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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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A new imperative: Post-pandemic shifts in Australia's healthcare industry
Philips Australia
& New Zealand
Friday, 02 September, 2022
The height of the COVID-19 panic in Australia has subsided, and the nation’s attention has turned from its own health to that of the economy. But while many sectors are moving to a post-pandemic perspective, the healthcare industry continues to manage the COVID-19 frontline. Case numbers have surged due to new variants of the virus and the ongoing strain on healthcare workers is growing, with 87% of the Royal Australasian College of Physician members concerned about workforce burnout[1].
Adapting in response, Australia’s healthcare facilities have implemented large scale change to the way they operate. Remote health solutions are becoming more mainstream, digitisation continues to accelerate, and the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS)[2] telehealth funding arrangements have increased uptake and acceptance of digital healthcare models. Together these unique forces are shaping the priorities of Australia’s healthcare leaders, according to the findings from the Future Health Index 2022 Australian report (FHI 2022).
Based on survey responses from 200 Australian healthcare leaders, this year’s report explores how healthcare leaders are reassessing their priorities to address key challenges including staff shortages and retention, extending care delivery, and harnessing the power of big data and predictive analytics.
And while the industry continues to face a vast array of challenges, from a decline in public hospital beds to overstretched emergency and acute care settings[3], the extreme disruption created by the pandemic has forced many senior executives to rethink their strategic goals and use disruption as a force for resilience. From tackling inherent systemic challenges to healthcare delivery that were exacerbated by the pandemic, to growing some of the positive technological changes, Australia’s healthcare leaders are refocusing their attention to create a path forward for positive long-term change.
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https://digitalhealth.org.au/blog/student-placement-and-the-use-of-digital-systems/
Student placement and the use of digital systems
Aug 29, 2022 | Aged care, Community Chats, Community of Practice, Data, Digital Health, eHealth, Innovation, Nursing & Midwifery Informatics
Sally Duncan
Chief Nursing & Midwifery Information Officer, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Before digital health, things were much simpler for both the student nurse, and midwife, in relation to learning how to document assessments, medications, observations, and care. Back in the early eighties, when I trained in both areas, we had a very hands-on integrated approach to learning how to document, compared to today’s world, with basic observational charts, fluid balance charts, medication charts and what was known as a ‘Nursing/Midwifery Kardex’ to document care and plans. What we learnt around nursing and midwifery documentation in the classroom, was then emulated on our placements under the supervision of the registered nurses/midwives and tutors. At the end of each placement, we mastered the art of caring for and documenting our patient’s/woman’s/baby care assessments, goals, treatments and interventions, for that specialty/area.
Today, it has become much more complex. There is not only paper documentation but more often than not there is a digital health record and other digital health technologies to learn. Do the current nursing and midwifery undergraduate students have the same experience in preparing them for their placements? With the fairly rapid rise in digital health, it seems university education around preparing students for digital health systems has lagged. In 2013, Baillie et al. [1] conducted a survey that investigated student nurse and midwife experiences of using the electronic medical record (EMR) in practice. The results indicated that there needed to be more opportunities to enable students to be more competent in using EMRs prior to placement, with a request for more hands-on practice in a simulated environment. Following the published paper, a collaboration between the university and its affiliated health organisations established governance around onboarding and guidelines around usage, and also provided formalised EMR training for their students.
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‘Unable to keep up’: Information Commissioner issues budget warning
By Sean Parnell
September 2, 2022 — 11.27am
Information Commissioner Geraldine Falk has warned the Albanese government her office cannot be expected to keep doing more work without an increase in funding.
The former Coalition government initially proposed to abolish the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, but instead left key vacancies unfilled and restricted funding. In the FOI area, that led to a blowout in timeframes relating to complaints about government decisions and policies.
In a letter to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, obtained by Brisbane Times under FOI laws, Falk said her office continued to “support integrity, transparency and accountability of government through year-on-year increases to the efficiency with which we acquit our responsibilities”.
“However, as you will see from the attached information, we are unable to keep up with the incoming work with less funding for this function than we received in 2014-15, owing to the increased volume and complexity of the work,” Falk wrote.
Dreyfus was given background information showing “the OAIC’s most critical budget pressure relates to its FOI functions”.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/is-halo-connect-a-pragmatic-big-step-to-better-system-data-sharing/
31 August 2022
Is Halo Connect a pragmatic big step to better system data sharing?
Halo’s middleware multi-point FHIR connector idea has the potential to become a bridge between our old and new digital health ecosystems and, possibly even, between hospitals and primary care in the short term
From little things…
Last week’s coming out of Halo Connect to the digital health community might have passed with too little fanfare, given what the product might actually mean for our health system moving forward.
The product announcement itself was reasonably low key: a single FHIR-Open API based integration layer for our largest national primary care patient management system (PMS), Best Practice (BP).
It means that all those integrations to BP (there’s about 100 of them), which is probably somewhere north of being on the desktops of 60% of our GPs, can build their own APIs to talk to this “middleware”, and after that they largely can get on with developing their IP and not worry any more about upgrading versions to make sure they connect properly with BP.
As a one-off build for all those integrators, it should end up paying back very quickly.
For any new integrators it will make things a lot easier.
All this is the first part of the Halo idea.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/what-does-the-us-open-access-decision-mean/76058
31 August 2022
What does the US open access decision mean?
This is a huge step in efforts to make government-funded research available to all.
Last week, the United States announced an updated policy guidance on open access that will substantially expand public access to science not just in America, but worldwide.
As per the guidance, all US federal agencies must put in place policies and plans so anyone anywhere can immediately and freely access the peer-reviewed publications and data arising from research they fund.
The policies need to be in place by the end of 2025, according to President Biden’s White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
A substantial step
The new guidance builds on a previous memo issued by then president Barack Obama’s office in 2013. That one only applied to the largest funding agencies and, in a crucial difference, allowed for a 12-month delay or embargo for the publications to be available.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/cybersecurity-is-patient-care/76032
31 August 2022
Cybersecurity is patient care
By Holly Payne
Compromised data means compromised patient care, according to a new report looking at the Australian healthcare system.
Think of every patient’s file as a Ferrari.
No, really – that’s how valuable the information inside can be to a hacker, according to a new report from professional services firm RSM Australia’s health arm, titled Building resilient healthcare organisations in Australia: Innovation, data and security.
In comparison, credit card details are more like a beaten-up old Ford.
“With a stolen credit card, the most you can use it for is five days, if you’re lucky,” RSM director of cyber security Ashwin Pal said.
“However, with patient data and all of the information you get with it, you can actually go in and get five credit cards, five mortgages, three personal loans … and off you go to Mexico.”
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Big tech must crack down on child sexual abuse material
The Herald's View
August 30, 2022 — 6.01pm
There has been ferocious debate in Australia over the past few years about the responsibility big tech companies should bear for content on their platforms.
In the wake of incidents such as the livestreaming of the Christchurch mosque massacre in 2019, companies have become much more proactive in monitoring content that could encourage violence or other crimes.
Since then, Twitter has banned Donald Trump for spreading lies about the presidential election that encouraged the rioting at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
During the election campaign this year, then-prime minister Scott Morrison promised to use a new law on defamation to fight trolling and cyberbullying.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/skills-shortage-behind-digital-restart-funding-pause-dominello/
Skills shortage behind Digital Restart funding pause: Dominello
Justin
Hendry
Editor
30 August 2022
The New South Wales Government’s flagship investment vehicle for digital projects was not topped up in this year’s state Budget due to Treasury concerns over labour market constraints.
The state’s Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said a request for additional funding had been made for the Digital Restart Fund, but that the bid was ultimately knocked back.
“I made a pitch to Treasury. I wanted it to be topped up, but Treasury reported back to us that we had challenges in relation to supply,” he told a Budget Estimates hearing on Tuesday.
“The challenge is … there’s just not enough supply [in the market] in relation to talent coming through; the coders, the engineers we need to actually do the product.”
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Tuesday, 30 August 2022 12:18
Over third of Australians would delete themselves from Internet if they could: study
More than a third of Aussies (35%) would delete themselves from the internet if they could, according to a new study commissioned by cybersecurity company NordVPN.
And when asked about the reason, 40% of Australians said they don’t trust the internet, while 39% feel used because companies exploit their data to their advantage.
Another 38% say they fear that someone will eventually hack their devices, and around the same percentage say they have no reason to have their name on the internet.
According to respondents from the survey - commissioned by NordVPN and conducted by Cint - of 1,000 Australians, more than half (56%) said that they would most like their personal financial information to be deleted from the internet - and other information Australians want deleted from the internet include:
- 38% - Unflattering photos/videos
· 32% - Embarrassing moments
· 27% - Old dating/social media profiles
· 17% - Previous employment history
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/wheres-your-health-data-now/75941
30 August 2022
Where’s your health data now?
Privacy must be maintained, but it’s a poor argument against coding outpatient visits – that already happens in hospitals.
Pause for a moment and ask yourself where your health data is right now.
The answer is probably: in a variety of locations all over the world.
For those of us who handle health data every day, managing privacy and security is central to everything we do, and the key to survival. Data breaches are the stuff of nightmares, so companies that handle large volumes of health data mitigate their risks by going to extraordinary lengths to protect data security.
There is usually an array of physical, technical, and administrative safeguards in place, as well as ISO accreditations, regular penetration tests and of course cyber insurance, now essential for all MedTech companies.
Keeping health data secure, while also allowing it to exit bricks and mortar buildings, is an international challenge that always requires a regulatory response. Most countries have data security and/or privacy legislation, which typically does not seek to prevent health data crossing borders, but rather, seeks to govern that process.
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https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2022/aussie-businesses-falling-behind-on-tech.html
Aussie businesses falling behind on tech
Data and AI use well below where it should.
By Casey Tonkin on Aug 29 2022 08:38 PM
Australian businesses are continuing to fall behind on technology adoption, especially when it comes to data analytics and artificial intelligence, an interim Productivity Commission report into Australia’s data and digital dividend has found.
When stacked up against OECD countries, Australian businesses performs fine when it comes to basic internet connectivity and cloud adoption but is at the bottom of the pile for data and AI.
“Technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotic automation and big data analytics could revolutionise how businesses operate and help lift Australia’s productivity growth by reducing costs, improving the quality of goods and services, and increasing product choice for consumers,” Productivity Commissioner Dr Stephen King said in a statement.
“Digital technology and data will continue to shape global economic growth and social change in coming years.
“Whether we fully realise the productivity dividend offered by these opportunities will depend on how effectively governments, businesses and individuals can recognise and safely harness these changes for Australia’s benefit.”
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Monday, 29 August 2022 11:43
Entertainment services subscription up by 16% in the last 12 months amid soaring prices: analyst
The Telsyte Australian Subscription Entertainment Study 2022 found entertainment subscription services have become essential to Australians’ content consumption and discovery across video, games and music.
Services and higher demand for “at home” entertainment and services increased by more than six million to 48.4 million during the twelve months to June 2022.
SVOD, streaming music and games-related subscription services all experienced growth during the measured period (22%, 17% and 19%, respectively) while traditional pay TV continued with a 9% year-on-year decline.
Telsyte’s research found streaming entertainment is now considered “essential” for more than half (54% for SVOD and 52% for music) of users.
Despite macroeconomic headwinds and “cost of living” pressures, Telsyte continues to forecast growth for all sectors, with games growing the fastest to 2026.
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Fetal heart monitors implicated in stillbirths, neonatal death
August 29, 2022 — 5.00am
The medical watchdog is investigating the dangers of at-home fetal heart monitors following three stillbirths and one neonatal death linked to the devices.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will consider banning handheld fetal dopplers for personal use after they were linked to multiple cases of pregnant women being “falsely reassured” that their unborn baby had a healthy heartbeat, leading to delays in seeking medical attention.
Health authorities reported three stillbirths and one early neonatal death to the TGA in the past 12 months, prompting a review of the device’s safety, benefits and harms.
“While the deaths may not have been avoidable, the use of home fetal dopplers delayed the women’s presentation for timely review by providing false reassurance about their baby’s wellbeing,” the TGA said in a statement.
“Without training, the sounds detected from the mother or placenta could easily be misinterpreted as the fetal heartbeat, providing potentially inaccurate reassurance.”
There were also reported cases where parents couldn’t find a fetal heartbeat using the devices, causing unnecessary panic, the TGA said.
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Unlocking the secret to private messaging apps
UNSW
Unless your messaging app offers end-to-end encryption, your private conversations may be accessed without your consent.
Whether you’re sharing confidential information or swapping movie ideas with a friend, people are turning to private messaging apps that offer end-to-end encryption to protect the contents of their conversations.
When data is shared over the Internet, it often traverses a series of networks to reach its destination. Apps such as WhatsApp, owned by social media giant Meta (formerly Facebook), provide a level of privacy that even challenges Government agencies from accessing encrypted conversations.
However, with the apps constantly changing their security and privacy policies, are the messages still safe from being decrypted?
Back in May 2021, disapproval by the online community with the changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy for business entities using the platform, saw many users switch to other private messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram.
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Friday, 26 August 2022 10:18
Australia an increasingly attractive traget for cybercriminals: report
By Staff Writer
The global cyber threat environment has intensified and Australia is an increasingly attractive target for malicious actors and cybercriminals, according to a new report.
The alert comes from the Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) i its Annual Report 2022, with Chairman and Telstra CEO Andrew Penn commenting that deteriorating geopolitical tensions, the expansion of hybrid work outside traditional corporate firewalls and adaptive offenders saw cybercrimes including ransomware, mobile malware and business email compromise (BEC) significantly increase this past year.
“New technologies and the move to more time being spent online as a result of COVID has created greater opportunities for cybercriminals,” Penn said.
“At the same time geopolitical tensions have grown following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and the risk of attacks on Australian networks – whether directly or inadvertently – has also increased.
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How ProMedicus turned a $US3.5m deal into $5.5b in value
Yolanda Redrup Reporter
Aug 28, 2022 – 12.26pm
When you think about return on investment, it doesn’t get much better than Pro Medicus acquisition of imaging technology company Visage for $US3.5 million.
It was January 2009 when Pro Medicus co-founder Sam Hupert paid a visit to Bell Potter senior analyst John Hester, who was working at the now defunct Linwar Securities. Dr Hupert excitedly told Mr Hester the medtech company, which was trading at less than $1 at the time, had just bought some revolutionary new technology, developed by a team out of a research and development lab in Germany.
“He said ‘I’ve just bought this fantastic piece of software, it’ll change the world’. Everyone rolled their eyes, but that was the turning point,” Mr Hester told The Australian Financial Review.
“Prior to that, Pro Medicus was a very different company. It had this run-of-the-mill picture archiving and communications system that was highly vanilla and not differentiated from the market.
“With Visage, Sam saw this vision that no one else had wanted to tap.”
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David.
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