First we saw this:
Aged Care Technology Consortium launched for coordinated senior care
The consortium aims to assist in the digital transformation of the aged care sector by integrating their systems.
By Adam Ang
June 09, 2022 03:17 AM
Several health technology companies in Australia have banded together to integrate their systems to demonstrate coordinated care in residential aged care facilities and home care settings.
The Aged Care Technology Consortium brought together six founding members: Webstercare, Extensia, Foxo, Visionflex, MEDrefer and Humanetix.
These companies are providers of technologies for communications, workflow and administration, telehealth and remote monitoring, referrals, medication management, and health information sharing. They have also demonstrated interoperability with existing IT infrastructures of aged care providers.
WHY IT MATTERS
Their collaboration offers a solution to the Australian aged care sector's disjointed systems marked by the lack of information sharing between facilities and even within organisations themselves.
Based on a press statement, their benefits to the sector include:
· preventing unnecessary transfers to hospital emergency departments;
· early identification of health needs;
· improved services in rural and remote areas;
· more staff time for patient care;
· better engagement with families; and
· patient control of their information.
Meanwhile, the consortium is also inviting other tech providers in the health, aged care, Indigenous health and disabilities care sectors to join them. As Hills Limited CEO David Clarke said: "We are not trying to create a club that no one else can join".
He added: "Quite the contrary, we want to show how [the] industry takes the initiative and we encourage other innovators to participate to ensure the consortium offers the best collection of technologies to aged care providers and those who use their services. It will also allow new and innovative technologies to be integrated to make sure the ecosystem is state-of-the-art and evolving".
THE LARGER TREND
The Aged Care Royal Commission highlighted in its 2021 report that "substandard care and abuse pervades the Australian aged care system". Aside from being "deeply analogue," the aged care sector was also found to be "well behind" other sectors in the use and application of technology and that it has "no clear" ICT strategy. "This mix of factors has resulted in an aged care sector that is behind the research, innovation and technological curves," the commission said.
More here:
Second we have this:
Govt looks for more foreign investment in Australian MedTech
Denham Sadler
National Affairs Editor
Austrade recently awarded US-based multinational Deloitte a $120,000, two and a half month contract to develop an investment value proposition for Australia’s medical technology (MedTech) sector.
This will see the consulting firm deliver a report on how to attract more foreign investment in Australian companies in the sector.
“This contract is for Deloitte to work with Austrade to develop an investment value proposition for Australia’s MedTech sector that will help successfully attract further foreign direct investment into Australia,” an Austrade spokesperson told InnovationAus.com.
It comes just months after a new Parliamentary Friends of MedTech Group was formed, which will likely continue into the new Parliament under the Labor government.
Deloitte previously completed a report on the Australian MedTech sector’s workforce for the Medical Technology Association of Australia, finding that there are over 500 MedTech companies in Australia, with combined annual turnover of more than $10 billion and employing more than 19,000 workers.
New Zealand is currently the top market for Australian companies exporting MedTech instruments, followed by the United States, where instruments worth approximately $US69.7 million were exported in 2020.
A patent box scheme for the MedTech sector is also set to be launched this year, although legislation facilitating this lapsed before the federal election after failing to be passed in the previous Parliament.
The patent box will offer a concessional tax rate of 17 per cent for revenue from MedTech IP, down from 30 per cent for large businesses and 25 per cent for smaller firms.
This scheme was announced by the former Coalition government in 2021 and expanded and reformed in this year’s budget, before the legislation was passed.
More here:
https://www.innovationaus.com/govt-looks-to-attract-more-foreign-investment-in-australian-medtech/
We have also been noticing more visibility for the Medical Software Industry (https://msia.com.au) in terms of activity to make representations and develop reports to Government etc.
All this does not happen by accident to it looks like key organisations in our sector – along with ANDHealth and the DIgitalHealthCRC are doing sensible things to build awareness and profile.
This can only be helpful for those working in the sector!
Go team!
David.
6 comments:
The aged care royal commission tabled its final report on 1 Mar 2021 and what's changed? Mark Butler and Anika Wells must be under a lot of pressure to fix problems they blamed on the previous government.
Aged care facilities, GPs, hospitals, specialists, etc, don't even share information. Surely technology use in the sector needs to be dramatically improved.
Dear hospitals ...
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/opinion/dear-hospitals-communication-doesnt-communicate-isnt-communication
"This is a plea to emergency and outpatient departments to take a long, hard look at how you communicate with GPs because it’s not getting any better; it’s just getting worse." ~ written by Dr Paul Nisselle, a GP from Melbourne.
"This is a plea to emergency and outpatient departments to take a long, hard look at how you communicate with GPs because it’s not getting any better; it’s just getting worse."
IMHO the problem is not one of communication, it's a problem of integration. Communication and integration are related but are different things.
And don't expect the government to address a lack of integration of the healthcare system, they just don't have the expertise. And it's a very difficult problem. It's easier to pick on bits of the problem and pretend that you are solving it.
Mark Butler was shadow health minister – did he arrive in government with no ideas?
'The first National Cabinet meeting led by the new Federal Government has ended with a commitment to review health funding in Australia and investigate options for system reform.'
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/national-cabinet-commits-to-healthcare-review
So there's going to be another review and and more investigations into system reform.
Meanwhile, 'Experts say overcrowding in emergency departments is the worst it's been, with the problems not just in emergency departments but across the health system.'
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-01/victorian-hospitals-emergency-department-crisis/101111452
I am watching a show on SBS On Demand and being bombarded by ads for My Health Record. How much of the $300 million invested in the ADHA in the Budget for this year alone is being spent on marketing a white elephant?
Have a look at the latest statistics
https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/my-health-record/statistics
Scroll down to "How much are people looking at their information?"
This is the graphic
https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/styles/original/public/2022-05/mhr-statistics-april-2022-4.png?itok=sOs4Yl9A
In April 2022 the number was 4.83million.
The last time it was this low was July 2021.
Even with people checking their COVID-19 vaccination, the numbers are dropping.
With the May statistics due out in the next week or so, it wouldn't surprise me if they were even lower and so they are having a desperate advertising blitz to try and generate some interest.
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