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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Basically it Leaks first and daylight second. Amazing mess to say the least!
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Federal Budget 2022–23 health highlights
Wednesday, 26 October, 2022
The Albanese government has delivered its first budget, with $104.1bn overall spending committed to health and $30.6 billion on aged care.
A $2.9 billion package will drive a revamp of Australia’s primary healthcare system. “Medicare will be strengthened, reaffirming its integrity and intent as a cornerstone of the health system,” said Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care, in a statement.
The government will set up 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics with an aim to reduce the pressure on the hospital system.
“A $235m funding from 2022–23 will support the commencement of the rollout, including $100m over 2 years from 2022–23 to co-develop and pilot innovative models with states and territories to improve care pathways and inform the urgent care program rollout. “A new GP grants program will provide a much-needed boost to local GP practices and improve care ($229.7m).”
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/aged-care-lands-312m-for-it-modernisation-586951
Aged care lands $312m for IT modernisation
By Ry Crozier on Oct 25, 2022 10:13PM
Budget commits to improvements sought by Royal Commission.
Australia’s aged care administration has emerged as a major winner in the first Labor government budget, with $312.6 million over four years to be spent on IT modernisation.
The funding is the single largest chunk of a four-year, $540.3 million commitment “to improve the delivery of aged care services” and respond to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s findings.
The commission, which handed down its findings in March 2021, recommended sweeping changes to IT systems in the sector, as well as a focus on adopting digital technology to improve resident care and wellbeing.
“The new aged care system will need to be supported by an information and communications system that is vastly evolved from the systems that exist now,” the final report stated. [pdf]
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/it-modernisation-dominates-tech-spend-in-budget-2022-23-586963
IT modernisation dominates tech spend in Budget 2022-23
By Ry Crozier on Oct 26, 2022 6:42AM
All the winners.
The Labor government’s first budget was billed around “building a better future” and included sizable investments for IT modernisation in aged care, education, and veterans’ affairs.
Aged care represents one of the largest slices of funding, with $312 million flowing to much-needed IT modernisation in the sector, an issue raised in 2021’s Royal Commission.
Modernisation is also on the cards at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, with $87 million over two years to be spent on improving “the administration of the claims processing system and improving veterans’ services.”
“This measure will enhance ICT systems, including MyService and myGov to better support veterans and their families,” the government stated.
“This measure also supports the development of business cases to replace and modernise at risk legacy ICT systems.”
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/australia-modernise-aged-care-it-new-budget
Australia to 'modernise' aged care IT with new budget
It is delivering on reform promises made following the recommendations of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
By Adam Ang
October 26, 2022 01:37 AM
The Australian government is investing A$312.6 million (around $200 million) over four years to improve the ICT systems in the aged care sector.
It is part of the A$3.9 billion ($2.5 billion) 2022-2023 October budget for implementing aged care reforms to "improve safety, dignity, quality and humanity."
WHY IT MATTERS
According to Health Minister Mark Butler, the ICT modernisation budget will help reduce the administrative burden for over 2,000 providers and sustain the existing operations of the My Aged Care system, which helps connect senior folks to government-funded aged care services.
THE LARGER CONTEXT
An industry survey conducted in June by the Aged Care Technology Consortium revealed a lack of digital system implementations across the aged care sector.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety also noted in its 2021 report that the aged care sector is "deeply analogue" and "well behind" other sectors in the use and application of technology. Of the 148 recommendations forwarded to the federal government, 126 were accepted, including 30 that are ICT-related. The October budget is delivering on some of these accepted recommendations.
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Plan released to help healthcare workers up-skill for a digital world
Published 27 October 2022
The ADHA and AIDH released a new plan to deliver digital health capability across the health workforce.
The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) and the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) have released the Capability Action Plan, which is designed to support Australia’s health workforce to continue to develop the skills they need to deliver the best care for Australians in an increasingly digital world.
The plan identifies the priority actions that are needed to ensure the workforce can respond to the needs of consumers, now and in the future. It includes frameworks, guidelines, resources and tools identified through previous work and details ongoing sector consultation to equip Australia’s health workforce for a connected, digitally enabled future.
Read the National Digital Health Capability Action Plan.
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https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/data-changes-flagged-for-hundreds-of-general-pract
Data changes flagged for hundreds of general practices
Significant changes to the way MedicineInsight data from almost 700 general practices is overseen lie ahead, with an opt-out deadline next week.
27 Oct 2022
Hundreds of general practices are yet to open an email
outlining significant changes affecting the management of data for
MedicineInsight, a nationwide quality improvement program.
The program was developed and managed by NPS MedicineWise, the not-for-profit
organisation currently responsible for stewarding the quality use of medicines
(QUM) in Australia.
Around 650 general practices participate, with each providing de-identified
primary care data. They all have a MedicineInsight practice agreement with NPS
MedicineWise.
However, NPS MedicineWise will close at the end of this year and
responsibilities for the data are due to transfer to the Australian Commission
on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC).
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Cancer Institute of NSW Updated Toolkit now available
The Cancer Institute of NSW is proud to launch its updated Primary Care Cancer Control Quality Improvement Toolkit.
Enhancements include:
- An online quality improvement toolkit - easy to navigate with consistent look and feel - we listened to your feedback
- Manageable steps your practice can take that will - save you time, improve your cancer screening participation rates and reduce cancer risk among your patient population
- Go directly to a specific cancer screening or prevention module, choose an area of focus, use quick reference guides to guide your approach, find QI activities and patient resources
- Open as much or as little information as you need from the drop down menus, with four key elements across each module – patient centered, team approach, quality improvement and data and systems
CESPHN is promoting the new Tool Kit at a CPD event on 21 November at 7.30 pm. The Cancer Institute of NSW will walk us through the new Toolkit and Telstra Health will show how the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) can help improve cancer screening in your practice. We also have Dana Tse, a local Practice Manager, sharing her tips on Cancer Screening and QI.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/st-john-god-health-care-turns-cloud-manage-16000-workforce
St John of God Health Care turns to cloud to manage 16,000 workforce
It will adopt the Workday HCM with an aim to enhance staff retention.
By Adam Ang
October 27, 2022 03:50 AM
St John of God Health Care seeks to simply staff experience by bringing its human resource system to the cloud.
The not-for-profit healthcare organisation runs 27 public and private health facilities across Australia and New Zealand, including 17 hospitals, disability services, mental health facilities, home nursing, and other clinical specialties.
As part of its human resource transformation, the healthcare provider will be adopting Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), which will be implemented across its organisation by its partner, KPMG.
Through this cloud platform, St John of God Health Care will be able to manage its workforce throughout their career cycle; forecast future skills and identify gaps; track and manage diversity and inclusion; and systematically engage and connect with staff and monitor their well-being.
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Medibank says main brand and more AHM customers hit by cyberattack
Ayesha de Kretser Senior Reporter
Oct 25, 2022 – 8.59am
Australia’s biggest health insurer says it now has evidence that customers of its core Medibank brand health insurance have been caught up in a widening data breach and criminals have stepped up extortion demands after providing another 1000 customers’ details.
“It has become clear that the criminal has taken data that now includes Medibank customer data, in addition to that of AHM and international student customers,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The embarrassing admission comes after Medibank spent the last week-and-a-half telling the market it was confident the issue -- which involves the most sensitive health data and personal information -- was contained to its cheaper AHM-branded insurance and international students.
It also told the government within 48 hours of the first activity being detected on October 12 that no data had been taken from its systems, leaving big question marks over the quality of its cyber defences.
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Medibank lashed for poor communications, minister stays quiet
Ayesha de Kretser and Paul Smith
Oct 24, 2022 – 5.00am
Medibank should have been clearer from the start that customer data could have been stolen, experts say, as pressure builds on the health insurer to reveal what it knew about the ransom attack and when, and invest more in its cyber defences.
On Friday, Medibank chief executive David Koczkar said again that the health insurer had no idea its customers’ data was sitting in the hands of criminals until it was contacted to pay a ransom.
Medibank entered a trading halt the day after discovering the cyber threat and told the market it had “no evidence to suggest that any sensitive data, including customer data, has been accessed”, leaving many customers – and the market – to conclude that everything was fine.
Mr Koczkar again defended Medibank’s handling of the matter, saying its focus had been on what it knew, rather than revealing the extent of what was unknown to its 3.8 million members.
“I guess the challenge with being transparent and timely is that there are things that you don’t know, so we’ve been very clear saying ‘this is what we do know’,” he told The Australian Financial Review on Friday.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/gov-invokes-emergency-coordination-as-medibank-breach-worsens-586965
Gov invokes emergency coordination as Medibank breach worsens
By Richard Chirgwin on Oct 26, 2022 9:15AM
Insurer now says all Medibank, ahm, international student customers breached.
The government has invoked a Covid-era response mechanism, bringing together federal, state and territory agencies to coordinate on the worsening Medibank data breach.
Minister for cyber security Clare O'Neil said the national coordination mechanism (NCM) was activated on Saturday.
The activation came as Medibank announced that the attackers who breached its ahm and international student systems had provided a file which demonstrated compromise of customer records under its main brand as well.
Since yesterday's announcement, Medibank has announced that the data breach affects personal data and "significant amounts of health claims data" of all ahm, international student, and Medibank customers.
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Wednesday, 26 October 2022 10:17
Medibank says all 3.9m customers could be affected by data breach
By Sam Varghese
Medical insurer Medibank Group says all of the 3.9 million customers of its main business could now be assumed to be affected by the theft of data, even as it prepared for a resumption of trading.
In a statement on Wednesday, the company said it expects to spend up to $35 million on non-recurring costs due to the network attack it has suffered, not including potential customer and other remediation or legal costs.
"This cyber crime event continues to evolve and at this stage, we are unable to predict with any certainty the impact of any future events on Medibank, including the quantum of any potential customer and other remediation, regulatory or litigation related costs," the company said.
When it first announced its systems had been breached, it said there was no indication of any sensitive data having leaked. Later, Medibank said the data stolen was limited to ahm and international students.
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Thursday, 27 October 2022 17:11
Medibank says My Home Hospital also hit, PII and health data accessed
By Sam Varghese
The next instalment of the Medibank Group data breach has arrived, with the company confessing on Thursday that patient information from My Home Hospital had also been accessed by an attacker.
My Home Hospital is a joint venture between Calvary and Medibank implemented on behalf of Wellbeing SA and the South Australian Government.
Medibank said in a statement that personal information and some health data had been accessed. No further details were provided, but given the current trend there may be more to come on Friday.
It added that it was unsure whether the data had been stolen, but was sure it had been accessed. A spokesperson said the JV had had about 4400 patients since it began operations in 2021 and all were assumed to be affected.
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https://www.afr.com/technology/health-lab-hacked-medicare-numbers-posted-on-dark-web-20221027-p5btdk
Medicare numbers posted on dark web after health lab hack
Jessica Sier Journalist
Oct 27, 2022 – 10.14am
Australian Clinical Labs has said the health records and credit card information of about 223,000 patients and staff in its Medlab Pathology business were stolen in a cyberattack in February and then posted on the dark web.
On Thursday morning, ACL said the breach affected customers mostly across NSW and Queensland, and included more than 17,500 individual medical and health records, over 28,000 credit card numbers and individuals’ names, as well as more than 128,600 Medicare numbers.
“To date, there is no evidence of misuse of any of the information or any demand made of Medlab or ACL,” the company said, adding that the compromised Medlab server had been de-commissioned. ACL’s broader systems and databases were unaffected.
The breach is the latest in a series of attacks on Australian businesses. Medibank data was compromised last week and telecommunications giant Optus suffered a breach that saw 9.8 million customer details stolen.
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Pathology giant Australian Clinical Labs, which owns Medlab, hit by cyber hack
October 27, 2022
Pathology services giant Australian Clinical Labs will only now start contacting its 223,000 staff and customers, mainly in NSW and Queensland, potentially impacted by a cyber attack at its Medlab Pathology business in February.
Shares in the $715m business are down more than 11 per cent to $3.14 in opening trade.
ACL, which bought Medlab in December, said on Thursday that the “notifiable cyber incident” involving personal information of some of Medlab’s patients and staff occurred in February.
But a thorough forensic investigation was only launched after June following repeated warnings by the Australian Cyber Security Centre, including of customer data being available on the dark web.
The disclosure follows cyber attacks at Optus, Medibank and Woolworths’ MyDeal.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/medlab-pathology-discloses-february-data-breach-587030
Medlab Pathology discloses February data breach
By Richard Chirgwin on Oct 27, 2022 11:22AM
Some 223,000 people impacted, records include credit card numbers with CVVs.
Medlab Pathology has disclosed a February data breach affecting 223,000 individuals, mostly in NSW and Queensland.
Its ASX-listed owners, Australian Clinical Labs (ACL), said [pdf] that Medlab "became aware of an unauthorised third-party access to its IT system in February 2022."
ACL said it "immediately coordinated a forensic investigation led by independent external cyber experts" into the incident but "did not find any evidence that information had been compromised.”
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) learned of the incident - said to be ransomware - in March, and in June alerted ACL to the appearance of a "highly complex and unstructured" Medlab dataset appearing on the dark web.
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Thursday, 27 October 2022 16:09
Pathology practice Medlab reveals data breach after nine months
By Sam Varghese
Almost nine months after it experienced what it terms a "cyber incident", private pathology practice Medlab Pathology has issued a statement about the incident in which Medicare details and credit card numbers of staff and patients were stolen.
The "cyber incident" appears to have been a Windows ransomware attack. The statement was made in the name of chief executive Melinda McGrath.
Medlab is owned by Australian Clinical Labs which acquired the former in December 2021; it has operations in NSW and Queensland. The breach occurred in February 2022.
The statement said it had begun notifying those affected on Thursday.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/major-pathology-provider-revealed-as-latest-hack-victim/
Major pathology provider revealed as latest hack victim
Australian Clinical Labs says 20,000 medical records and 130,000 Medicare numbers were stolen
28 October 2022
Australian Clinical Labs, one of the country’s biggest private pathology companies, has revealed that 20,000 patient records from its subsidiary Medlab were leaked online earlier this year.
Another 130,000 Medicare numbers and 28,000 credit card numbers linked to patients were also revealed, although the company stressed that more than half of the credit cards were expired and just 3400 included the CVV code.
It is the third leak of Medicare numbers in quick succession, following major breaches at Optus, which used them for identity verification; and Medibank Private.
The Federal Government is still scrambling to work out whether millions of patients should be reissued new Medicare numbers.
Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) announced the breach in an ASX announcement on Thursday.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/data-over-200000-patients-staff-affected-medlab-hack
Data of over 200,000 patients, staff affected by Medlab hack
Their information had also been posted on the dark web.
By Adam Ang
October 28, 2022 12:17 AM
Around 223,000 patients and staff have been affected by a cyberattack on Medlab Pathology in February.
This is based on findings from a forensic investigation launched by ASX-listed private pathology services provider Australian Clinical Labs (ACL), which acquired the pathology laboratory late last year.
The hacked data includes about 17,500 medical and health records associated with a pathology test, over 28,000 credit card numbers, and around 128,000 Medicare numbers. Affected individuals were said to be mostly confined to NSW and Queensland.
However, ACL noted that there is "no evidence of misuse" of any of the information nor is there any demand made of Medlab and ACL.
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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/621484/Interim-Health-Plan-identifies-importance-of-digital-tools.htm
Interim Health Plan identifies importance of digital tools
Thursday, 27 October 2022
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
New Zealand’s interim Health
Plan – Te Pae Tata – says digital tools will make an important contribution to
improve efficiency, outcomes and equity of outcomes in health services.
The new plan has been developed by Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand and Te Aka
Whai Ora – Māori Health Authority and replaces 20 different district annual
plans. It is designed to begin transformation while a full-scale plan is
developed.
Te Pae Tata says Te Whatu Ora will grow the opportunities for people to use
digital tools to access and use their health information, make appointments,
receive phone and video consultations and use equipment to monitor their health
at home.
“Access to health information, self and remote monitoring empowers people,
whānau and communities to better manage their own health and wellbeing,” it
says.
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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/620430/Whanau-Consumer-and-Clinician-Digital-Council-EOI-released.htm
Whānau, Consumer and Clinician Digital Council EOI released
Tuesday, 25 October 2022
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
Te Whatu Ora has released an expression of interest for the
new Whānau, Consumer and Clinician Digital Council, saying it “will provide a
link between the Te Whatu Ora Data and Digital executive and clinicians, consumers,
whānau, hapori and communities.”
The organisation is seeking expressions of interest for members, who will
ultimately “help shape data and digital technologies to improve health outcomes
across Aotearoa”.
An EOI document says the group will provide advice and recommendations to the
chief data and digital and report to them and other executive leadership teams
and board committees.
Interim chief data and digital, Stuart Bloomfield, told attendees at the Digital Health Summit in Wellington in
September that the new group will advise on and prioritise the many
clinical data and digital projects being worked on nationwide, ensuring they
“fit into an overall, cohesive and smarter system”.
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Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences
Recruiter MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY - SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
Location North Ryde, Australia
Salary $97,621 to $104,622 (Level A step 6-8) plus 17% superannuation and annual leave loading
Posted 27 Oct 2022
End of advertisement period 18 Nov 2022
Ref R000008897
Academic Discipline Clinical, Pre-clinical & Health, Medicine & Dentistry, Other Health & Social Care
Job Type Academic Posts, Research Fellowships, Postdocs
Contract Type Fixed Term
- Salary Package: $97,621 to $104,622 (Level A step 6-8) plus 17% superannuation and annual leave loading
- Appointment Type: Full or part-time fixed term, until June 2024 (possibility of extension)
- Location: Macquarie University (North Ryde)
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/privacy-act-amendments-land-in-parliament-586975
Privacy Act amendments land in parliament
By Richard Chirgwin on Oct 26, 2022 10:18AM
Privacy breach fines could exceed $50 million.
The federal government has introduced amendments to beef up the Privacy Act.
Foreshadowed earlier this month following the Optus data breach, the amendments were introduced to the House of Representatives this morning by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.
As promised, the amendments include higher fines for serious privacy breaches; a strengthened notifiable data breaches scheme; enhanced enforcement powers for the Australian Information Commissioner; and greater information sharing arrangements.
“The novel privacy challenges posed by the rise of digital platforms and the unprecedented volume and variety of data that these platforms collect from users underscores the importance of reforming our privacy laws,” Dreyfus said.
The current $2.2 million fines available to the Australian information commissioner are inadequate, with Dreyfus echoing statements by commissioner Angelene Falk that the fines must be more than “simply the cost of doing business”.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/werribee-mercy-implements-mybeepr-to-enhance-clinical-communication
12 October 2022
Werribee Mercy implements myBeepr to enhance clinical communication
Werribee Mercy implemented myBeepr to support clinical staff in their day-day workflow and chose the platform following its successful implementation at Western Health.
myBeepr is a cloud-hosted, enterprise, bespoke clinical collaboration platform. It has become a standout performer in the clinical collaboration space with 16 hospitals implementing myBeepr in the past 18 months. The platform has consistently achieved >90% uptake and engagement amongst doctors across all implementations, with hospitals choosing myBeepr to be a core part of their long-term digital strategy.
myBeepr is backed by Avant Mutual, Australia’s largest medical indemnity provider for doctors, and allows clinical staff to conduct role-based messaging, transmit secure clinical photos and can be used as a LAN-paging replacement. It can be integrated with hospital systems such as EMR, PAS and Radiology. The platform also allows hospitals to connect with GPs and specialists in the community, connecting acute and primary care.
Werribee Mercy Hospital implemented myBeepr organisation wide with the medical, surgical, anaesthetics, emergency, O&G and pharmacy departments going live first. The organisation formed a dedicated working group led by myBeepr’s customer success team and the main objectives of the rollout were to mitigate social media use at work, reduce the reliance on LAN-paging for non-urgent communication and provide a unified method of communicating and sending clinical photos. In the first 6 weeks of go-live, there was a >90% uptake, with >23,000 messages read, 50 care team groups created and 4,700 clinical photos shared.
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Evolt 360 strengthens health data security
Wednesday, 26 October, 2022
In the wake of recent high-profile cyber attacks, health monitoring technology company Evolt 360 has undertaken extensive auditing and documentation of processes to ensure best practices are followed to prevent, detect and repair any threats and vulnerabilities to data security.
The health-tech organisation has also completed the ISO/IEC 27001 certification as part of an ongoing commitment to meeting the highest global information security standards.
The audit activities included verifying the effectiveness of the company’s hardware, software, networks and physical facilities, testing processes and controls in place to manage incidents and ensuring staff are adequately vetted and trained on delivering services securely.
In announcing the new status, Kelly Weideman, Chief Innovation Officer of Evolt, said, “As recent high-profile cyber incidents have demonstrated, all companies large and small are susceptible to data breaches.
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Wednesday, 26 October 2022 12:24
Claroty strengthens Cabrini’s medical security capabilities
Medical technology service provider Cabrini has picked healthcare clinical device data security and integration platform Medigate by Claroty to enhance its specialised biomedical managed services portfolio and add critical medical device cybersecurity capabilities to address the growing threats within healthcare environments.
The partnership between Medigate and Cabrini addresses device safety and security, threat detection and remediation, and device efficiency optimisation, marrying industry expertise across technology, people, and process.
Medigate collaborates with device manufacturers and delivers insights that provide visibility into the manufacturers’ remediation process directly within the platform.
As a result, biomedical teams can plan and optimise resource allocation and maintenance windows well in advance.Medigate by Claroty is a modular, SaaS-powered healthcare cybersecurity platform that scales to protect the extended internet of things (XIoT) across healthcare environments, which includes all IoMT, OT, IoT and IT systems.
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Mixed reality 3D hologram technology used in surgery
Wednesday, 26 October, 2022
Digital holograms are an emerging tool in operating rooms across the globe. Dr Travis Falconer, a specialist shoulder and elbow surgeon at Hollywood Private Hospital, WA, used a HoloLens mixed reality headset during surgery.
Mixed reality is the merger of real and virtual worlds with enhanced immersion and interaction.
Falconer was able to see a 3D hologram of the surgical plan over the patient’s anatomy in real time, which allowed him to use the planning software and refer to data analysis during surgery. By using hand gestures and voice commands, he was able to interact with the holographic objects.
The aim of using mixed reality techniques is to enhance precision and simplify complex surgeries. Being able to refer to the surgical plan during surgery provides another layer of checks and balances for surgeons.
Falconer said he was proud to be selected by medical technology company Stryker to trial the new medical technology in WA.
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MEDIA RELEASE Monday 24 October 2022
Dr Elizabeth Deveny confirmed as CHF CEO
Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) is pleased to announce that Dr Elizabeth Deveny has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Dr Deveny was appointed Interim CEO on 22 August and has impressed CHF’s board of directors with her deep understanding of, and networks within, the health sector.
“It is clear that Elizabeth has the drive, vision and skills to raise CHF’s profile in the health sector and amplify the voice of the consumer at all levels,” Board Chair Tony Lawson said.
“We are delighted that she has accepted the role of CEO on a permanent basis. She has already made great strides towards engaging our key stakeholders and beginning the conversation about how we ‘hard wire’ the voice of consumers in all policy and healthcare decisions,” he said.
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OAIC publishes digital health report
The OAIC has published the Annual
report of the Australian Information Commissioner’s activities in relation
to digital
health 2021-22.
The report provides information about digital health activities led by the
OAIC, including our assessment program, handling of My Health Record data
breach notifications, development of guidance material, provision of advice and
liaison with key stakeholders.
This was the 10th year of operation of the My Health Record system and the 12th
year of the Healthcare Identifiers Service, a critical enabler for the My
Health Record system and digital health generally.
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Telehealth video psychiatry return a step in the right direction, still more to be done
Lived Experience Australia
Lived Experience Australia (LEA) welcomes the Government’s announcement of restoring bulk billed Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) psychiatry services delivered by video telehealth to rural and regional Australians.
This decision will benefit the 28% of Australians who live outside metropolitan cities, who have experienced many challenges in accessing even basic health care and mental health care for decades. These challenges have contributed greatly to poorer health outcomes across multiple areas of concern for people living in rural areas.
However, it doesn't address the need for those in metropolitan areas who experience similar affordability and access issues, by virtue of their circumstances at home (for example, family violence, isolation, social exclusion, stigma and discrimination when seeking service support). These people would benefit greatly from the same level of telehealth access and support.
In August 2022, LEA partnered with the National Association of Practising Psychiatrists (NAPP) in a joint submission to the Health Ministers, raising our concerns from a lived experience perspective about the cessation of the Medicare item 91840 – a longer consultation delivered by telephone. In that submission, LEA provided several testimonials from those with lived experience of mental ill-health describing how this telephone consultation was not only vital in averting further crisis and potential hospital admission, but was for some the only practical way of connecting with safety and reliability.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/wa-launches-5m-regional-health-innovation-challenge/
WA launches $5m regional health innovation challenge
Brandon How
Reporter
26 October 2022
To bolster innovation in regional health solutions, the Western Australian government has launched a $5 million global competition to innovate on healthcare delivery in the Pilbara.
And on the other side of the country, Victoria’s startup agency, LaunchVic, has invested $3.1 million across three commercialisation programs. These are run by digital health incubator ANDHealth, global venture capital firm Antler, and ClimateTech community Climate Salad.
Western Australian Minister for Emergency Services, Innovation and ICT, and Medical Research Stephen Dawson launched ‘The Challenge’ at the opening of the AusBiotech conference on Wednesday. The prize money is being jointly funded through the state’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund alongside mining conglomerates BHP and Rio Tinto.
Participants from across the world are invited to participate, although expressions of interest will only open from February 1 next year. A shortlist of successful applicants will be given a $100,000 grant and progress to the 12-month proof of concept stage, which requires a demonstration of early-stage impact.
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Special Announcement: 26 October 2022
ANDHealth and LaunchVic Partner on new $1.4M Digital Health Accelerator
ANDHealth, Australia’s leading digital health
commercialisation organisation, has successfully secured $1.4M in funding from
LaunchVic to establish a novel accelerator program for high-growth potential
digital health startups.
The ANDHealth Activate program, backed exclusively by LaunchVic, will provide a
nine-month curriculum-based program to support Victorian digital health
companies to become investment and enterprise-customer-ready.
The program will be run out of the Victorian Connected Health Innovation and
Commercialisation Centre (CHICC) in Melbourne, which ANDHealth received $2.4M
from the Victorian Government in September to establish. ANDHealth Activate and
other programs run out of CHICC will see ANDHealth support over 600
participants, create 100 new jobs, initiate more than 50 new clinical studies,
and give over 400,000 patients access to emerging health technologies over the
next five years.
ANDHealth CEO and Managing Director, Bronwyn Le Grice, welcomed the investment,
“The combined $3.8M investment by LaunchVic and the Victorian Government’s
Australian Medtech Manufacturing Centre and Biotechnology Fund is one of the
most significant investments into the commercialisation of Victoria’s digital
health sector to date.
“We are excited to be able to offer the ANDHealth Activate program, which will
support high-growth digital health companies to navigate the complex
commercialisation pathway in evidence-based digital health. Participants will
benefit from a dedicated training and co-working facility, and access to the
expertise of national and international executives in residence.”
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Special Announcement: 28 October 2022
ANDHealth Establishes Beachhead to Grow and Scale WA Digital Health Companies
ANDHealth, Australia’s leading digital health
commercialisation organisation, has today launched the WA Connected Health
Commercialisation Initiative, in collaboration with the WA Life Sciences
Innovation Hub, a partnership with MTPConnect, the WA Government Department of
Jobs, Tourism, Science and Industry, and the University of Western Australia.
Announced at Australia’s national life sciences conference, AusBiotech, by
Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation & ICT; Medical Research;
Volunteering, the Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, the Initiative is designed to build
the capability of WA digital health companies and continue WA’s trajectory to
become a global destination for digital health innovation and
commercialisation.
Under the Initiative, ANDHealth will deliver a “turbocharged” pilot of its
targeted commercialisation programs to the WA digital health sector. Companies
will have access to global and national digital health expertise through
ANDHealth’s BRIGHT Ideate & Innovate programs, a series of expert workshops
and one-on-one coaching sessions, alongside the establishment of a dedicated
ANDHealth program office in WA.
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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/careers/it-support-analyst-aps4aps5-multiple-roles
IT Support Analyst APS4/APS5 Multiple Roles
APS4
($84,807 - $89,609), APS5 ($90,901 - $98,303)
Technology
Services Division > Info/Comm Tech (ICT)
Brisbane,
Canberra, Sydney
Closing - 6 Nov 2022
Division Overview
Technical Services Branch – responsible for the evolution and operation of Agency’s business applications/systems and information technology; the engineering of external-facing and internal-facing products and systems across web, mobile, api, data and analytics technologies, and associated cloud and on-premises infrastructure and networking; and the build and reliability processes and technologies to ensure the quality, trust, reliability, and security in our products and systems.
Primary Purpose of Position
The Agency is seeking suitability qualified IT Support Analysts, who are passionate about delivering consistent excellence and who are client focused, agile and solutions-based thinkers, to join our Technology Services Division.
Seeking APS level 4 and APS Level 5 workers, these roles provide fantastic opportunities for candidates at all levels of their career; from just graduated and seeking to grow their experience, to seasoned IT Support Analyst who are looking for career progression, or just a new work home to showcase their skills.
As an IT Support Analyst, you will be required to work as part of a high performing Division within a complex environment. The major responsibilities of these roles will include organising activity workflow, conduct investigations, and undertake procedural, administrative support or operational tasks. You will also be accountable for the IT Service Desk, User Support and Basic Administration for the Agency’s Business Applications/Systems, End User Computing, and other related technology.
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Thursday, 27 October 2022 09:18
NBN Co deploys FiberSense’s solution to detect and prevent accidental damage to its fibre cable network
FiberSense is supplying its sensing solution in a joint initiative with NBN Co to discover new ways to monitor and prevent accidental damage to the NBN fibre cable network.
NBN Co is deploying the FiberSense DigitalAsset sensing services in a three-month trial to detect certain vibrational frequencies on fibre along with artificial intelligence to determine whether the activities causing vibrations are likely to cause accidental damage.
“The demonstration will apply our patented software-based sensing portfolio to provide early warning and incident detection notifications that might impact critical infrastructure like the nbn from third party deliberate or accidental damage. Our DigitalAsset sensing service helps mitigate the impact of these all too-common events—especially cable cuts,” said FiberSense founder and CEO Dr Mark Englund.
“We are excited to understand how advanced optical monitoring and diagnostic technologies like those offered by FiberSense can provide additional levels of insight into the types of field activities that might be detected and how the response process could work when these activities get dangerously close to NBN network assets. It could mean fewer unplanned outages due to accidental damage and help ensure we are keeping homes, communities and businesses connected,” commented NBN Co chief technology officer Ray Owen.
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Budget 2022: Cash injection reboots NBN, restores full-fibre version
7:11PM October 25, 2022
The National Broadband Network will receive a $2.4bn equity injection to deliver full-fibre access to 1.5 million premises, with the government set to roll out ultra-fast internet to regional and outer-suburban homes and businesses across the country.
The network, which faced ballooning demand during the pandemic as Australians worked and studied from home, will deliver speeds of up to one gigabyte per second to at least 10 million premises – about 90 per cent of Australia’s population – by 2025.
The project has served as a political football for virtually its entire existence. The NBN’s original blueprint under then-Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd more than a decade ago was to deliver a fibre connection to every premise, a plan later nixed by the Liberal government, which moved to a cheaper multi-technology mix that could be rolled out more quickly.
The new Labor government has moved to restore its original full-fibre vision for the NBN, and has ruled out privatising the network for the foreseeable future.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-tests-service-to-detect-accidental-fibre-damage-586885
NBN Co tests service to detect accidental fibre damage
By Richard Chirgwin on Oct 25, 2022 11:39AM
Senses vibrations near cables.
NBN Co is conducting lab trials of a system designed to raise an alarm before third-party damage to fibre can occur, which could lead to fewer unplanned outages.
The network operator is conducting a three-month trial of a service called DigitalAsset from FiberSense.
The system detects vibrations at particular frequencies along the fibre, and uses AI to decide whether there are nearby activities that might cause accidental damage to a fibre.
It is being tested at an NBN Co test facility and on a fibre path in Melbourne.
“We are excited to understand how advanced optical monitoring and diagnostic technologies like those offered by FiberSense can provide additional levels of insight into the types of field activities that might be detected and how the response process could work when these activities get dangerously close to NBN network assets," NBN Co CTO Ray Owen said.
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Mystery deepens over the universe expanding too fast
By Kaya Burgess
The Times
October 24, 2022
The fabric of space in the universe is expanding at more than 160,000 miles per hour, according to the most precise study ever of the composition and evolution of the cosmos.
The measurement has deepened one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics because it is faster than the expansion rate predicted by scientific models, suggesting that scientists may need to rewrite their understanding of how the universe has evolved since the big bang.
Scientists leading the Pantheon+ analysis observed super-bright supernovae dotted round the universe. Just as a police car’s siren appears to drop in pitch as it moves away from you, the light from distant stars and galaxies becomes redder as they speed away. By analysing the extent of this “redshift”, astronomers can calculate how fast they are moving away and therefore how quickly the universe is expanding.
In our region of the universe, this rate of expansion – the Hubble constant – has been measured at 73.4 km/sec per megaparsec, a term denoting 3.26 million light years, or 19 billion billion miles. Put another way, if two points in space are 19 billion billion miles apart, the distance between them is growing by 160,000 miles per hour.
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Enjoy!
David.
