digital list, removing the need for prescription tokens.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/govt-extends-subsidy-gps-send-sms-prescriptions
Govt extends subsidy for GPs to send SMS prescriptions
It comes after the number of e-scripts issued in Australia passed 15 million this month
18th August 2021
The Federal Government has again extended its subsidy for SMS prescriptions, meaning GPs won’t have to bear the full cost themselves until at least the middle of 2022.
It comes after the number of e-scripts issued in Australia passed 15 million this month, with the bulk sent to patients’ mobile phones via SMS.
Until now, the technology has been supported with a 15c allowance per text message, although the subsidy was due to end in June, having already been delayed once earlier this year.
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AI technology catching early prostate cancer diagnoses
9:30PM August 15, 2021
Danny Hansen presented no symptoms of prostate cancer when he was diagnosed with the disease.
Neither did Kevin Montier, who thought he was too young and healthy to develop cancer.
Greg Smith knew he was in the at-risk category, but wasn’t diagnosed because test results didn’t show signs of grave illness.
These three men are among those who caught their diagnoses early due to advancements in artificial intelligence technology.
The technology assists men in early discovery of prostate cancer and improves their chances of starting treatment earlier in the disease.
Elliot Smith, founder of Maxwell Plus, an AI diagnostic tool specifically for prostate cancer, said much more needed to be done to allow room for new technology in catching early signs of the illness.
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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/577086/GPs-have-smoother-transition-to-digital-first-in-lockdown.htm
GPs have ‘smoother transition’ to digital first in lockdown
Wednesday, 18 August 2021
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
An overnight switch to a digital
first approach for patient consultations has been a “smoother transition” for
GPs this time around, says Royal NZ College of GPs president Samantha Murton.
The move into Alert Level 4 nationwide means general practices are doing
consultations remotely, via phone or video, where possible to help reduce the
spread of Covid-19.
Murton says most practices have increased their capability in the telehealth
space over the past 18-months.
“Using phone consultations and triage calls has become part of the norm and
patients have found it quite useful as well,” she tells eHealthNews.nz.
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Inventive Health to merge with COVID-19 test developer Virusight
Anthony Macdonald and Yolanda Redrup
Aug 16, 2021 – 9.32pm
Gary Cohen’s tech-focused healthcare solutions company Inventive Health is poised to merge with Israeli-based Virusight Diagnostic, in a deal valuing the joint entity at $111 million.
Gary Cohen’s Inventive Health is merging with Israel’s Virusight Diagnostics.
The merged venture, which will retain the Virusight name, combines the Israeli company’s ultra-rapid, artificial intelligence-powered pathogens diagnostic device SpectraLIT with Inventive’s experience bringing digital healthcare solutions to the global market.
Under the terms of the deal, Inventive shareholders will own 18 per cent of the merged company.
It will be led by Cohen, who was also the founder of iSOFT, and his team, and have offices in Israel, Sydney and London.
The company is commercialising diagnostic tests using spectrophotometry to generate high resolution “spectral signatures” (unique wavelengths), which can be analysed in 20 seconds using artificial intelligence to detect in seconds the presence of a virus.
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Rising mental health concerns call for digital solutions
Thursday, 19 August, 2021
All Australians are being urged to take care of their mental health, with new data revealing that fewer than one in six people with psychological distress are seeking professional help.
Psychotherapy is proven to be an effective management and treatment option for many psychological and mental illnesses, and may be delivered in person or virtually. Concerningly, however, a significant proportion of our population who stand to benefit from psychotherapy currently lack access.
Several natural disasters and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in rising psychological distress among Australians, leading to the urgent plea, from doctors, patients and mental health advocates, to reinforce the critical need for innovative digital solutions to ensure every Australian has timely and affordable access to professional mental health support, no matter what their situation, location or socio-economic status.
According to Dr Matthew Zoeller — an intensive care specialist at Northern Beaches Hospital, and CEO and founder of virtual mental health clinic My Mirror — there are still many substantial barriers to overcome to enable Australians to gain access to professional mental health services.
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Rauland equips care hotel in Adelaide with safety monitoring, fall detection devices
Adam Ang | 16 Aug 2021
ECH Dandelion, a care hotel operated by South Australia-based home care provider Enabling Confidence at Home, has been equipped with a technology platform for aged care communication and delivery from health IT provider Rauland Australia.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Rauland's Concentric Care platform, which was launched last year, has been introduced in the newly opened ECH Dandelion in Walkerville, Adelaide.
The hotel, which offers short term care and respite needs, has sixteen suites. These comprise eight short-stay rooms for patients transitioning from hospitals and eight rooms for people with dementia.
Rooms are installed with discrete 4D radar safety monitoring and fall detection devices. In case of a fall, staff are quickly notified via automated alerts on their mobile devices. Each suite also features voice-activation technology that enables guests to make a request for staff assistance as needed.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/melbourne-health-embraces-ibm-digital-uplift/
Melbourne Health embraces IBM digital uplift
Stuart Corner
Contributor
16 August 2021
Melbourne Health is one of Australia’s leading public healthcare providers, responsible for the Royal Melbourne Hospital, NorthWestern Mental Health and the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory.
All up, these encompass 71 buildings across 33 sites with more than 10,000 staff and some 32,000 assets.
Melbourne Health was using paper-based systems to manage its assets and the many processes and procedures undertaken by staff for everything from patient care to building maintenance, meals and cleaning.
These processes and procedures were time-consuming and opaque: Melbourne Health was not easily able to gather the data on many aspects of its operations needed to support funding requests.
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Wednesday, 18 August 2021 10:42
Samsung Galaxy Watch4 and Classic track and measure ECG and blood pressure
The Samsung Health Monitor application is launching to provide access to blood pressure tracking and TGA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring via the Galaxy Watch series.
From 10 September, Australians will have access ECG and blood pressure readings on Samsung’s latest wearables, the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic. These are the first accessories available in the country to offer both blood pressure and ECG monitoring.
The Samsung Health Monitor app will also be available on the Galaxy Watch3 and Galaxy Watch Active2 via a software update in the coming months.
Samsung Australia says ECG monitoring on compatible Galaxy watches is registered as a medical device with the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) when connected to a compatible Galaxy smartphone.
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ANDHealth Receives $19.75M From Medical Research Future Fund to Invest in Digital Health Commercialisation
ANDHealth, Australia’s leading digital health
commercialisation organisation, has today announced it has been successful in
securing $19.75M in funding received from the Australian Federal Government
under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Early Stage Translation and
Commercialisation Support program.
The funding will support the expansion of Australia’s most successful digital
health commercialisation program, ANDHealth+, supporting up to 25
high-growth-potential SMEs. SMEs will be selected via a competitive process and
will receive up to $1M of investment from the ANDHealth Digital Health
Accelerator Fund, alongside a dedicated ANDHealth support team, access to a
c-suite industry advisory panel and specialised services from pre-vetted
suppliers.
The program will also be supported by ANDHealth’s leading industry members,
including the Murdoch Childrens’ Research Institute, RMIT University, Novartis
Pharmaceuticals, Planet Innovation, Roche Australia, Potential(x), Curve
Tomorrow, HPM Executive and HealthXL.
ANDHealth’s CEO, Bronwyn Le Grice says, “This funding represents a significant
milestone in the development of Australia’s digital health industry with the
establishment of the first dedicated fund providing significant capital
investment, alongside a proven program of global expertise and support, for
Australia’s most promising digital health companies.
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Australian government hands out AU$79m to fund digital health tech development
Four organisations will each receive AU$19.75 million to help Australian SMBs commercialise their medical research.
By Aimee Chanthadavong | August 20, 2021 -- 04:19 GMT (14:19 AEST) | Topic: Innovation
The Australian government has announced it will invest AU$79 million to develop new digital health technologies, medical devices, and medicines.
The funding, delivered under the Medical Research Future Fund's Medical Research Commercialisation initiative, will be equally shared among four organisations that will work with local small and medium-sized businesses to commercialise the application of their research. Each organisation will receive AU$19.75 million.
"The initiative has already supported implementation of new products that are changing clinical practice and improving lives," Minister for Health Greg Hunt said.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/govt-backs-medical-innovation-research-with-79m/
Gov’t backs medical innovation, research with $79m
Ben
Grubb
Editor
20 August 2021
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced $79 million in grants for three organisations to help develop new medical devices, medicines and digital health technologies, with half the money going to a venture capital firm focused on early-stage biomedical discoveries.
The organisations receiving the grants are ANDHealth, a provider of accelerator, incubator and commercialisation programs for digital health technology companies; the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), a life science venture capital fund which is run by Brandon Capital Partners; and MTPConnect, the government funded not-for-profit industry growth centre aiming to accelerate the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector in Australia.
The funds come from the Medical Research Commercialisation initiative, which is part of the Medical Research Future Fund – the federal government’s $20 billion 10-year investment in Australian health and medical research.
MRCF received $39.5 million in total, with $19.75m to support preclinical medical research or medical innovation projects with commercial potential and the other $19.75m to support early clinical development of novel drugs, or novel uses for existing drugs, with commercial potential. The other two companies each received $19.75m.
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How technology is boosting aged-care outcomes at ARP
By Eric Anderson, CEO, Adventist Retirement Plus
Thursday, 19 August, 2021
We often hear that developing a strategy for digital transformation comes down to how it’s ultimately going to benefit customers. This makes digital innovation in health care an incredibly high-stakes endeavour, as our ‘customers’ are the men, women and children that we treat and care for every day.
This ethos underpins our digital strategy at Adventist Retirement Plus (ARP), as a longstanding provider of retirement accommodation and aged-care services in Southern Queensland.
Previously an organisation with limited IT expertise and a lot of manual, paper-based processes, we recognised a huge opportunity to modernise some core services and foster improved outcomes for over 400 residents and home-care clients.
This proved challenging for a variety of reasons. We had infrastructure that wasn’t business grade, and we were relying on a wide range of diverse, disparate applications and unintegrated processes to get things done.
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The device set to reform stroke care for all Australians
Friday, 13 August, 2021
Scott Kirkland is Co-Founder and Executive Director at EMVision, a healthcare technology company aiming to change the stroke care paradigm. EMVision has developed a portable brain scanner for rapid, point-of-care stroke diagnosis and monitoring, which is set to transform stroke care, particularly for Australians living in regional areas, who are 17% more likely to suffer a stroke than those in metropolitan areas, and often unable to access specialised care. There is a critical need to narrow the gap in stroke care between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians living in regional areas, with First Nations Peoples having close to three times the rate of acute ischemic stroke incidence and mortality.
Kirkland told Hospital + Healthcare about the company’s mission to provide equal access to healthcare, how EMVision’s technology is set to transform stroke care and diagnosis for rural/regional Australians, and why we need to act urgently.
What factors contribute to the higher rate of stroke and poorer stroke outcomes outside metropolitan areas?
For stroke outcomes, time is everything. The best outcomes are achieved when a patient is treated in the first few hours after stroke onset, ideally within the ‘golden hour’. The tyrannies of distance play a significant role here. Unfortunately, only 3% of patients in rural and remote areas of Australia are treated in a stroke unit, compared with 77% of patients in metropolitan areas. In fact, most rural and remote patients need to travel more than 200 kilometres to access care.
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TPG ramping up NBN alternatives
2:58PM August 20, 2021
TPG says its NBN alternatives are growing apace, with the telco posting a slight drop in revenue and profit as it fights off Covid and NBN-related headwinds, and eyes a major infrastructure sell-off.
In its half-year FY21 results on Friday – one full year after its $15bn merger with Vodafone – TPG lifted its revenue 61 per cent year-on-year to $2.63bn and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 67 per cent to $886m, given the prior year’s results only counted four days’ contribution from TPG.
On a pro forma basis, if the merger had been effective throughout the prior financial year, revenue was down 3 per cent from $2.71bn and EBITDA down 3 per cent from $918m.
Its shares had slipped down 1.66 per cent to $6.50 at 3pm AEST.
“The group’s EBITDA result is pleasing and demonstrates a solid underlying performance achieved through the realisation of $38m in merger cost synergies and strong commercial management,” CEO Iñaki Berroeta told investors.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/tpg-telecom-sees-rapid-early-growth-in-nbn-alternatives-568850
TPG Telecom sees "rapid early growth" in NBN alternatives
By Justin Hendry on Aug 20, 2021 1:15PM
4G home wireless customers triple in first half.
TPG Telecom is seeing “rapid early growth” in NBN alternatives, with the number of 4G home wireless customers more than tripling in the first half of 2021.
The telco provided the update in its half-year results as its plan to improve fixed broadband margins through growing its on-net products gains momentum.
It has previously estimated that it can save around $50 million a year for every 100,000 customers it can entice off the NBN and onto its own network infrastructure.
TPG said total on-net subscribers – which also includes FTTN, HFC, VDSL – grew by 17,000 to 154,000 in the first half of 2021, representing a 12 percent increase.
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https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2021/vastly-different-telstra--leans-into-energy--health.html
'Vastly different' Telstra leans into energy, health
Waiting for 5G to jump-start mobile revenues.
By David Braue on Aug 17 2021 01:11 PM
The COVID-era explosion in demand for data didn’t translate into a revenue surge for Telstra, which saw earnings drop last year as it nears the end of a major restructuring that includes investing hundreds of millions in new industries such as energy and healthcare.
Total income for the company dropped by 11.6 per cent during fiscal 2020/21, the company revealed during its recent full-year results presentation, in which it revealed that earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) had dropped by 14.2 per cent compared to the previous year.
Net profit after tax earnings per share crawled into the black, up 3.4 per cent, after Telstra announced in February that it would fire 1,400 employees.
Telstra is a “vastly different company” two years into the execution of its T22 strategy, CEO Andy Penn said in revealing that Telstra had achieved 80 per cent of the milestones in the three-year plan announced in 2018.
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Nuclear scientists hail US fusion breakthrough
AFP
8:48AM August 18, 2021
Nuclear scientists using lasers the size of three football fields said Tuesday they had generated a huge amount of energy from fusion, possibly offering hope for the development of a new clean energy source.
Experts focused their giant array of almost 200 laser beams onto a tiny spot to create a mega blast of energy -- eight times more than they had ever done in the past.
"This result is a historic advance for inertial confinement fusion research," said Kim Budil, the director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which operates the National Ignition Facility in California, where the experiment took place this month.
It differs from fission, a technique currently used in nuclear power plants, where the bonds of heavy atomic nuclei are broken to release energy.
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Enjoy!
David.
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