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
An interesting week with the ADHA out all over the place. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out…
Otherwise a few other interesting initiatives…
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- The Australian
- 1:00AM December 2, 2017
The e-health revolution is gaining pace as Australia’s largest pathology labs agree to upload reports to patients’ My Health Record and diagnostic imaging providers are set to link up next year.
Last week the Australian Digital Health Agency announced new agreements with pathology companies Primary Health Care and Australian Clinical Labs and seven software vendors and labs, after Sonic Healthcare’s decision to sign up to My Health Record.
More than 5.3 million Australians have a My Health Record. There was a 400 per cent increase in the number of shared health summaries uploaded in 2016-17 and a 200 per cent rise in links with private hospitals. The new links with diagnostic imaging and pathology providers will give clinicians even more reason to be involved and provide a critical mass of information to demonstrate the value of e-health.
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Posted on 01 December, 2017
Recent articles in the media have raised concerns relating to privacy, security and consumer communications for My Health Record. This media reporting contained a number of false claims and inaccuracies. Tim Kelsey, CEO of the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has issued a letter to the editors of each publication that carried this article requesting a correction to the record.
The ADHA has prepared a document which outlines and corrects inaccuracies related to the following issues:
- Consumer communication activities for opt out in 2018
- Does My Health Record mean that private health information is available on the ‘open’ internet?
- Who can view information in My Health Record?
- Is information in My Health Record available to researchers or for other purposes?
The document also provides contact details, if you have questions or would like additional information.
A new report shows it has a long way to go
24th November 2017
The future looks grim for the Federal Government’s My Health Record unless its inherent problems are addressed, new figures suggest.
GP groups have been scathing about cost blowouts and its slow implementation - it has taken five years to develop at an estimated cost of $2 billion.
However, take up is painfully slow.
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Signature policy has cost AU$1.7bn, looks rather sickly
One of the Australian government's signature policies, the electronic health record, has been all-but-abandoned by the healthcare sector.
While the AU$1.7 billion spent on the My Health Record system so far has attracted registrations from more than five million Australians, the government's dashboard [PDF] for the system reveals a collapse in the rate of new registrations.
In May 2017, registrations (excluding “bulk registrations”, in which the government creates the record in an opt-out process) peaked at more than 40,000 new users for the month, and the graph below shows the decline since then.
Comments:
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From last month Argus was able to send messages to ReferralNet and vice versa
Antony Scholefield
30th November 2017
It may be four weeks to Christmas, but a miracle has already occurred: two secure messaging programs used by GPs have started to talk to each other.
Like a grumpy family on Christmas Day, the four main messaging systems have been unable to reconcile their past differences and have been refusing to communicate for many years.
This has forced GPs, at least those doggedly determined to move on from fax machine technology, to invest in multiple software packages so they can conduct the simple business of exchanging clinical information with specialists or hospitals.
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Lynne Minion | 28 Nov 2017
As the Australian Digital Health Agency endeavours to improve the usefulness of its My Health Record, a flurry of announcements has celebrated the signing of agreements with pathology laboratories, pharmacy groups and diagnostic imaging practices for the sharing of clinical records.
Following recent criticism of the incomplete information contained within My Health Record and the impact on its clinical value, the ADHA’s efforts to populate the national repository of Australians’ health information with clinically relevant documents have kicked into gear.
But the uploading of people’s most private and consequential personal information onto a Federal Government server is causing concern for the lack of a true opt-out function and little communication with the public.
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A majority of Australians surveyed about digital rights, the need for governance and the responsibilities of social media platforms have indicated that they are concerned about their digital privacy.
The survey, carried out by the Digital Rights and Governance Project at the University of Sydney, found that of 1600 survey subjects 67% were taking steps to protect their privacy online. But only 38% felt they were in control.
The study found that about 80% wanted to know what information of theirs was being accessed, by whom, and how to report and correct inaccuracies.
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By: Priyankar Bhunia
29 Nov 2017
Primary Health Care, Australian Clinical Labs, and 7 other software vendors and labs signed agreements with the Australian Digital Health Agency. Chemist Warehouse and Corum have also announced their upcoming connection to My Health Record system in 2018.
Primary Health Care, Australian Clinical Labs, and seven other pathology software vendors and labs have signed agreements with the Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency) to share reports with their patients via My Health Record.
This announcement made on November 27, follows Sonic Healthcare’s agreement to connect with My Health Record in June. The Agency made a private sector market offer to support other pathology software vendors. This offer included labs managing their own software to update and connect with My Health Record.
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Community, hospital, and academic pharmacists have formed a Pharmacists Digital Health Leaders Network to enhance use of My Health Record by pharmacists and pharmacies
The 40 network members will support local pharmacists in their area to engage with and use My Health Records through digital health workshops and education events.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia National President Dr Shane Jackson says that the PSA, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia handpicked the network members as positive agents of change.
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Preserving the doctor-patient relationship via video link
28th November 2017
Doctors in the US are being called on to develop new communication skills to treat patients via video link.
More than 15 million Americans received remote medical care in 2015, and the American Telemedicine Association predicts this will grow to more than 158 million by 2020.
The US has a serious shortage of doctors, and this shortfall is predicted to reach 90,000 by 2020.
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- Tom Uren
- The Australian
- 12:00AM November 30, 2017
From early next year, Australian companies will be obliged to tell you if personal information entrusted to them has been stolen by hackers.
But the notifiable data breaches scheme of the Privacy Act does not go far enough — companies and organisations are obliged to notify only breaches they consider very serious, too many organisations are exempt and the penalties are too low
Every month there is a new announcement that a large trove of personal data has been stolen or lost. This year we have learned of data breaches from Equifax, a US credit reporting agency; the US Securities and Exchange Commission; professional services firm Deloitte; Hyatt Hotels; and online comment service Disqus. We’ve also learned that data on all Yahoo accounts was stolen back in 2013.
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Aisha Dow
Published: November 30 2017 - 12:15AM
The parents of all Victorian babies born in 2020 and 2021 will be asked to hand over their child's health records, as part of an ambitious research project aimed at solving the nation's pressing health problems.
Detailed information about more than 160,000 children is set to be stored in an enormous "data repository" through the Generation Victoria (Gen V) program unveiled on Thursday.
The repository could keep information such as health checks, weight and blood test results as well as school records including whether children arrive at class hungry, if they are left or right-handed, if they can hold a pen and if they are able to read.
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More than 100,000 Victorian babies' medical records will be analysed in a world-first research project aimed at solving a “tsunami” of health problems.
Benita Kolovos
Australian Associated Press November 30, 201711:09am
The parents of Victorian babies born in 2020 and 2021 will be asked to hand over their child's medical records as part of a world-first research project aimed at solving a "tsunami" of pressing health problems.
Generation Victoria, or Gen V, is an opt-in program that will track the health of more than 100,000 children in order to supercharge research into health problems including obesity, autism, diabetes and mental illness.
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- The Australian
- 12:00AM November 30, 2017
In a world first, medical data from an entire generation of Victorian babies will be pooled to fast-track research into diseases like autism, depression and obesity.
Parents of all children born in the state in 2020 and 2021 will be invited to join the “Gen V” project and help transform Victoria into a “living laboratory”.
The initiative’s architects say it will accumulate medical information at the scale needed to tackle big health issues, allowing researchers to analyse existing data rather than being forced to recruit medical trial participants from scratch.
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Up to 65,000 Australians will soon be receiving improved care for their ongoing chronic conditions, with the expansion of the Australian Government’s trial of Health Care Homes.
Page last updated: 01 December 2017
12 December 2017
Up to 65,000 Australians will soon be receiving improved care for their ongoing chronic conditions, with the expansion of the Turnbull Government’s trial of Health Care Homes.
An additional 168 general practices and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) will offer Health Care Home services from today, building on the 22 clinics already in the trial.
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- Chris Griffith
- The Australian
- 4:06PM November 29, 2017
Samsung picked Australia to host its first global summit on health today, in an event designed to build a network with locally available health partners.
“We’re thrilled that through the smart summit we’re able to bring so many experts together, encouraging a culture of collaboration that will potentially help the healthcare community in Australia and around the world, “ said Samsung’s Steven Sherry.
At today’s event Samsung announced a clinical trial with St Vincent’s Hospital’s Department of Pain Medicine and the University of New South Wales Art and Design. Patients will take part in a clinical trial of the use of virtual reality (VR) for acute pain management.
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Lynne Minion | 30 Nov 2017
With some of the world’s largest tech companies seeking a foothold in the lucrative global healthcare market, Samsung has announced a partnership with Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital designed to solidify its clinician cred.
This latest hospital collaboration will add to the company’s research into virtual reality as a powerful pain management tool, according to Chief Medical Officer and Head of Healthcare and Fitness at Samsung Electronics America Dr David Rhew.
“We've spent a lot of time proving it and that's a perfect example of what we're doing here at St Vincent’s. Once you've got that proof then you've got the opportunity to combine the clinical perspective with the patients’ and create a program that is sustainable and highly effective,” Rhew told Healthcare IT News Australia.
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MEDIA RELEASE THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017
The Consumers Health Forum welcomes the tighter regulation of pelvic mesh implants and calls for the introduction of a mandatory register to record problems with implants so that action is initiated at the earliest opportunity to reduce risk of harm to other patients.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has today announced the de-registering of a number of mesh products whose sole use is the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse by means of transvaginal implantation. The ban follows a review of the latest international studies and the clinical evidence about products supplied in Australia.
“The TGA says the overall benefits of using these products for treatment of pelvic organ prolapse do not outweigh the risks that these products pose to patients,” the CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said.
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30 November 2017
TECH TALK
We know you wouldn’t. But just in case you’re ever bored and tempted, you shouldn’t try to play a sneaky game of Minesweeper on your work computer.
The same goes for visiting gambling and “objectionable” sites. So says the RACGP in new draft advice to practices when they are drawing up their internet policies for staff.
The guidance is part of the college’s new accreditation standards for general practice. These fifth standards were released in October “to keep pace with the changing medical environment”.
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- Sarah Wiedersehn
- Australian Associated Press
- 1:11PM November 29, 2017
Mental health apps will be trialled by thousands of Australian teenagers to test their effectiveness in preventing depression.
The Black Dog Institute will recruit 20,000 Year 7 students to trial the apps as part of a landmark study announced by Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt on Wednesday,
Lead by Professor Helen Christensen, researchers will examine sensor data collected from smartphones such as GPS, use machine learning analysis and link this to hospital and birth records to develop reliable signals to flag the onset of depressive symptoms in young people.
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27 November 2017
Cancer Australia’s new searchable database is giving GPs quick access to population data on cancers.
Quick fact cards present up-to-date data on prevention, incidence rates, treatment, and five-year relative survival.
“Cancer is a pretty scary word,” says Dr Liz Marles, the director of the Hornsby GP Unit in Sydney and member of Cancer Australia’s Advisory Council. “Getting a cancer diagnosis is probably one of the biggest personal challenges for people.”
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Consultation is under way to work out what additional use the data could have
27th November 2017
The Federal Government has been told not to use patient data in the My Health Record to carry out competency checks on doctors, detect MBS rorts or use it for pay-for-performance.
The system, which has been running since 2012, contains millions of health summaries, along with pathology and imaging results, and MBS and PBS claims.
Consultation is under way to work out what additional use the data could have once it is de-identified.
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Hampered by old systems.
Five key Victorian government service agencies would not be able to recover all their critical systems in the event of disruption due to woeful disaster recovery processes, the state's auditor has found.
Auditor-general Andrew Greeves today revealed the problems were exacerbated by a "relatively high number" of obsolete systems.
The disaster recovery processes of Victoria Police and the Transport, Environment, Health, and Justice departments were assessed using the COBIT 5 model by the audit office.
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After all state and territories agree on terms.
Australia's state and territory governments have turned to industry for suggestions on how to create a national mobile broadband network for emergency services.
The work is being spearheaded by the NSW Telco Authority, which has asked telecommunications market participants for information and ideas to influence the direction of the project.
The NSW Telco Authority said it aims to begin trialling service delivery models by the end of January 2018.
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9 November 2017
Interoperability has few financial imperatives, but it is very important from a patient safety and population health perspective, says Dr Ged Foley, the CEO at IPN Medical Centres.
“Good coordination of chronic care is essential,” he said, speaking with The Medical Republic at the Wild Health Summit last month.
“Having proper interactive care planning where different stakeholders of care can communicate to each other in real time … is becoming increasingly important,” he said.
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Judith Ireland
Published: December 3 2017 - 12:30AM
When Brigitte House received a letter in July to let her know she could connect her North Fitzroy home to the national broadband network, she was excited.
"I thought, 'this is great, it's my turn'," House says, adding she imagined she would soon be able to get a faster, more reliable internet connection.
But four months after she joined up to the network, her faith in the NBN is severely shaken. After several short-term outages (which were quickly fixed by her service provider, Telstra), the Melbourne counsellor was left without internet for 11 days last month due to an NBN outage.
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For a supposedly apolitical government-owned business, the company rolling out Australia's beleaguered National Broadband Network has certainly developed an ability to spin bad news in a way that would make even the most brass-necked government minister blush.
On Monday NBN introduced Australia to yet another new phrase to add to the broadband list. Alongside fibre to the node, fibre to the premise and fibre to the kerb, we can now add 'glitter to the turd.'
In the morning journalists had received advanced warning that NBN's chief executive Bill Morrow was poised to make a "major announcement regarding customer experience improvements," at a lunchtime press conference.
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Delays go-live for parts of network.
NBN Co is putting a temporary freeze on all new HFC orders and delaying go-live for some of the HFC network as it tries to improve the quality of service for all end users.
The company said it would “temporarily pause all new orders" over its HFC access network.
“This pause will be in effect until incremental field work is undertaken to raise the quality of service for end users,” NBN Co said in a statement.
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NBN is immediately halting the rollout of super-fast broadband delivered over pay television cables due to mounting issues with service dropouts, forcing Telstra to flag it will need to reassess its full-year guidance.
NBN chief executive Bill Morrow said poor experience with the hybrid fibre-coaxil rollout, which currently provides cable internet and Foxtel, resulted from the lower frequency band NBN was using.
Those customers slated to be connected to the National Broadband Network via HFC technology, but are not yet connected, will face a delay of six-to-nine months before they will be able to get NBN.
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November 28 2017 - 12:01AM
Liam Mannix
In deep space, it's kill or be killed.
Simulation shows what will happen when the Milky Way and Andromeda collide and come together to merge into an even bigger galaxy. Courtesy ICRAR-UWA.
Large galaxies like our own need to continually eat smaller galaxies to get fuel for making new stars. Otherwise, they run out of fuel and die. It's the circle of life – in space.
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Enjoy!
David.
