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This weekly blog is to explore the news around the larger issues around Digital Health, data security, data privacy, AI / ML. technology, social media and related matters.
I will also try to highlight ADHA Propaganda when I come upon it.
Just so we keep count, the latest Notes from the ADHA Board were dated 6 December, 2018 and we have seen none since! It’s pretty sad!
Note: Appearance here is not to suggest I see any credibility or value in what follows. I will leave it to the reader to decide what is worthwhile and what is not! The point is to let people know what is being said / published that I have come upon.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/informed-consent-for-public-wifi-sensing-systems/
Informed consent for public WiFi sensing systems
Aryan Sharma
Contributor
17 August 2022
As Australia encounters a rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, it is easy to see that we are becoming a more connected nation. According to Grandview Research, the IoT in retail sector has a current annual growth rate of 26 per cent, and brick and mortar shops are increasingly being transformed into digital stores with WiFi and internet interfaces to improve customer experience.
Unfortunately, services offered under the guise of customer satisfaction often have underlying motivations, such as the collection of user data for commercial gain.
Only recently has the public become privy to these malicious practices in the social media industry, with widespread coverage of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook had unethically harvested user data from millions of users, which was used by Cambridge Analytica to formulate political advertising strategies.
This event has created much-needed discourse in parliament around privacy rights and increased protection for consumer data, however, lawmakers are in a scramble to keep up with the rapid development of new, dangerous technologies.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/practice/app-review-brain-training-beat-alcohol-cravings
App Review: Brain training to beat alcohol cravings
18th August 2022
SWiPE has been designed to help people reduce their alcohol intake and cravings.
Developed by addiction specialists at Turning Point and Monash University in Melbourne, the app is based on a form of neurocognitive training called ‘Approach Bias Modification’ (ApBM), which aims to interrupt the autopilot response to alcohol cues.
It involves users uploading images of their goals and motivations - such as family, friends, hobbies, travel and sports — along with images of alcoholic beverages, and then following instructions to either swipe up or down when the images appear on screen.
The different motions result in the image either shrinking and disappearing, in a pushing away effect, or expanding, in a pulling effect, with points awarded for swiping correctly.
A recent trial of 1309 participants in Australia who used the app over four weeks found that their weekly alcohol consumption dropped by an average of 8.4 standard drinks.
They were also able to significantly reduce their number of drinking days and cravings.
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https://www.afr.com/technology/pro-medicus-dodges-the-tech-wreck-as-profits-soar-20220818-p5bavx
Pro Medicus dodges the tech wreck as profits soar
Yolanda Redrup Reporter
Aug 18, 2022 – 1.23pm
The billionaire CEO of medical imaging software company Pro Medicus has labelled 2022 the “most successful year in the company’s history”, thanks to accelerating revenue and a series of major new contract wins with US healthcare providers.
Pro Medicus’ flagship Visage software lets radiologists view reports and image files generated by X-rays and other medical scans from their mobile devices.
The business, which on Thursday said revenue jumped 37.7 per cent to $93.5 million in the year to June 30, has been on a hot streak in the lead up to its results, with its shares surging more than 42 per cent since mid-June to more than $53.
In the last year, the $5.6 billion company has won new seven-year deals with Novant Health in North Carolina and Allina Health in Minneapolis, worth $40 million and $28 million respectively.
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https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/health/australians-health-data-uber-health/
One in 10 Australians didn’t trust the government with their health data. Will they trust Uber Health?
August 19, 2022
Uber Health launched today after a successful Australian pilot earlier this year. Source: Getty
Uber is muscling in on the health sector with the launch of a new transport service that allows doctors to organise a ride for their patients to and from GPs and hospitals up to 30 days in advance, but questions remain about the protection of health data.
The Uber Health platform will see health professionals — known as “coordinators” — schedule rides on behalf of patients and caregivers who are attending appointments, discharging from a facility, or are part of the NDIS.
But it is not intended for emergency transport, nor the transport of COVID-positive people, Uber says.
The tech giant continues that Uber Health is the latest diversification in its mission to “re-imagine the way the world moves for the better”, adding that the technology is particularly important in an era where missed appointments can add extra pressure on Australia’s strained health providers.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/government-re-launches-cyber-security-strategy-584180
Government re-launches cyber security strategy
By Richard Chirgwin on Aug 19, 2022 1:33PM
Seeking broader industry input.
Cyber Security minister Clair O’Neil has tasked her department with re-casting the cyber security strategy initiated by the former government.
A spokesperson for the minister told iTnews the government wants a more consultative approach to building the strategy.
In April, the Morrison government announced it would fund its $9.9 billion Project REDSPICE by cancelling Defence’s SkyGuarding drone package.
The Australian broke the news of the change of direction.
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Labor wipes slate clean in overhaul of Scott Morrison’s cyber security strategy
11:29PM August 18, 2022
Scott Morrison’s $1.7bn 10-year cyber security strategy will be torn up, under an Albanese government overhaul aimed at boosting sovereign capability and building a frontline cyber workforce to combat escalating threats from malicious state-based actors and criminal gangs.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has ordered her department – as a top priority – to re-cast the strategy rushed out during the Covid-19 pandemic by the former prime minister in mid-2020.
The new strategy will focus on building closer links with Quad partners, the US, Japan and India, to accelerate the shift from reliance on China for critical technologies, amid concerns about Beijing’s global supply chain dominance.
Ms O’Neil, whose appointment as Cyber Security Minister in cabinet was a key election pledge by Anthony Albanese, said Australia’s next cyber security strategy would be a “whole-of-nation effort”.
“It will be grounded in sovereign capability, with a plan for the future workforce and growth of the cyber security sector, including Australian cyber SMEs,” Ms O’Neil said.
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Uber moves into healthcare with Australian patient transport service
By Mary Ward
August 19, 2022 — 5.00am
Doctors will be able to book transport for patients to clinics and hospitals via a new Uber service launched across Australia this week, as the multinational ride-share company moves into the healthcare space.
But privacy experts are concerned about the Uber Health platform, saying doctors may not consider the implications of patient information being held by a third-party corporation.
Health professionals can use Uber Health to book rides for their patients and are billed the fare, with no need for the patient to use the app.
Sam Brown, head of Uber for Business ANZ, said he anticipated the service would be used for routine appointments, discharging patients from health facilities and assisting with transport needs in NDIS programs. He stressed the service was not to be used for emergency transport.
“The healthcare organisations arranging the rides are instructed to never book Uber rides for patients who could present a medical risk during a trip, including emergency patients and patients with infectious diseases (such as if they are COVID-19 positive or suspected positive),” he said.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/patient-centred-healthcare-using-cloud-analytics/
Patient-centred healthcare using cloud analytics
Dr Julian Hick
Contributor
18 August 2022
Australian healthcare has an opportunity to change the way we treat patients. We can put them at the centre of the system and in doing so dramatically improve health outcomes. Australia has a fragmented healthcare system where mistakes cost lives and hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Mistakes that we can prevent using technology that already exists.
The government’s flagship approach to innovation in healthcare is My Health Record, which is deeply flawed, costly, and based on out-of-date technology. We can, and should, expect better. Effective tools already exist, but government inaction stymies true, meaningful, big picture innovation in healthcare.
Imagine having a heart arrhythmia that is detected by your smartphone, a risk calculation is completed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and you are alerted that you should attend your doctor, who has immediate access to the smart device recording and can instigate the best treatment tailored to your unique genetic makeup and treatment preferences. This is going to happen and happen sooner than you realise.
The dangers of fragmented healthcare
It is estimated that harm occurs in about one in 50 primary care consultations and substantial harm may occur in about one in 20. It is also estimated that five-10 per cent of patients admitted to hospital suffer harm related to their healthcare. Each year in Australia there are more than two million adverse drug events, with about 250,000 of these leading to hospitalisation. This costs the country approximately A$1.4billion annually. Tragically, there are over 2,000 deaths each year in Australia related to medication errors.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/when-your-major-media-outlet-is-owned-by-your-competitor/
18 August 2022
When your major media outlet is owned by your competitor
Pulse IT is wholly owned by a global medical software company that competes with some of its key advertisers and subscribers in Australia and New Zealand
Virtually no media group is truly independent.
Often media ends up captive to its largest advertisers (Harvey Norman and Nine Entertainment) or, even more commonly, to the political views of an owner (Rupert Murdoch and Fox/Sky News).
Rarely, however, do you see media owned by a major advertiser (vendor) of the market it serves.
The only synergy in buying media in the market you serve is marketing, and that will always be fraught with conflict issues around how you treat stories about your own company versus those of your competitors.
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Thursday, 18 August 2022 09:29
High Court rules Google cannot be sued for defamation over links
The Australian High Court has ruled that Google cannot be held liable for defamation for merely linking to content on the Web, finding that it could not be deemed to be a publisher in such an event.
The ruling on Wednesday came after the search company appealed against a Victorian Supreme Court ruling in favour of a Melbourne lawyer, George Defteros, who has acted in the past for underworld figures, including the late Carl Williams.
Defteros was the subject of an article in the Melbourne newspaper, The Age, in 2004 when he was charged with conspiracy to murder and incitement to murder the day before the story was published. The charge was retracted in 2005.
He sued Google after becoming aware that a search for his name brought up the article in question, along with a snippet from it.
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https://itwire.com/it-people/information-overload-inflicts-stress-on-australian-workers-report.html
Wednesday, 17 August 2022 09:30
Information overload inflicts stress on Australian workers: report
Four in five (80%) Australian workers feel that information overload—driven by factors including information overload across devices (37%), constant information 24/7 (34%), too many passwords to remember (33%) or too many apps to check each day (31%)—is contributing to their daily stress, according to new research by software company OpenText.
OpenText’s research reveals the extent to which the effects of information overload are impacting Australia and its workers and how this has changed during the pandemic.
The result recorded an increase: a similar OpenText survey conducted last March 2020 found that information overload caused stressed in two in five (40%) Australian workers.
Even in 2022 when hybrid work has become the norm, less than half of Australian employees (42%) feel they are equipped with the right digital tools at home.
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Why virtual healthcare is the solution to the growing GP crisis in Australia
Longer hours and relentless workloads are among reasons that are contributing to a decline in GPs in Australia, but virtual healthcare can help confront these issues.
By Dr Patrick Aouad, CEO of [cu]health
August 16, 2022 03:51 AM
Our healthcare crisis was happening long before the pandemic. The arrival of Covid-19 only served to exacerbate, compound and highlight the broken system, especially for front line workers.
While Australia on face value has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, general practice has been in trouble for a while, at the very least battling with an abysmal system of remuneration and funding that serves neither practitioners nor patients well for the progressive landscape of care and treatment. In response, the difficulty of running a healthcare business and its associated costs is leading to increased corporatisation – gone are the days of the “jellybean” GP.
Corporatisation may go some way to fixing the operational issues of practice management, but it can’t offer solutions to the ongoing decrease of GP numbers. Over the past 10 years, more graduates are choosing other specialty fields, with only about 15% of graduates going on to general practice. Pandemic border closures during the past few years have also contributed to dwindling GP numbers, causing interruption in the regular supply of interstate and international practitioners. In our rural areas, the situation is significantly worse.
Overall, the specialty is no longer attractive; longer hours, relentless workloads, more patients, less time, and the increased administrative burden is all leading to GP burnout and a diminished capacity to provide care. Fundamentally, for many, there’s no joy in it anymore, so it’s no surprise that for every GP graduate there are at least 10 specialty graduates.
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St Vincent's digital solution to improve risk management
Wednesday, 10 August, 2022
St Vincent’s Health Australia’s Manager of Clinical Governance & Assurance, Edel Murray, reflects on the organisation’s new initiative to reduce risks and improve safety.
At St Vincent’s Health Australia (SVHA), we constantly strive for safer, more effective measures to reduce vulnerability and risks across the organisation. That’s why it was imperative that we empowered our staff to contribute to a broader risk management solution, creating safer environments for patients, clients, colleagues and residents.
RiskMan to the rescue
We had five distinctive, divisional applications to manage incidents, feedback, hazards, quality and risk, and our aim was to consolidate and standardise these into one enterprise digital solution. This was when ‘SVHA RiskMan’ was born. Supported by a robust governance methodology back in August 2020, the initiative was segmented into four distinct stages: Standardisation, Consolidation, Implementation and Transition to Business As Usual (BAU).
A key success factor for the project was stakeholder engagement. The project team led 13 working groups to map current and future state processes. Within these working groups, over 270 subject matter experts participated in virtual meetings, creating one dataset to meet best practice guidelines, legislative compliance and the needs of acute, sub-acute and aged care reporting. As the first SVHA enterprise-wide solution, many specialities were brought together, establishing a number of communities of practice.
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Victoria, the birthing robot, endures the stuff of nightmares
August 16, 2022 — 11.59am
Eleanor is 32 weeks pregnant, her vision is spotty, there’s a throb under her ribcage and she has a splitting headache.
“It has been the perfect pregnancy,” Eleanor tells the midwife in the triage room.
Three minutes later, Eleanor is having a seizure.
Within seconds the triage room is a hive of activity as half a dozen registrars, nurses and midwives circle Eleanor’s bed, fitting an oxygen mask, ordering medication and inserting an IV line.
“Don’t worry about the baby. The priority right now is the mother,” a senior registrar orders.
It’s a tense scene. An eclamptic seizure is a rare and serious complication in pregnancy.
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Tuesday, 16 August 2022 12:24
ACCC to examine competition and consumer ‘concerns’ with social media
The state of competition for social media services and consumer concerns with the services in Australia is to come under scrutiny by the competition watchdog the ACCC as part of its Digital Platform Services inquiry.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it will also consider potential consumer issues, including the way that businesses are using social media advertising services such as display advertising, sponsored posts and paid influencers to engage with and advertise to consumers.
The ACCC has encouraged businesses, consumers and other stakeholders are encouraged to respond to an issues paper released today, which will inform the sixth interim report.
The ACCC says it will examine competition issues involving social media services, including barriers to entry and expansion faced by new platforms, and hurdles and costs faced by consumers and businesses when they try to switch services – and will also consider “consumers’ experiences with social media, including through the impact of scams and the risk of being exposed to misleading or deceptive content by businesses through social media”.
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https://digitalhealth.org.au/blog/its-time-to-shift-the-dial-on-digital-health/
It’s time to Shift the Dial on digital health
Aug 11, 2022 | Advocacy, Shifting the Dial
By Khaled Chakli
Director of Leadership & Policy
It is the right of every Australian to expect a consumer-centric, connected, and digitally capable healthcare system. Australia’s pandemic response proved that it’s possible.
Digital enablement could define twenty-first century healthcare.
For decades, there have been calls for the integration and use of technology in healthcare, its enablement, and its delivery.
Despite this, progress has been frustratingly slow.
Many may argue that this slow progress is a measure of the scale of the challenge – not the willingness or need in the community.
However, over the last 24 months, we’ve witnessed the expedited adoption and scaling of digital health solutions across the Australian healthcare landscape.
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Supporting clinician wellbeing: caring for the healthcare workforce
Nuance Communications
Monday, 15 August, 2022
Australia, like most high-income countries, has a large and growing elderly population with almost 15% of the population 65 years and over, which is associated with increases in chronic diseases.
Additional challenges for the healthcare sector include technological changes requiring adaptation, mismatches between the supply of healthcare staff and patients’ demands, an increase in the number of regulations and protocols, and budget restrictions.
The “thunderbolt” of the COVID-19 pandemic — a critical healthcare issue that put tremendous strain on healthcare systems — demonstrated the speed at which infections could spread across the globe. This caused healthcare organisations to urgently organise their workplaces and immediately adapt to new ways of working to ensure a continuity of care during a tense and uncertain time.
Healthcare organisations face diverse and often interrelated challenges that affect overall wellbeing: Ranging from financial constraints that impact staffing and workload, to pressure to provide quality patient care and increased administrative tasks. The pandemic has only made this worse.
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The fight for the future of consumer data is the real battle behind Google case
7:51PM August 14, 2022
The parent company of search giant Google generates a little over $1bn in revenue a day.
It’s a staggering figure, with nearly two-thirds of this income coming globally from advertising sold across search, as well as sales on the tech major’s other platforms, such as mapping and the Google Play store. Advertising linked to Google’s YouTube video on demand business pulls in another $110m a day.
Australian courts have shown they are starting to apply more force when it comes to civil breaches by companies. However, the latest numbers from Google owner Alphabet highlight the $60m Federal Court fine slapped on it in recent days for misleading users over the tracking data they secretly stored when using Google services over Android phones is barely a drop in the bucket.
The tech company is valued at $US1.5 trillion ($2.1 trillion) – nearly the entire annual economic output of Australia — and this only serves to highlight the scale of the battle ahead.
The Federal Court found Google engaged in misleading conduct and made false claims to as many as 1.3 million Australian users because of the way it presented its collection, storage and use of personal location data in its privacy statements.
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Telemedicine: you can take the emergency physician out of the ED
Authored by Sue Ieraci
COVID-19 has shown us new ways of doing things that are sometimes better than the old ways. The reality is that you can take the emergency physician out of the ED
THEY say that nothing improves insight like a diversity of personal experience. That has certainly been the case for me in my move from hospital-based emergency medicine to emergency telemedicine. I started well before COVID-19 struck, but the unfolding of the pandemic and its impact on the delivery of health care have only served to sharpen the insights I have gained. Looking back over decades in hospital emergency departments (EDs), I now have a sense of “outside, looking in”.
My move from public hospitals had two main motivations. First, I was looking for a more rewarding and less frustrating workplace. Second, and perhaps more importantly, I was starting to see overloaded EDs providing not only time-based but also process-based care. This wasn’t driven by generational change or any lack of training or motivation by my colleagues, it was the overwhelming influence of unsophisticated institutional risk management and blunt performance measures.
It became clear that many institutions were working to manage the service provider’s risk more than the patient’s risk.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/could-virtual-care-ease-the-pressure-sores-in-healthcare/74727
12 August 2022
Easing the pressure sores in healthcare, virtually
By Sponsor
Collaborative remote care including virtual emergency departments may have a major role to play.
How can the burden on Australian healthcare be eased? Thinking beyond the hospital walls may help, Tim Pegler writes:
People and resources in the Australian healthcare system are under unprecedented pressure. Demand for hospitals beds continues to rise, due to a combination of covid, influenza, and other illnesses.
Ambulances can often be seen stuck ramping, waiting outside Emergency Departments because there are insufficient empty beds to transfer patients to. This affects response times for other emergencies; ramped ambulances are effectively offline until they can offload patients.
Healthcare clinics and hospitals struggle to fill their rosters because so many staff are unwell or home caring for sick family members. Those available to work are likely to be overstretched, covering for absent colleagues, and generally running on empty.
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David.
Putting the breaks on the Uber patient delivery service would be wise and make it part of an overhaul review of Scotty from all departments policies and decisions. NDIS is looking like less than honest folks have infuriated it and not only ripping it off but also extorting vulnerable people. Not saying Uber is a criminal gang but you can see how it too could be used for criminal extortion.
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