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
Interesting week. The Health Department is a law breaker and the EPAS roll out in South Australia is paused with lots more besides. Enjoy the browse.
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Health breached privacy law in open data bungle: OAIC
By Allie Coyne on Mar 29, 2018 9:52AM
Findings of investigation released.
The federal Health department breached privacy law when it released a botched dataset that allowed for the re-identification of patients, Australia's privacy commission has found.
In December researchers from the University of Melbourne revealed they were able to easily re-identify patients from the data without using decryption methods.
Health had released the supposedly de-identified data - on Australian Medicare benefits scheme (MBS) and pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) claims - in mid-2016.
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Guilty: Health Department breached privacy laws publishing data of 2.5m people
By Esther Han
29 March 2018 — 4:41pm
In numbers
· Number of Australians affected by the Department of Health data blunder - 2.5 million
· Lines of data from the MBS and PBS schemes generated for 10% of the population - 3 billion
· Number of Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act breached by the Department of Health. - 3
The federal Department of Health "unintentionally" breached privacy laws when it published de-identified health records of 2.5 million people online, Australia's Privacy Commissioner has ruled.
About 1½ years ago, the department published de-identified health data of 10 per cent of the population from the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) on the government's open data website for "research purposes".
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eHealth NSW’s electronic records for intensive care improves access to ICU patient information
By: Nicky Lung
Published: 27 Mar 2018
eHealth NSW's Electronic Records for Intensive Care (eRIC) is now introduced across all Intensive Care Units in South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
Australia’s eHealth NSW announced that Sutherland Hospital is the latest to welcome its Electronic Record for Intensive Care (eRIC), giving clinicians better access to valuable information on patients being treated in its Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
This means that South Eastern Sydney LHD now joins Mid North Coast and Northern NSW LHDs in having introduced eRIC across all of its ICUs.
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eHealth NSW’s enhanced electronic medical record expands to more hospitals
By: Nicky Lung
Published: 28 Mar 2018
eMR2 provides a range of core clinical documentation such as comprehensive clinical risk assessments, progress notes, clinical summary and patient history.
Australia’s eHealth NSW recently announced that the second phase its electronic medical record (eMR2) has expanded to enhance patient care at 2 more hospitals in South Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD).
The eMR2 is the extension of the electronic record of a patient’s medical information to support their care during a hospital stay.
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“The golden way forward”: NSW Health Minister on the state’s digital health transformation
Lynne Minion | 28 Mar 2018
The NSW Health Minister has described digital health as the golden way forward and health as the state government’s top priority, as he oversees spending at an unprecedented level to deliver pioneering healthcare facilities.
With the implementation of a technology ecosystem underway in NSW described as the largest of its kind in Australia, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard said “no matter where you go in the state” you’ll encounter a project.
“We are spending a fortune,” Hazzard told Healthcare IT News Australia.
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https://indaily.com.au/news/2018/03/26/immediate-epas-pause-looms-potential-broken-election-promise/
Adelaide Monday March 26, 2018
Looming EPAS expansion threatens Libs' election promise
The Marshall Government may struggle to meet its election promise to immediately pause the rollout of controversial electronic health records system EPAS, with its expansion at the Royal Adelaide Hospital looming within weeks.
Bension Siebert @Bension1
Stephen Marshall told an election forum late last year that the Liberal Party would “immediately” pause and review the rollout of the Enterprise Patient Administration System if it won government.
The Royal Adelaide Hospital opened in September last year, featuring a partial version of EPAS that provides administrative support but lacks key clinical functions, carried out instead using alternative systems, including paper records.
InDaily understands the installation of a fully-fledged version of EPAS at the state’s flagship hospital is due to begin on or around April 10.
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The Advertiser
“The Royal Adelaide Hospital needs to address issues highlighted in recent accreditation reports and the unacceptable time many patients are having to wait in the Emergency Department for an inpatient bed. “Expanding the use of EPAS at the RAH at this time would have been an unacceptable risk to ...
‘Dud’ $471m patient record system put on hold
ROLLOUT of the controversial $471 million electronic patient record system EPAS — years overdue and more than double the planned budget — will be halted on Friday, as pledged by the new State Government.
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Paul Lau died after hospital medication mix-up following routine surgery
29 March 2018 — 1:29pm
A Sydney father-of-two who had gone into hospital for a routine knee reconstruction died after being given high doses of opioids meant for another patient because a doctor "failed to exercise proper care, diligence and caution".
Paul Lau, 54, was pronounced dead hours after his uneventful day surgery at Macquarie University Hospital in June 2015, an inquest at Glebe Coroner's Court has heard.
Acting State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan on Thursday found his death was caused by a prescribing error, with anaesthetist Orison Kim entering drugs meant for another patient into his electronic record.
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Doctor shopping prevention scheme 'long overdue' in Queensland, says former drug addict
Updated 27 March 2018, 8:20 AEDT
A former drug addict who "played the victim" to get pharmacies to prescribe medication joins calls for the Queensland Government to set up a real-time monitoring system to prevent doctor shopping.
At the height of his prescription drug addiction, Scott could not go more than six hours without a fix.
He was taking 50 pills a day, with Xanax, Valium, Mersyndol and Stilnox among his favourites.
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Government bowel cancer screening register delayed to 'late 2019'
The Telstra-delivered national bowel cancer screening register will not be operational until late in 2019, the Australian Department of Health has told the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.
The Australian Department of Health has notified a joint committee that the National Cancer Screening Register for bowel cancer, being delivered by Telstra, will not be operational until late calendar 2019.
Speaking before a public hearing of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit on Wednesday morning, Department of Health National Cancer Screening Taskforce First Assistant Secretary Bettina Konti said the department and Telstra are continuing to focus on delivering the cervical cancer screening register.
"All our focus is on ensuring that we can complete the National Cancer Screening Register to support cervical screening, and for that reason we and Telstra Health have moved our resources into that in order to ensure that occurs. Once that is implemented and stable, the planning will recommence for bowel cancer transition," Konti told the committee.
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Why the AMA still says 'no' to fee comparison website
The proposal is ‘impractical and unhelpful’, it argues
28th March 2018
A proposed website that compares doctors' fees and services is impractical and unhelpful, the AMA says.
While advocates of the MySchool-style site see it as an easy way to tackle out-of-pocket expenses and make the process more transparent for private health insurance patients, the AMA argues that if the proposal gets off the ground it will only serve to confuse patients.
In its latest private health insurance report card released this week, the AMA points out that a patient’s out-of-pocket costs are determined by numerous factors. So the plan to publish one fee for a particular treatment or procedure per doctor would be misleading.
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Rural provider leading the way on e-health record
By Natasha Egan on March 28, 2018 in Government, Industry, Technology
An aged care facility in southern NSW is reaping the benefits of digital health after connecting all of its residents to the national e-health system.
Amaroo Aged Care in Berrigan – the first town in Australia where all key healthcare providers are connected and using the My Health Record – assisted signing up all 30 of its residents earlier this year.
The local general practice, pharmacy and hospital are also connected to the system as is more than half of the town’s population of around 950, all ahead of the transition to an opt-out e-health system slated to hit the town by the end of this year.
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Thirteen countries sign up to Global Digital Health Partnership
Hannah Crouch
28 March 2018
Thirteen countries, including the UK, have signed up to a global network designed to support the use of digital technology in modern healthcare.
The Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) is a network made up of governments, digital health agencies and the World Health Organization. The aim is to share policy and evidence that supports members to deliver better digital health services.
The partnership formally launched at a summit held in Canberra last month, organised by the Australian Digital Health Agency.
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To InfinityPATH and beyond for My Health Record
March 28, 2018
Pathology reports are a vital tool to help identify the nature and causes of disease. They underpin every aspect of medicine from diagnostic testing and monitoring of chronic diseases to blood transfusion technologies.
Australian health outcomes will be improved following Queensland based specialist surgical pathology lab InfinityPATH’s announcement that it is now uploading pathology reports to My Health Record.
Today’s announcement follows Primary Health Care, Australian Clinical Labs, Sonic Healthcare, and eight other software vendors and pathology labs recently signing agreements with the Australian Digital Health Agency to send pathology reports to the My Health Record.
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Product Release: SNOMED CT‑AU and Australian Medicines Terminology (AMT) March 2018
Monday 26 March 2018
The National Clinical Terminology Service (NCTS) is pleased to announce that the March combined release of SNOMED CT® AU and the Australian Medicines Terminology (AMT) is now available to registered users from the NCTS website and Recent Updates.
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Statement on Telstra Health’s Argus secure messaging software
Sunday 25 March 2018
The Australian Digital Health Agency would like to confirm that secure messaging software – including Argus – does not connect to the My Health Record. Instead, this type of software allows one healthcare provider to send a message directly to another through a secure electronic channel.
The Agency understands that a vulnerability existed for a very small number of Telstra Health’s Argus customers operating without appropriate system security. The vulnerability has been addressed with a security patch and customers have been provided with the steps necessary to ensure they have the basic security settings in place. Telstra Health has communicated with its customers on multiple occasions about this vulnerability, the availability of the patch and steps on system security configuration.
If you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please contact Telstra Health.
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The app that connects heart attack victims with trained first-aiders
By Aisha Dow
30 March 2018 — 11:55am
Wearing multicoloured pyjamas, Lauren Przedworski weaved through crowds as she sprinted down Little Lonsdale Street.
She had barely managed to pull her shoes on as she slammed her apartment door behind her.
Then she was off, skirting through city streets on a cool February night, making a beeline for someone in trouble.
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Try the new online tool that tots up complication rates for elective surgeries
It's being sold as a bid to boost transparency
27th March 2018
GPs and patients can now check the real-world complication risks for a range of elective surgeries across various specialties, with the launch of an online calculator by the Grattan Institute.
It is being sold by the Institute as an attempt to lift “the veil of secrecy” alleged to be hanging over complication rates.
The online tool determines a patient’s risk of the top 10 complications for elective surgeries in 21 areas — from "breast surgery" and "extensive burns" to "orthopaedics" and "vascular surgery".
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To try the calculator for yourself, check it out here
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How DHS staff got stuck using two child support systems
By Justin Hendry on Mar 23, 2018 2:00PM
And spent $102 million in the process.
An effort to rid the Department of Human Services of a legacy child support IT system and replace it with a modern alternative has instead left staff using two separate systems.
The legacy ‘Cuba’ system supports approximately 1.2 million children from separated parents, providing payments of $3.5 billion annually.
It was first introduced in 2002 to store all the customer records and transaction data required for the transfer of child support payments between separated parents.
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DHS's new child services system Pluto over budget, unfinished
Much of its capability still coming from legacy Cuba system it was supposed to replace
George Nott (Computerworld)23 March, 2018 14:30
The Department of Human Services has spent all of the $102 million budget assigned to its still incomplete Child Services payments and case management system overhaul.
The department today revealed staff were still “copy and pasting” data between the legacy Cuba system and its replacement Pluto, with multiple processes having not been picked up by the new SAP-based system.
The new system also carries a “backlog of defects” the department said.
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Five years and AU$103m later, DHS' new child support system has a staff interface
After spending all of its AU$103.2 million child support system upgrade budget, the Department of Human Services has merely delivered staff an interface and provided some online users with an updated website.
The Australian Department of Human Services (DHS) went to tender back in 2013, seeking a provider to deliver an upgraded child support system as the existing system Cuba was flagged in 2009 as reaching end-of-life at the end of 2017.
During a probe from the Finance and Public Administration References Committee on Friday, it was revealed that instead of going live with the new Pluto platform, DHS has actually paused it, requiring staff to continue use of the old, mainframe-based Cuba.
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Outage locks DHS workers out of child care system
By Allie Coyne on Mar 28, 2018 3:26PM
Resorting to pen and paper.
Staff at the Department of Human Services claim they have been unable to provide child support services or assistance to families for almost a week due to an outage to the country's critical child support IT systems.
The Community and Public Sector Union today said the two systems - which are running in parallel as the department works to replace the legacy Cuba platform - had been out of action since Thursday last week.
The Cuba system came back online in a limited capacity today, a CPSU spokesperson told iTnews, but the fledging SAP-based Pluto system was still inaccessible at the time of writing.
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Medibank tightens fraud detection with analytics
By Ry Crozier on Mar 29, 2018 6:20AM
Automatically scans data for known patterns.
Medibank has uplifted its fraud investigation capabilities with technology that allows it to more easily recognise “patterns of malpractice” and share the data with law enforcement.
The health insurer, which has around 3.7 million members, has switched on IBM i2 enterprise insight analysis software within its internal payment integrity program.
The program houses an investigations team of around 22 including administrative staff, lead investigator Jim Hilliard told IBM’s Think 2018 conference.
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Australian government seeks vaccine dispensary as a service
The Department of Health wants a cloud-based platform for dispensing Australia's National Immunisation Program.
The Australian Department of Health has gone to tender, seeking a provider to deliver its country-wide National Immunisation Program (NIP) via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.
Currently, the NIP is managed administratively, primarily using manual data management processes that require handling paper-based information and datasets from multiple sources.
Reimagining business for the digital age is the number-one priority for many of today's top executives. We offer practical advice and examples of how to do it right.
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New Zealand can learn lessons of EHR projects worldwide
29 March, 2018
eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth
HiNZ keynote speaker Richard Corbridge says learning from electronic health record roll-outs around the world offers the New Zealand health sector the opportunity to get it right here.
New Zealand can learn from the failures and successes of electronic health record implementations around the world, says HiNZ 2018 keynote speaker Richard Corbridge.
The New Zealand government is considering the indicative business case for a national EHR.
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26 March 2018
ASX announcement
Alcidion’s Smartpage goes live at Monash Health
ASX announcement
Alcidion’s Smartpage goes live at Monash Health
Highlights:
· The Smartpage clinical module - Alcidion’s proprietary clinical communication and collaboration software - has gone live at the Monash Medical Centre and Monash Children’s Hospital
· Solution will dramatically improve after-hours staff communication and task management using smartphones
· Three year contract valued at $389,000, with an option to extend
Adelaide, South Australia, 26 March 2018 - Alcidion Group Limited (ASX: ALC) (‘Company’) is pleased to announce that the Clinical module of its clinical messaging technology Smartpage has achieved a successful production deployment at Monash Health in Melbourne, as part of a three year contract worth $389,000. The after-hours mobile task management solution went live at the Monash Medical Centre and Monash Children’s Hospital on Tuesday 13 March, with the installation running smoothly and completed on time and on budget. Rollout to the remainder of the Monash Health public hospitals is planned within the coming year.
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An app a day keeps work injuries at bay
Sydney, 28 March 2018 — A new real-time video platform, developed by CSIRO’s Data61, is helping hundreds of Australians recover quicker from work injuries through virtual appointments.
Coviu is being used across the country and has connected 20,000 Aussies to healthcare practitioners through partnerships with organisations including Health Team Australia, HealthKit and Ramsay Healthcare. Coviu has also been commercialised in China.
Pronounced co-view, the real-time video platform quickly connects patients with health professionals. The platform is ideal for people in rural and regional Australia who cannot travel for treatment.
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New app speeds up recovery from work injuries
- 29 March 2018
- Written by Peter Dinham
The CSIRO’s data innovation network Data61 has developed a new real-time video platform designed to help quicker recovery from work injuries through virtual appointments.
Coviu — an emerging start-up out of Data61 — offers a video consultation software to healthcare businesses. Coviu is being used across the country and has connected 20,000 Aussies to healthcare practitioners through partnerships with organisations including Health Team Australia, HealthKit and Ramsay Healthcare. Coviu has also been commercialised in China.
Pronounced co-view, the real-time video platform quickly connects patients with health professionals and is ideal for people in rural and regional Australia who cannot travel for treatment.
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Call for Medicare to catch up, as the momentum of telehealth uptake grows
Lynne Minion | 29 Mar 2018
A telehealth system developed by the CSIRO’s Data 61 is fast-tracking the uptake of video consultations in Australia, with the platform now connecting 20,000 Australians with their healthcare practitioners.
Through partnerships with Health Team Australia, HealthKit and Ramsay Healthcare, Coviu is breaking down healthcare access problems in rural and regional Australia, improving the at-home management of chronic conditions, and providing the healthcare system with cost savings.
Such is its momentum, Coviu has grown its base of paying users by 470 per cent in the last year and has been commercialised in China.
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Senate passes motion not to water down encryption
- 28 March 2018
- Written by Sam Varghese
The Senate has approved a motion from the Australian Greens to support strong encryption, resist pushes to undermine encryption, and to use warrants and targeted surveillance to obtain information.
The party's digital rights spokesman, Senator Jordon Steele-John, said in a statement he was concerned about the Coalition Government’s plans to pursue decryption technology and ‘alternative powers and capabilities’ for government agencies, especially in the wake of the recent scandal involving Cambridge Analytica obtaining Facebook data.
Last month, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said in a speech that the government planned to introduce legislation to ensure that companies, which provide communications services and devices in the country, were obliged to assist government when needed.
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NBN speeds improving, according to ACCC monitoring
- The Australian
- 11:16AM March 29, 2018
Supratim Adhikari
NBN speeds received by homes have improved significantly, according to the first results of the competition regulator’s broadband monitoring program, with the major retail telcos mostly delivering on service.
While based on a test sample of just 400 homes, the report says Optus, Telstra, TPG and its subsidiary iiNet are now delivering just over 90 per cent of the maximum plan speeds in busy evening hours.
The report is part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s $6.5 million Measuring Broadband Australia program, which will record broadband speeds delivered via the National Broadband Network (NBN) to 4000 Australian homes over the next four years.
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Australians first in the world to try 5G network
By Jennifer Duke
28 March 2018 — 9:35pm
Australians will be among the first to get their hands on the next generation of mobile technology, with Telstra allowing public use of its 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots on the Gold Coast.
The hotspots have been switched on at the telecommunications company’s 5G Innovation Centre in Queensland to power Southport’s Scarborough and Nerang Streets.
The race is on between telecommunications companies to deliver the fifth generation of mobile technology, known as 5G, which is currently in development globally.
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- Updated Mar 28 2018 at 11:00 PM
Algorithms corrupted by criminals: APRA sounds alarm on AI
by Alice Uribe
APRA board member Geoff Summerhayes is used to addressing the big issues at the Insurance Council of Australia's annual forum. In 2017 it was climate change. The year before it was culture.
But on March 7, he poured a big bucket of cold water on the insurance sector's rush to use artificial intelligence to cut costs and improve the way risk is priced.
"I know that insurers are highly attuned to the opportunities that artificial intelligence and machine-learning present for fine-tuning and innovation in risk assessment, underwriting, loss prevention and customer engagement," he said.
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‘Phenomenally low’ trust in Facebook among Aussies even before Cambridge Analytica
John Rolfe, News Corp Australia Network
March 30, 2018 10:00pm
AUSTRALIANS flat-out don’t trust Facebook anymore, four-in-five users fear their information is being hacked and more than half think Mark Zuckerberg should reimburse them if he’s pilfering their personal data for profit.
Just 15 per cent of the population are confident Facebook will keep their personal data secure, according to the national YouGov Galaxy survey that found the level of trust in Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth was “phenomenally low”.
And the survey was taken before the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed sensitive information was being harvested from more than 50 million Facebook profiles to swing the US election.
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Enjoy!
David.
