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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 any 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, and found interesting.
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https://wolandscat.net/2022/11/07/why-using-expressions-in-workflow-is-wrong/
Why using expressions in workflow is wrong
One of the basic elements of design common to all workflow languages, including YAWL and BPMN, is the inclusion of logical expressions on decision nodes. This seems harmless, and we followed it in openEHR’s Task Planning specifications. However, it is clear that this is a basic error, and that any workflow containing such expressions is unmaintainable and semantically unreliable.
EDIT: it was pointed out by Grahame Grieve that the initial version of this post did not distinguish adequately between ‘expressions’ and ‘decision logic’. So to be clearer: expressions are just one (common) way of expressing decision logic – the expressions on outgoing paths of a decision node in a BPMN workflow together constitute parts of a decision algorithm that could be rewritten as a case of if/then statement. However, there are of course other kinds of decision logic – ranging from lookup tables to AI. I’m just dealing with the algorithmic and lookup table kind here (lookup tables are just a degenerate kind of algorithm).
EDIT2: I treat the mention of any non-primitive formal element, including function calls and operator expressions as ‘expressions’. This may not have been initially clear.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/lifelong-learning-key-to-our-digital-health-future/
Lifelong learning key to our digital health future
Nicole
Bittar
Contributor
11 November 2022
With a mission to connect government, consumers, academia and researchers to deliver a cooperative approach to digital health innovation, the Digital Health CRC is at the forefront of the most pressing healthcare challenges facing society today.
However, there is one fundamental challenge that is often overlooked in the push to innovate and commercialise new technologies; that is the need to train and upskill the current and future workforce who will be critical to the success of this new way of delivering patient care.
In terms of the digital health evolution, this challenge is critical for the Digital Health CRC (DHCRC) which plays an important advocacy role in digital health — particularly in educational upskilling.
“Because technology is moving so quickly, we need to be able to upskill people in parallel (with traditional skills), and find effective new ways of doing that,” said DHCRC education manager Dr Melanie Haines.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/tga-warns-against-cpap-masks-with-magnetic-clips/
‘Do not prescribe’: Fresh TGA warning on CPAP masks with magnetic clips
Patients told to keep masks away from people with implants and devices, such as pacemakers
11 November 2022
The TGA has issued fresh safety warnings for six Philips CPAP face and nasal masks with magnetic clips following reports of adverse events in patients with implanted devices.
Doctors have also been told not to prescribe the affected masks to patients or those who have household members or carers with devices susceptible to magnetic interference.
It follows a review last month after reports of serious injuries among US patients with pacemakers and other implantable devices who were using the CPAP masks.
As of October, Philips had recorded 43 complaints in the US, including 14 serious injuries, such as pacemaker failure, arrhythmia, changed heart rate and convulsions — but no deaths.
The TGA has now advised patients with the masks to check if they, or anyone in their household, have an implant or device that could be affected by magnetic interference.
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https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=72f916c5-5e32-4d3b-932a-0825c77d2962
Patents and personal data: biometrics innovation and its intersection with Australian privacy laws
Spruson & Ferguson Mark Vincent and Nadine Martino
Australia November 8 2022
Introduction
The growing demand for highly effective security systems is seeing the rapid uptake of biometric technologies in all industries. This is accelerating the growth of the biometrics industry with an increased focus on investment and innovation. At least one estimate expects the industry to grow from $32.48 billion in 2022 to $59.32 billion by 2026, with Asia Pacific expected be the fastest-growing region over this period.[1]
As biometric technology is dependent on use of biometric information comprising an individual’s physical and/or behaviour attributes, and which is sensitive personal information, the industry is under intense scrutiny to ensure that use of such technologies is compliant with data protection and privacy laws, and more generally, consistent with stakeholder expectations regarding handling of personal information.
Inventors in the biometrics space often query how data protection and privacy laws intersect with their rights to register patents for new biometric technologies. A key concern is whether compliance with local data protection and privacy laws is a necessary precursor to secure registration of patents.
Considering Australian patent law, it is clear that inventors should be aware that patent applications can be refused in Australia if use of the invention is contrary to Australian data protection and privacy laws.
We consider the relevant legislative requirements, its application to biometric technologies and proposed approach to address potential risk of objections during patent examination on this basis, in further detail below.
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https://www.croakey.org/175049-2/
It’s time. Stop kicking the health reform can down the road
· Alison Barrett
· Alison Barrett
· Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Introduction by Croakey: In reflecting on the recent federal budget, health experts have sent a strong message to the Federal Government that it cannot ignore the urgent need for structural and systemic change to address the fragmentation of health and social services.
They also highlighted the need for a greater investment in prevention and a focus on social determinants, according to a lively discussion at a Croakey webinar this week.
Alison Barrett writes:
Genuine structural health reform and investment in prevention were two of the main talking points at a Croakey webinar on the Budget, healthcare and health policy this week.
Panel moderator and Croakey editor Jennifer Doggett suggested that governments had a habit of “kicking the can” of real health reform down the road.
Croakey columnist and Adjunct Associate Professor Lesley Russell issued a challenge to Health Minister Mark Butler, asking whether he is up to the task of leaving a legacy as solid as that of former Labor Health Minister Dr Neal Blewett, who receives a number of honourable mentions in ‘Top 10 public health successes over the last 20 years’.
The panel of community and public health experts who spoke at the webinar were largely in agreement that while the Albanese Labor Government’s first Budget held some promising news for health, they hoped it was a precursor to a 2023 budget that was stronger on health reform and prevention.
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https://www.afr.com/technology/the-clues-that-may-reveal-the-medibank-hacker-20221110-p5bx2c
The clues that may reveal the Medibank hacker
Max Mason Senior reporter
Nov 10, 2022 – 3.40pm
Criminals behind the hack of Medibank are pressing the nuclear button, releasing highly sensitive personal health information that could distress victims and ultimately lead to real-world harm.
The hackers are believed by experts to be linked to Russia-backed cybercrime gang REvil. They were one of the most notorious cybercrime gangs in the world. Then, after drawing too much heat from US President Joe Biden over an attack of software business Kaseya in July 2021, they disappeared.
It is common for ransomware groups to slip silently out of view when there are too many law enforcement eyes on them. Often they will re-emerge as they were before, or slightly evolved and under a new name.
Whether the group behind the Medibank hack is REvil, an affiliate, or a splinter group, they are proving just as devastating.
REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation. Ransomware attacks are generally motivated by financial gain. Attackers hack into a network or system, extract private and sensitive information then demand money from a company or individual in
REvil’s ransomware, which it makes available to “affiliates”, were among the most prolific in 2021.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/ai-device-monitors-cancer-causing-product-marketing/
10 November 2022
AI device monitors cancer-causing product marketing
Cancer risk factors can start early.
And although poor diet, being overweight, reduced physical activity and excessive alcohol consumption can all contribute to an increased risk of cancer, there is barely any regulation around marketing products like junk food to children.
This means that children are being exposed to advertising that could increase their risk of cancer by promoting harmful habits.
But as it’s very difficult to monitor the impacts of marketing, the full extent of this is unknown.
This is the problem that researchers at Deakin University are attempting to address with SCANNER, a project that combines wearable eye-tracking technology, artificial intelligence and public health research to monitor how harmful products are being marketed to children.
According to a statement by Cancer Council Australia, one in three cases of cancer in Australia are preventable – that’s 44,000 cases a year. Lead researcher Associate Professor Kathryn Backholer told Wild Health that the link between advertising and increased risk factors are clear.
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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/careers/chief-digital-officer-digital-health
Chief Digital Officer - Digital Health
SES2
($289,317 - $353,895)
Digital
Strategy Division > Senior Executive
Brisbane,
Canberra, Sydney
Closing - 23 Nov 2022
Division Overview
Digital strategy – responsible for national digital health design and strategy, underpinned by strong clinical governance and digital health standards.
There could not be a more compelling time for a solutions-focused, innovative and high performing digital leader to join the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA). The Chief Digital Officer plays a pivotal role designing connected digital health solutions that mean Australians have their health in their hands and their health practitioners can make informed decisions. Established and funded by all the governments of Australia the ADHA is charged with taking the Australian health sector into the future and harnessing digital technologies to drive better health outcomes and a sustainable, world class Australian health system.
The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) leads the creative, multi-disciplinary Digital Solutions Division and draws on their collaborative capabilities to shape digital health for Australia. If you are looking for a role with national scope and a user experience focus to make an appreciable difference in the lives of Australians, with an Agency that values strong leadership, connection and flexibility, the Chief Digital Officer role will give you the challenge you are looking for.
Primary Purpose of Position
Operating as part of a Senior Executive Committee and reporting to the CEO, you will help steward the Agency to deliver on its national vision, purpose and strategic objectives. As CDO, with a whole of system view, you will strategically lead enterprise-wide digital products and services, implement the national plan and roadmap for health system interoperability (Connected Care), manage the national digital health system architecture into the future, and drive the adoption of standards for storage and exchange of digital health information.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nsw-agencies-face-mandatory-data-breach-notification-scheme-587609
NSW agencies face mandatory data breach notification scheme
By Richard Chirgwin on Nov 10, 2022 10:44AM
First state-based scheme.
NSW has introduced the country’s first state-based mandatory data breach notification scheme.
The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Amendment Bill will require state-owned corporations issue notifications. Currently, those organisations are not subject to the Commonwealth Privacy Act.
The amendment will also introduce a data breach assessment scheme, provide limited exemptions from mandatory notifications, and give the Privacy Commissioner the power to “investigate, monitor audit and report on” public sector agency data breaches.
The state’s privacy commissioner will have enforcement powers, and public sector agencies will have to publish a data breach policy and keep a data breach register.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/gov-gets-privacy-penalty-laws-through-lower-house-587568
Gov gets privacy penalty laws through lower house
By Richard Chirgwin on Nov 9, 2022 11:48AM
As businesses baulk at $50m-plus fines.
A bill that would substantially increase the penalties for serious or repeated data breaches has passed the lower house of parliament, even as industry raised concerns with its contents via a senate inquiry.
The bill will now proceed to the Senate. However, the the Senate inquiry isn't due to report until November 22.
As the government promised when it announced the legislation, the Privacy Legislation Amendment increases the maximum penalties for “serious or repeated privacy breaches” to whichever is the greater of $50 million; three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information; or 30 percent of a company’s “adjusted turnover” in the relevant period.
As iTnews reported this morning, the penalties have raised concerns from across industry sectors, including from the Australian Banking Association (ABA), the Australian Information Industries Association (AIIA), and Amazon Web Services.
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Future of AI ‘more R2-D2 than Terminator’
7:58PM November 8, 2022
Ali Mirjalili is an optimist about something most of us – including Hollywood – regard as a threat.
As a professor at Torrens University, he is an expert in artificial intelligence – and he is quietly confident that robots in the future won’t take our jobs or kill us but will instead be a force for good.
Professor Mirjalili is named in The Australian’s Research 2023 magazine as Australia’s, and the world’s, top AI researcher.
Born in Iran, he left in his early 20s to do a masters degree in Malaysia. But he hit an obstacle in trying to get a PhD scholarship.
He says he sent at least a couple of thousand emails to universities around the world before he was successful. He was eventually offered a place in the US, which was his preference, but politically too difficult given he was Iranian.
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Tuesday, 08 November 2022 22:23
AIIA calls on Government to introduce safe harbour and reconsider proposed penalties for data breaches
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) is calling on the Albanese Government to take a positive, collaborative approach to the complex issue of cybersecurity, cautioning against adopting a heavy-handed or exclusively punitive response to recent high-profile data breaches.
The AIIA is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at fuelling Australia's future social and economic prosperity through technological innovation. Its call comes on the heels of the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures Bill) 2022, currently working its way through the Australian parliamentary process.
The bill states it "would amend three Commonwealth Acts to increase penalties for serious or repeated interferences with privacy, enhance the Australian Information Commissioner’s enforcement powers, and provide the Commissioner and the Australian Communications and Media Authority with greater information sharing powers."
The bill comes in response to a spate of recent high-profile data breaches among Australian organisations such as Optus and Medibank and seeks to increase penalties to the greater of $50 million, 30% of turnover, or three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/big-privacy-fines-worry-banks-aws-and-more-587550
Big privacy fines worry banks, AWS and more
By Ry Crozier on Nov 9, 2022 6:57AM
Support is slim for the government's $50m penalty proposal.
Australia’s banks, together with AWS and other industry lobby groups, have reacted with alarm at a government proposal to substantially increase penalties for large or repeated privacy breaches, following a spate of high-profile incidents.
The changes, if passed, could see companies fined the greater of $50 million or 30 percent of turnover.
Businesses that could face these penalties want more prescriptive guidance for the circumstances under which they would be sought.
There are also calls for a “safe harbour” or similar consideration of mitigating factors by the courts when determining a penalty amount.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) - which counts the ‘big four’ banks and other major institutions as members - expressed concern that the Australian proposal “differs from the maximum penalties in other jurisdictions with similar economy-wide privacy legislation.”
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A new tech standard could unleash smart devices in Aussie homes
John Davidson Columnist
Nov 8, 2022 – 12.25am
A new standard backed by Apple, Amazon, Google, LG and Samsung for connecting smart home devices is tipped to unleash pent-up demand for internet of things devices in Australian households, according to new research.
The standard, known as Matter, was adopted by more than 500 of the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturers and integrators in October, and it looks set to solve two of the major issues that have been discouraging Australians from buying smart home devices – cybersecurity and interoperability – according to research from the analyst outfit Telsyte.
More than half (51 per cent) of the Australians surveyed for Telsyte’s Australian IoT@Home Market Study said they would be more likely to buy smart home devices knowing they would be compatible with other connected devices on different platforms.
For Australians who have already purchased smart devices, that figure increased to 61 per cent, the study found, suggesting that householders were already frustrated by how their devices refuse to talk to each other, Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said.
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Monday, 07 November 2022 12:00
15 million Australians have received a fraudulent text or phone call this year: Finder research
By Staff Writer
A staggering number of Australians are falling victim to fake text and phone calls, according to new research by comparison website Finder.
Finder says itts nationally representative survey of 1,058 respondents revealed 3 in 4 Australians (75%) – equivalent to 15 million people – have received a fraudulent text message or phone call this year - and worryingly, only 21% reported the scam, while 4% didn’t realise until later it was a hoax.
The research
coincides with Scams Awareness Week which runs from 7-11 November and aims to
educate consumers on how to spot a scam.
Finder notes that according to the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC), Australians lost more than $2 billion to scams in 2021, with
around $10 million lost through text messages - and data from Scamwatch shows
more than 50,000 phishing scams were reported so far in 2022.
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https://www.bitemagazine.com.au/virtual-teaching-at-australian-uni-improves-dental-reality/
Virtual teaching at Australian uni improves dental reality
November 7, 2022
Virtual and augmented reality technologies are being used as an important teaching tool for University of Queensland dentistry students, who practise with 3D headsets before working on real-life clients.
Dr Sobia Zafar from the Digital Dental Team at UQ’s School of Dentistry said technology-enhanced learning had transformed the experience of more than 400 students in the past four years.
“Training dental students is a complex process as it requires a lot of fine motor skills, as well as hand-foot and -eye coordination,” Dr Zafar said.
“Despite having simulation sessions to provide a smooth transition into clinics, 87 per cent of students said they felt they needed additional training before being put in a real-life setting.
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https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6744f9a3-454b-4ade-aa7b-301af370ce85
AUSTRALIA: Likely increase in maximum penalties for privacy breaches
Blog Privacy Matters
Australia November 3 2022
Anyone with a passing interest in Australian privacy laws will no doubt have heard about the Optus data breach. The incident, which was made public in late September 2022, is thought to have affected around 9 million individuals (almost 40% of the Australian population), with identity documents relating to approximately 2.22 million Australians being made available on the dark web. The news was swiftly followed up with an announcement from Medibank, Australia’s largest private health insurer, of a breach affecting all of its 3.9 million customers.
As part of the Australian Government’s response to the public outcry generated by these breaches, a change to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) has been introduced into the Australian Parliament. If passed, this will increase the maximum civil penalties payable under the Act from the current AUD 2.22 million to the greater of:
- AUD 50 million;
- three times the value of the benefit resulting from the breach; or
- 30% of the adjusted turnover of the entity in the 12 months prior to the breach.
The draft Bill (titled the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022) also seeks to strengthen the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s powers to request information in order to assess actual or suspected data breaches and changes the extraterritorial reach of the Australian privacy regime. Organisations will no longer be required to collect or hold personal information within Australia in order for the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) to apply. They must however still be carrying on a business in Australia.
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Social media influencers promote injecting, snorting dangerous ‘Barbie drug’
November 6, 2022 — 5.00am
Dangerous beauty trends such as inhaling and snorting tanning products are being promoted on TikTok as regulators warn of a “Barbie drug” that has serious side effects.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration last month warned about the use of products containing melanotan, a prescription-only medicine used to support the management of a rare, incurable genetic disease, which is being misused by some people to darken their skin.
The medication, which comes in the form of pills, creams, injectables and nasal or misting sprays, causes side effects such as increased moles and freckles, nausea and vomiting.
TGA head Adjunct Professor John Skerritt said regulators were also worried about a heightened risk of skin cancer from misuse of the drug, while British medical authorities have listed acne, kidney, brain and heart problems as side effects.
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Twitter Australia left a shell as online safety commissioner pans cuts
By Nick Bonyhady and Zoe Samios
Updated November 6, 2022 — 7.26pm first published at 7.35am
Twitter Australia has been left a shell of its former self, with staff in its government relations, communications, marketing and news curation divisions almost entirely laid off as part of global job cuts at the social network.
The local cuts, the scale of which was first revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, were made official over the weekend, sources close to the company said. The sales team, which tries to bring advertisers to the platform, were least affected.
The Australian eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, who once headed public policy for Twitter in the region, panned the global job cuts.
“The approach of culling employees who have particular expertise in trust and safety functions, with intimate knowledge of how the platform’s policies and tools work, potentially undermines the company’s ability to combat abuse, misinformation and harms in the future,” she said.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/techs-role-in-the-aged-care-crisis/80561
7 November 2022
Tech’s role in the aged care crisis
Australia’s aged care system has been struggling to serve our nation’s ageing population.
Following incidents of neglect and abuse in nursing homes across the country, a royal commission was called to investigate the sector, and nearly a third of residential and home care workers reported their intention to leave the sector within five years – and this was prior to the pandemic. During that subsequent five-year time period, the pandemic placed further strains on the system and revealed major gaps in training, preparedness and infection control.
And it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier with rising costs and a severe staffing shortage adding to the pressure. Job vacancies for aged care workers have doubled in the last three years according to the National Skills Commission, which found vacant positions rose from 1,987 to 4,575.
The sector is in survival mode, working across current financial, workforce and covid-19 challenges. But if we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, we cannot apply a band-aid to a deep wound and expect it to stick.
Improvement to wages, investments in training, and dedicated skilled migration incentives will play a huge role on the Government side. But to remedy immediate challenges, providers should plug gaps in operations to alleviate the burden and maintain high quality through more deliberate technology strategies.
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https://www.afr.com/technology/the-twitter-bird-is-free-but-can-t-fly-financially-20221106-p5bvw3
The Twitter bird is free but can’t fly financially
Having vastly overpaid to buy the platform, Elon Musk needs all the cost savings and revenues he can get.
The Lex Column
Nov 6, 2022 – 8.33am
Elon Musk officially moved Twitter into his own cage last week. The world’s richest man has wasted no time making changes at the social media company, firing top executives and dissolving the board of directors.
More bloodletting has come on the weekend. As much as half of Twitter’s 7500-strong workforce has been laid off. The company also launched plans to charge Twitter users $US8 a month for a verified account, which looks odd.
Musk will need all the cost savings and revenues he can get. His $US44 billion ($68 billion) acquisition of the world’s “digital town square” is one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. To fund the deal, Musk loaded Twitter – loss-making for 10 of the past 12 years – with $US12.7 billion of debt.
Analysts say net interest expense will climb from $US51 million last year to over $US1 billion a year as a result. Having vastly overpaid to free “the bird”, Musk will face an uphill battle to keep Twitter in the air financially.
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David.
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