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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Big news from Tassie this week – with some ambitious plans!
Otherwise wondering (still) who the Health Minister will be and what it will mean for Digital Health.
I am sure the DOH is working hard to push the lemon that is the #myHR.
For some reason there seems to be a lot on the NBN. Election related?
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/what-to-expect-from-the-incoming-labor-government-580352
What to expect from the incoming Labor government
By Justin Hendry on May 23, 2022 12:23PM
Analysis: Ambitious agenda for tech, telco.
After nine years in opposition, Labor has been returned to government, and is increasingly likely to form a majority.
But while the exact composition of the incoming government remains unclear, the impact on the tech sector could be profound, with a swag of pledges unveiled during the campaign.
Here’s what to expect from a first-term Labor government:
Critical technologies
Quantum technology, AI and robotics are among the critical technologies that Labor intends to bankroll through its $1 billion Critical Technologies Investment Fund.
Focused on building local industry, the fund – part of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund – will provide investment support through loans, equity investments and loan guarantees for business.
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eHealth NSW is using AI to detect sepsis in hospital admissions
By Justin Hendry on May 25, 2022 6:58AM
Clinical pilot underway at one emergency department.
eHealth NSW has begun a clinical pilot of a sepsis prediction system that uses Amazon SageMaker to detect the life-threatening condition in patients arriving at hospital emergency departments.
Senior data scientist at eHealth NSW, Mostafa Shaikh, told the AWS Sydney Summit last week that the project had recently reached “clinical go-live” at one unnamed hospital.
The pilot, which will run until August, is a precursor to a wider rollout if eHealth NSW, the digital arm of NSW Health, can demonstrate “significant improvements” in the early detection of sepsis, he said.
eHealth NSW has been working on a predictive sepsis detection system since at least 2019 to identify the people at risk of sepsis in emergency department (ED) waiting rooms from their vital signs.
Sepsis is a condition resulting from an infection that triggers an extreme immune system response, and can cause shock, organ failure or death.
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Health database announced in budget to streamline Tasmanian medical services
Updated May 26 2022 - 7:51am, first published 7:00am
'Overdue' health database to eliminate duplication of tests
Doctors and general practitioners have welcomed the establishment of a "long overdue" integrated health database for Tasmania.
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Multimillion dollar spend announced for health care
25 May 2022 JR RHH
Doctors are welcoming a sizeable Tasmanian Government investment into the state's archaic health IT systems.
It includes an initial spend of $150 million over four years for upgrades, the total cost $475 million over a decade.
The funds will help launch a new state-wide fully integrated care platform that will help our hospitals, GPs, community health, allied health, and other specialist providers to seamlessly communicate and share information with each other.
In the first four years, Public Health will trial a new centralised and secure Electronic Medical Record system and launch a statewide patient record viewer that connects all public and private health and care providers.
Existing virtual care technologies, including telehealth will be upgraded so more patients can receive care in their home or in their community.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/tasmania-puts-150m-towards-digital-health-upgrades-580597
Tasmania puts $150m towards digital health upgrades
By Justin Hendry on May 27, 2022 5:29PM
Plans new statewide e-health record for patients.
The Tasmanian government has set aside $150 million in its 2022-23 budget to modernise the state’s public health IT infrastructure, including through a single electronic medical record.
The funding, to be provided over the next four years, will allow the Department of Health to commence a 10-year digital health transformation program set out in a new digital health strategy.
As much as $475 million is expected to be allocated to the project over its lifetime to “drive further adoption of digital health technology to improve patient, clinician and support staff experiences”.
“Digital health will allow for increased care to be provided at home and across Tasmania’s geographically dispersed population,” budget documents state.
“It will deliver a fully integrated patient-centric healthcare system that will seamlessly share critical health information across critical and organisational boundaries.”
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/prescription-monitoring-rolls-out-statewide/69968
27 May 2022
Prescription monitoring rolls out statewide
SafeScript NSW won’t be a panacea, but it will help bridge the gap between prescribers and dispensers.
From Monday, doctors and pharmacists across NSW can access the state’s real-time prescription monitoring software, which will flag high-risk prescribing scenarios.
Both prescribers and dispensers will be notified if a patient has received prescriptions for monitored medicines from four or more prescribers within 90 days, has an average daily dose of opioids exceeding 100mg oral morphine equivalent over a 90 day period or is being concurrently prescribed potentially harmful substances (e.g. fentanyl and methadone).
The integrated clinical software, SafeScript NSW, is similar to that used in Victoria – also called SafeScript – but won’t be mandatory to use.
It has already been available in some parts of the state since last year but can now be accessed by doctors and pharmacists anywhere in NSW.
Prescribers in NSW can register and access the patient database through the SafeScript NSW portal. Data stretches back to early April 2021.
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Google works with the Garvan Institute for faster sequencing for 14,000 genomes
12:00AM May 21, 2022
Google and the Garvan Institute have collaborated to develop radically faster genome sequencing, bringing more accessible and cheaper gene-based diagnosis to millions of Australians.
Associate professor Sarah Kummerfeld, from Australia’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, said it took 20 years and cost $3bn to sequence the first genome.
However, the collaboration between the institute and Google led to 14,000 genomes being processed, or understood, in less than two weeks. This was unprecedented in Australia, she said.
Google has provided the Institute with cloud infrastructure and links to computers that can process the genome faster.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/garvan-partners-google-cloud-large-scale-genome-sequencing
Garvan partners with Google Cloud for large-scale genome sequencing
The research institute claims to have processed the largest genome data set in Australia to date.
By Adam Ang
May 24, 2022 03:55 AM
The Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney has teamed up with Google Cloud to process a data set of about 14,000 genomes to drive early diagnosis of rare genetic disorders.
According to a press statement, Garvan has processed what could be the largest genome data set in Australia to date by storing genomics data on Google Cloud and leveraging the Terra workflow and data management system by the Broad Institute.
WHY IT MATTERS
Garvan and Google Cloud's collaboration sought to resolve big issues in biomedical research, specifically in storing, analysing, and sharing genomic data. According to Google Cloud, doing such requires expertise and investment in population genomics.
"We know that solving some of the world’s biggest challenges doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” said Alister Dias, VP for Google Cloud Australia and New Zealand. "Google Cloud’s scalable and secure infrastructure enabled Garvan to analyse massive amounts of biomedical information at unprecedented speed," he claimed.
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Access your patient's medical records
How to access and get information if you’re a registered health professional.
If you’re a registered health professional, you can get information on your patient’s health care by logging into the Health Provider Portal. You may also know the portal as 'the Viewer'.
You can also get your patient’s health care details from the Clinical Information Access department.
Health Provider Portal
If you're involved in the care of a patient, you can access the following information electronically:
- discharge summaries
- pathology reports
- medical imaging reports
- outpatient letters
- medication list.
Some of this information may also be available on My Health Record.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/how-text-messages-virtually-eliminated-missed-stemis
How text messages 'virtually eliminated' missed STEMIs
Australian researchers report that rural hospitals that automatically alert coronary care nurses of suspected MI patients can plug gaps in diagnoses
26th May 2022
By AAP
A text message system linking Australian rural hospitals to specialist coronary care nurses "virtually eliminated" the chances of a missed diagnosis of ST-elevated MI, a study finds.
The Australian research, published in JAMA Cardiology, explored why one-third of patients presenting to hospitals with a ST-elevated MI (STEMI) do not receive appropriate care.
The study included 29 rural hospitals that operate without emergency medicine specialists.
Researchers randomly assigned 15 facilities to a system that automatically sent a text to a coronary care unit nurse at a tertiary hospital when a patient presented with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome.
The nurses reviewed test results to diagnose or rule out cardiac emergency and helped the rural hospitals triage patients.
The remaining 14 hospitals operated as normal, with the option to use an existing system allowing rural doctors to contact specialists at major facilities.
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https://www.lgbtiqhealth.org.au/your_data_your_privacy_using_my_health_record_securely
Your data, your privacy: Using My Health Record securely
Published May 24, 2022
Consultant in LGBTIQ+ ageing and health Teresa Savage looks at how everyone, especially older LGBTI people, can keep their My Health Record data safe and secure
Do you use My Health Record? Are you worried about your privacy?
My Health Record is an online summary of your key health information. It is available to you and your healthcare providers whenever it’s needed, including in an emergency. It can hold a summary of your medical history, a record of your vaccinations, test results, prescription information, and your advanced care planning documents.
My Health Record has the potential to be very useful for older LGBTI people. Having your records in one place can be invaluable when you have multiple care providers. Your record can help you and your healthcare providers keep track of your health information
But many older LGBTI people are concerned about the security of their data. We’ve all heard about data breaches from big online systems, and the dangers of our personal details getting into the wrong hands.
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https://blog.dvuln.com/blogs/servicensw-digital-superbad
ServiceNSW’s Digital Drivers Licence Security appears to be Super Bad
By Noah Farmer · May 17, 2022
In November 2019, the New South Wales government (ServiceNSW) introduced the digital drivers licence or “DDL” for short, as a means to make it easy for people to access a digital version of their driver licence.
Upon the launch of ServiceNSW’s Digital Driver License there were multiple security researchers who publicly reported a number of security issues including but not limited to the ability to manipulate Digital License data and create fraudulent digital identities.
As far as we can see, there appears to be no formal public response from ServiceNSW regarding the acknowledgement or remediation of such issues.
As of February 2022, according to the Minister for Customer Service there have been 3.9 million people who have opted-in for the Digital Driver Licence.
To put this into perspective, we can assume around 70% of people in NSW use and trust the digital driver's licence as a means of identification and verification in their day to day lives.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/top-five-rsps-ask-accc-to-set-nbn-prices-580520
Top five RSPs ask ACCC to set NBN prices
By Ry Crozier on May 26, 2022 8:41AM
As confidence and patience in negotiated process is lost.
NBN Co’s top five retail service providers - Aussie Broadband, Optus, Telstra, TPG Telecom and Vocus - have asked the ACCC to directly intervene and set prices for NBN services.
The five want to see NBN Co regulated by an access determination - either on an interim or final basis - by the end of the year.
The escalation is a clear indication that RSPs have lost patience with NBN Co to come up with an agreeable pricing model for the future on its own, or in collaboration within the industry.
A restructucture of NBN Co’s price model has been on the cards since early 2021, with the ACCC being called upon to lead the process in April last year after NBN Co and RSPs could not reach agreement.
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NBN claims Musk’s Starlink is wrecking its business, as telcos slam price hikes
By Zoe Samios
May 26, 2022 — 12.30am
The company operating the National Broadband Network has claimed competition from wireless services including Elon Musk’s Starlink is threatening the viability of its business, as retail internet providers hit out at its plans to sharply raise prices.
NBN Co’s plans to raise prices surfaced this week in a redacted proposal to revise its special access undertaking, which was released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The framework determines how much it can charge wholesale customers including Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom. The proposal was criticised by the ACCC, which claimed it would result in a doubling of the cost of entry-tier internet plans over the next decade and ongoing price rises until 2040.
In the redacted documents, NBN blames the planned price increase on several factors, including competition from companies that run low-earth orbit satellites - such as Elon Musk’s Starlink - and the rise of 4G and 5G fixed wireless services from Telstra, TPG and Optus. It said these competitive pressures meant it needed a sophisticated pricing model to ensure it could recover its costs over time, or otherwise its business might not be sustainable.
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Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vocus and Aussie Broadband slam NBN over planned price hikes in rare joint letter to ACCC
May 25, 2022
Australia’s largest telcos – Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vocus and Aussie Broadband – have written a rare joint letter to Australia’s competition watchdog, attacking NBN Co’s proposed price hikes and calling for a new regulatory probe for what they describe as the nation’s digital backbone.
The retailers said that should NBN Co’s proposed changes be accepted, there is a real risk that the network will become even more under-utilised, causing harm to consumers, the market and the economy.
The extraordinary missive comes after the ACCC earlier this week published a submission from NBN Co, known as the special access undertaking (SAU), that proposes locking in prices until 2040, and doubling the price of entry-tier plans over the next decade, along with other changes.
The ACCC is mulling a shake-up to NBN’s pricing structure that would shape the future of the $50bn project over the next decade.
“Australia has an opportunity to grow into a leading digital economy and digital society. The National Broadband Network is an important part of the telecommunications infrastructure that is the backbone of a future digital Australia,” the telcos write in the joint letter.
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NBN prices ‘already the world’s highest’: Telstra
7:43PM May 24, 2022
Telstra has joined a growing chorus of retailers criticising NBN Co’s plot to increase prices, describing the plans as a failure and a wasted opportunity after rival telco TPG called the plans ‘a slap in the face’ for consumers.
NBN Co wants to lock in price rises until 2040, and double the price of entry-tier plans over the next decade, it revealed in a redacted submission published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Monday.
The figures show that by applying NBN Co’s current forecasts the cost to retailers to acquire the entry level speed tier would double by around 2033, and continue to increase towards $104 per month in nominal terms by 2040.
“NBN’s wholesale prices are already the highest in the world among comparable countries and they’ll get worse with the proposed price increases,” a Telstra spokesman said.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-to-cut-160-applications-under-200m-it-simplification-580391
NBN Co to cut 160 applications under $200m IT simplification
By Ry Crozier on May 24, 2022 12:06PM
First savings from the program realised.
NBN Co is expecting to realise the first savings from a near $200 million IT simplification program this financial year, starting at $5 million and growing to $41 million a year by mid-2025.
The company provided new details of the transformation in a supporting submission [pdf] to a regulatory inquiry.
It also indicated separate impending changes to outsourced IT helpdesk arrangements.
The $200 million transformation was first revealed back in December 2020 as the “largest IT transformation” that the company had ever undertaken, though little else was known.
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Optus calls on Labor to intervene in NBN pricing reforms
Lucas Baird Reporter
May 23, 2022 – 5.23pm
Optus has called on the newly elected Labor government to overhaul NBN Co’s priorities, believing proposed pricing reforms released on Monday do not go far enough to reduce costs for retail internet providers.
NBN Co has formally proposed to regulators an end to its dreaded capacity charges for high-speed home internet plans, but stood by a bid to retain the fees on low and mid-tier products. The government-owned corporation has floated a revenue cap and limits on price increases that match inflation too.
Optus vice president of regulatory affairs Andrew Sheridan said the pricing proposal “would hit everyone’s hip pocket” as it left telcos “no choice but to pass proposed cost increases on to our customers”.
“The new government has an opportunity to refocus NBN Co’s priorities towards its core objective of ensuring all Australians have access to fast broadband, at affordable prices, and at least cost,” Mr Sheridan said.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-cos-basic-broadband-price-could-double-by-2040-580367
NBN Co's basic broadband price could double by 2040
By Ry Crozier on May 23, 2022 6:39PM
If ACCC signs off on a price model change.
NBN Co’s 50Mbps product would cost as much as its 100Mbps product - $70 wholesale - “within only a few years”, while its cheapest products would double or more in price by 2040 if a new pricing model is waved through unchanged by the ACCC.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sounded a warning that price hikes could be realised even sooner than that, because the commission doubts some of the broadband utilisation assumptions that NBN Co uses.
The modelling [pdf], produced by the ACCC, is the centrepiece of a consultation it has opened on a proposed new pricing model for the NBN, which would be enshrined in a revised special access undertaking (SAU).
It is the first substantive public input from the ACCC on NBN Co’s pricing proposal, which is largely unchanged since being first floated last year.
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NBN Co sizes up six-figure customer exodus a year to fixed wireless
By Ry Crozier on May 24, 2022 6:30AM
Ratchets up regulatory pressure.
NBN Co is expecting an exodus of customers from its network to alternative 4G and 5G fixed wireless services of at least 250,000 a year for the next two years.
The network operator revealed the figures in a lengthy submission [pdf] to the ACCC in support of revisions to its special access undertaking, the key document that governs price and non-price terms through to 2040.
“Increasing competition from 4G and 5G network operators is driving sustained and increasing net churn off the NBN,” the company said.
“Based on contemporary market conditions, net churn for FY22 is forecast to be 3.1 percent or 263,000 customers.
“In FY23 nbn expects net churn to be higher still at 3.3 percent or 283,000 customers.”
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Monday, 23 May 2022 10:25
Labor needs to make high-speed broadband more affordable: Budde
By Sam Varghese
The Australian Labor Party's pledge during the election campaign to offer 90% of broadband users in the country higher speeds will not have the intended effect unless the price of the technology is lowered, the independent telecommunications analyst Paul Budde says.
He made the statement on Monday as Labor edged closer to towards governing in its own right following Saturday's elections, with the party having picked up its 75th lower-house seat, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.
"...there is a commitment to extend fibre deeper into the market," Budde pointed out. "However, the real problem is the high costs of the NBN; this makes the wholesale price higher and, therefore, also the retail price.
"Australians love high-speed broadband, they took it on when it was available on a special offer, but as soon as the offer ended they dropped back to lower speeds - a clear indication that it has everything to do with affordability.
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Enjoy!
David.
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