-----
This weekly blog is to explore the news around the larger issues
around Digital Health, data security, data privacy, AI / ML. technology, social
media and related matters.
I will also try to highlight ADHA
Propaganda when I come upon it.
Just so we keep count, the latest Notes from the ADHA Board were dated
6 December, 2018 and we have seen none since!
It is worth pointing out that it was only in last little while (
beginning end July 2020 ) the ADHA took down the notification regarding the most
recent minutes notification. Embarrassed I guess – as they should be!
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.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/gloves-off-google-turns-to-its-users-in-fight-against-australian-regulations-20200821-p55nxr.html
Gloves off: Google turns to its users in fight against
Australian regulations
August 22, 2020 — 12.00am
Be
warned, we are about to escalate this.
That
was the message when Google's Australian arm put in a courtesy call to
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's office on Monday morning.
Two
weeks after the Morrison government and Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission unveiled the much-anticipated News Media Bargaining Code, the
trillion-dollar digital advertising giant was about to kick off an aggressive
public campaign against the sweeping new regulation. It placed a warning
message on its search page, visited by millions each month, with a link to an
open letter to users. "The way Aussies search every day is at risk from
new government regulation," it read. It has also asked YouTube influencers
to complain to the government.
The
new code will, among other things, force Google and Facebook to strike
commercial deals to pay media companies for their news content, snippets of
which run on Google’s news page and at the top of search results.
It
will also force the digital giants to give media companies advance warnings
about any changes to the algorithms that power search results and news feeds
and provide information about the collection of user data.
-----
https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip200006
The COVID-19-crisis and the information polity: An
overview of responses and discussions in twenty-one countries from six
continents
Article type: Review
Article
Authors: Meijer,
Alberta
| Webster,
C. William R.b
| Contributing
Authors1
Affiliations: [a] Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands | [b] University of Stirling,
Scotland, UK
Correspondence: [*]
Corresponding author: Albert Meijer, Utrecht University School of Governance,
Bijlhouwerstraat 6, 3511 ZC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: a.j.meijer@uu.nl.
Note: [1]
Contributing Authors: Frank Bannister, Colin J. Bennett, Kaiping Chen, Heungsuk
Choi, J. Ignacio Criado, Maria Alexandra Cunha, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Mila
Gasco-Hernandez, Paul Henman, Douglas Kimemia, Veiko Lember, Karl Löfgren, Luis
F. Luna-Reyes, Albert Meijer, Ines Mergel, David Murakami Wood, Giorgia Nesti,
Erico Przeybilovicz, Aarthi Raghavan, Ola Svenonius, Rosamunde van Brakel,
William Webster, Mete Yildiz.
Keywords: COVID-19,
information polity, corona app, corona dashboard
DOI: 10.3233/IP-200006
Journal: Information
Polity, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-32, 2020
Published: 14 August 2020
Get PDF
Comment:
Very useful review – freely accessible.
-----
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-in-australia-pandemic-health-intelligence-plan
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia – Pandemic Health
Intelligence Plan
The Pandemic
Health Intelligence Plan provides a framework for collecting the information
required to support decision making about COVID-19. It is accompanied by
documents that provide the status of the plan's measures.
Downloads
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia – Pandemic Health
Intelligence Plan
Download Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia –
Pandemic Health Intelligence Plan: Pandemic Health Intelligence Plan – Inputs
and Status 25 May 2020 as PDF - 451 KB , 11 pages
Download Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia –
Pandemic Health Intelligence Plan: Pandemic Health Intelligence Plan – Inputs
and Status 25 May 2020 as Word - 294 KB , 11 pages
-----
https://digitalhealth.org.au/blog/economic-recovery-post-covid-19-the-digital-and-data-future/
Economic recovery post COVID-19 – the digital and data
future
NORTH Link
is holding a free online half-day event on Thursday 27 August
(8-12am) titled “Economic recovery post COVID-19, the
digital and data future”.
Look
out for Institute board members Phil Robinson and Peter
Williams who bring their digital health expertise and insights
to the event. Peter Williams, who is a Healthcare Advisor at Oracle, is
speaking at 10:25am and digital health consultant and advisor Phil Robinson
joins the panel discussion at the end of the session.
Event overview
COVID19
has been the “wrecking-ball” that has crashed through the world economy. This
crash has crystallised the value of digital and data in our new world. Charting
a course in new markets, business models, operations, technology (automation,
robotics and IoT) are essential for business’ survival, growth and
diversification. We will explore the challenges, opportunities and pathways in
the new economy.
This
half day event will feature key messages and speakers from industry leaders, a
series of practical case studies of work completed through the North and West
Melbourne Data Analytics Hub and a panel discussion featuring key executives
from tech companies Empirics and Directed.
More information
Register
-----
https://www.zdnet.com/article/accc-and-google-come-to-blows-over-new-media-bargaining-laws/
ACCC and Google come to blows over new media bargaining
laws
Watchdog
calls out Google as touting misinformation while the search giant says the new
Media Bargaining Code as drafted is unworkable.
By Asha Barbaschow |
August 18, 2020 -- 02:35 GMT (12:35 AEST) | Topic: Tech Industry
After
Google on Monday published an open letter declaring that Australia's proposed
media bargaining laws were unfair and put the "way Aussies' search
at risk", the consumer watchdog rebutted, labelling the post as
misinformation.
In
the letter, Google said the proposed law, the News
Media Bargaining Code, would force it to provide users with a
"dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube", which could lead to
data being handed over to "big news businesses, and would put the free
services you use at risk in Australia".
The
draft code of practice, published last month by the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC), adopts a model based on negotiation, mediation, and
arbitration to "best facilitate genuine commercial bargaining between
parties, allowing commercially negotiated outcomes suited to different business
models used by Australian news media businesses".
-----
https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/google-doubles-down-on-youtube-push-against-code-20200821-p55o8l
Google doubles down on YouTube push against code
Max Mason Media and
marketing editor
Aug 21, 2020
– 10.41pm
Google
has ramped on its efforts to get its YouTube community to pressure the Australian
government to water down a new regulatory code and made its most
overt threat yet that it would withdraw some of the user-generated video
website's functions in Australia.
It
comes as part of an increasingly fiery public campaign by Google against the
draft code on conduct legislation, which aims to put a mechanism in place to to
deal with the imbalance in bargaining power between Facebook, Google and
Australian media companies, forcing the technology giants to pay for journalism
on some of their platforms.
In
an update by YouTube's creator liason Matt Koval said the proposed code of
conduct legislation would have a "negative impact on the creator
ecosystem."
Mr
Koval said the code would allow Australian news organisations to "demand
large payments.
-----
http://medicalrepublic.com.au/my-health-record-vs-telehealth-a-government-innovation-and-investment-dilemma/33439
21 August
2020
My Health Record vs telehealth: a government innovation
and investment dilemma
Posted by Jeremy
Knibbs
The
$2 billion My Health Record has largely been MIA during COVID-19 while the idea
to allow doctors use their phone to do a consult may end up as the catalyst for
health system transformation.
What
is wrong with this picture?
One
of our top five all-time trafficked articles is a blog penned just over two
years ago by then Kangaroo Island-based rural GP Dr Tim Leeuwenburg titled Why I am opting out of the My Health Record – for now . A
lot of what Tim said in that blog still resonates, and that is probably why the
story he tells still gets quite a few hits, despite its age and the fact that
Tim has moved on from being a rural GP for now. He never did opt in to the MHR
as things turned out, and he says he has never used it in his work. But many
GPs will tell you Tim is one of the most dedicated, passionate and competent
GPs and rural proceduralists they know.
While
COVID continues to rage around us, we’ve been reluctant at The
Medical Republic to raise the obvious absence of the MHR among the
many war stories of COVID-19 emergency management. Even when the Australian
Digital Health Agency (ADHA) put out one of its confusing press releases implying there
had been a huge surge in MHR use as a result of COVID and quoting statistics
that had no referencing baselines for progress and actual meaningful engagement
by healthcare professionals, on June 23, we decided to leave it
alone. It just seemed a distraction to the main issues at hand, like an
argument that just isn’t worth having any more. In July I did a one-hour podcast with ADHA interim CEO Bettina
McMahon on all the good stuff the agency was getting done. There
turns out to be quite a bit outside of the MHR. I had meant to ask the MHR
question, but the topic never came up. That seemed to me to say a lot.
-----
http://medicalrepublic.com.au/free-webinar-on-the-downsides-of-hospital-digitisation/33283
20 August
2020
Free webinar on the downsides of hospital digitisation
Technology Webinars
Posted by TMR
Webinars
One
of the promises of a modern digital hospital set up is the simultaneous
management of multiple patients with multiple data points, on many integrated
and co-ordinated devices.
The
reality has more regularly been a build-up of poorly integrated systems. With
multiple digital devices arriving at a patient’s bedside, the potential for
fatigue and confusion among the care team is expanding rapidly.
In
this interactive webinar hosted by The Medical Republic’s
sister publication Wild Health, the expert panel will talk about what
progress their hospitals and hospital networks have made in this important
emerging area of digital development, the issues they currently face, and how they
are planning to solve the increasing complexity their hospitals will face
moving forward.
You
will have the opportunity to ask questions and participate in the conversation.
REGISTER HERE
-----
https://www.rmit.edu.au/research/centres-collaborations/multi-partner-collaborations/rmit-european-connected-health-alliance
The European Connected Health Alliance
(ECHAlliance) is a Global Connector of international networks of
Digital Health Ecosystems.
As
a partner, RMIT is proud to announce it is hosting the Melbourne Digital Health
Ecosystem of the ECHAlliance.
The
Melbourne Digital Health Ecosystem is the first Australian
ecosystem in the Alliance. Our goal is to support exchange and
initiatives, both locally and internationally between policy makers, healthcare
providers, researchers, technology disruptors and the community
sector.
Through sharing
knowledge, best practices on health policy, health models, health innovations,
health trends across the globe, the Alliance and Melbourne Digital
Health Ecosystem will serve as a gateway to international networks. As
a centre of collaboration, the Melbourne Digital Health ecosystem
will provide a unique access point for international partnerships, network
building and research funding.
Most
importantly the Melbourne Digital Health Ecosystem will help break down silos,
transform healthcare delivery and spur economic growth in the sector.
-----
https://www.news.com.au/technology/google-versus-australia-the-truth-behind-the-tech-giants-campaign-to-avoid-paying-for-news/news-story/793bd4e8c0ccc51a47210288e505b0ee
’It’s time to respect us’: Google accused of bullying
in new open letter about news code
Yellow
warning signs have suddenly appeared almost everywhere online, and Google has
been accused of using them as a form of bullying.
Jennifer
Dudley-Nicholson, David Aidone
News Corp Australia Network
August 20, 20208:58am
Google has
been slammed in a new open letter for its threats over a plan that would
require it to pay for news.
The
Australian Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology has taken aim at
Google today, labelling yellow warning signs on its website and its recent open
letter against the plan as a form of bullying.
Google
has activated the alerts in response to a draft code that would require Google
and Facebook to pay media companies for their journalism.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/facebook-says-it-will-crack-down-on-qanon-conspiracy-theory-stops-at-ban-20200820-p55nfv.html
Facebook says it will crack down on QAnon conspiracy
theory, stops at ban
By Elizabeth Dwoskin and Isaac Stanley-Becker
August 20, 2020 — 7.03am
Washington:
Facebook on Wednesday said it would crack down on the QAnon
conspiracy theory but stopped short of an outright ban on activity related to
the online movement, whose adherents contend President Donald Trump is battling
a cabal of "deep state" saboteurs who worship Satan and traffic
children for sex.
The
technology giant said in a blog post it would restrict the spread of content
related to QAnon, while eliminating online forums altogether if the discussion
in them involves potential violence. The enforcement action targeted 3280 pages
and groups, as well as 10,000 accounts on Facebook-owned Instagram. A total of
790 groups and 100 pages were fully deleted.
The
company declined to say how many Facebook users would be affected by the
changes.
The
baseless and often mutating QAnon philosophy, which has been identified by the
FBI as a potential domestic terrorism threat, has gained prominent backers,
including a slew of congressional candidates.
-----
https://apo.org.au/node/307652
Data trust and data privacy in the COVID19 period
30 Jul 2020
Nicholas Biddle, Ben Edwards, Matthew Gray, Michael Hiscox, Steven McEachern, Kate Sollis
Publisher
Centre for Social Research and
Methods (ANU)
COVID-19 Data protection Disease management Infectious diseases Public trust Mobile technology Internet applications Online privacy Australia
Resources
Data
trust and data privacy in the COVID19 period
Description
Abstract:
In
this paper, we focus on data trust and data privacy, and how attitudes may be
changing during the COVID-19 period. We also look at the implications of these
changes for the take-up and effectiveness of the COVIDSafe App, a mobile
phone-based application that was designed to assist in the identification of
people who may have unknowingly come into contact with someone who has been
infected by COVID-19. On balance, it would appear that Australians are more
trusting of organisations with regards to data privacy and less concerned about
their own personal information and data than they were prior to the spread of
COVID-19. The major determinant of this change in trust with regards to data
was changes in general confidence in government institutions. Despite this
improvement in trust with regards to data privacy, trust levels are still low.
Trust
in data privacy is strongly predictive of the probability of downloading the
app. We also find that the age group with the greatest reported level of
downloading was 55 to 74 year olds and those in the most advantaged areas are
the most likely to have downloaded. Politically, there were no differences
between Labor and Coalition voters though we do find a lower probability for
those who would not have voted for one of the two major parties. Finally, we
also showed a number of other behavioural and attitudinal determinants of
COVIDSafe usage. Those who were generally confident in the government, thought
it was likely they would be infected, were less populist, more altruistic, and
more patient were all more likely to have used the app.
-----
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2000272?query=TOC
When the EMR Stole My Pen
- Ranjana Srivastava, F.R.A.C.P.
“Lost something, Doctor?”
“I think my nice pen slipped under your sheets,” I explain.
Groaning at the thought of moving his diabetic legs, the patient
says, “Maybe you should keep your nice pens at home.”
People have been telling me that for years.
My first nice pen was a Sheaffer, a medical school graduation
present from a friend. Silver trimmed in gold, it was the first item engraved
with my new title of doctor. After everything it took me to get there, I
couldn’t leave the pen at home. From my first day of internship, it became my
companion and cheerleader. On dull night duty, as I filled out warfarin orders
or wrote blood slips, a glance at the gold lettering would remind me that my
role mattered. If a patient needed a pen, I’d exhaust all options before
reluctantly handing over mine. Australian doctors don’t wear white coats, and
my clothes seldom had functional pockets, but protected in my palm, my dutiful
Sheaffer lasted 2 years before I lost it during a code. I felt simultaneously
annoyed, guilty, and bereft. A voice in my head said it was only a matter of
time before a nice pen went missing, but I loved to write, and in those days —
with paper records, paper scripts, paper everything — there was a lot to write.
So after some searching, I bought myself an elegant Waterman.
If an engraved pen could be lost, an unengraved one stood no
chance, but I managed to hold on to my Waterman for a few years, until a friend
upgraded it to a sleek Cross. By then, I was a fellow whose credibility rested
on writing meaningful notes on the 30 or 40 patients I saw each day. With a
nice pen, work never felt like a chore. I loved the swish of pen on paper, the
gel technology that felt like ink without the mess. The act of writing parsed
my thinking and made me more deliberate. Why would anyone leave a nice pen at
home with all this writing to be done at work?
-----
https://www.croakey.org/telehealth-is-an-opportunity-australia-cannot-miss/
Telehealth is an opportunity Australia cannot miss
Editor: Nicole MacKee Author: Tim
Smyth on: August 18, 2020In: aged care, Coronavirus outbreak
2019-2020, health reform, quality and safety
of health care, telehealth
Introduction
by Croakey: With just six weeks until telehealth Medicare
Benefits Scheme item numbers are set to expire, health groups are calling for
the Federal Government to commit to a continuation of telehealth and to a
broader digital health model for Australia.
The
telehealth item numbers, which were swiftly introduced in March in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic, have been widely welcomed by health professionals and
patients alike. As
reported in Croakey this
week, telehealth has also been crucial in ensuring greater access to mental
health services during the pandemic.
Last
month, the Federal Health Minister introduced
restrictions requiring GP providers to have an existing and
continuous relationship with a patient in order to provide telehealth services.
These restrictions were welcomed by the Royal Australian College
of General Practice and the AMA, which said the changes
addressed the “disturbing emergence” of pop-up models of care.
However,
others condemned the move, saying that it restricted access to groups that
already faced barriers to care, including people in rural and remote areas,
young people who may not have a regular GP, and those needing access to sexual
and reproductive health services.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/ai-that-can-detect-hoax-calls-put-through-its-paces-in-new-trial-20200818-p55mxn.html
AI that can detect hoax calls put through its paces in
new trial
By Stuart Layt
August 19, 2020 — 10.59am
Artificial
intelligence technology developed by a Queensland researcher to identify hoax
calls is set to be tested at some emergency centres, potentially freeing up
operators to deal with real emergencies.
University
of Southern Queensland computer scientist Dr Rajib Rana has spent the past
three years developing the artificial intelligence algorithms required to
detect whether someone is genuinely in trouble or whether they are playing a
time-wasting prank.
Dr
Rana said the "distress inference system" was designed to detect the
level of distress in a person’s voice, and assess whether it is in line with
the sort of incident they are describing.
"When
people are in real distress there are physiological changes which happen in
speech production, like your mouth dries out, your breathing rate increases,
that sort of thing," he said.
-----
http://medicalrepublic.com.au/gp-study-looks-at-impact-of-education-and-my-health-record/33160
17 August
2020
GP study looks at impact of education and My Health
Record
General Practice RACGP
The
CHIME GP study is a project to help GPs use the latest evidence around prescribing,
pathology and radiology ordering to improve patient outcomes using My Health
Record.
CHIME
(Clinical and Healthcare Improvement through My Health Record Usage and
Education in General Practice) looks at potential change in GP behaviour both
before and after education around de-prescribing and rational use of pathology
and diagnostic imaging ordering.
ENROL HERE
The
education also incorporates use of My Health Record (MHR) in an everyday
clinical setting to assist GPs in avoiding duplicate or unnecessary tests,
preventing the pitfalls of polypharmacy, and improving delivery of
patient-centred care.
CHIME-GP
is a CPD Accredited Activity* (formerly 40 category 1 points) and recognises
your time with a $200 (ex GST) payment.
This
interactive education series will be conducted by Medcast and evaluated by the
University of Wollongong (UOW) on behalf of the funding body, the Australian
Digital Health Agency (ADHA). Your contact details will not be supplied to UOW
or ADHA.
-----
http://medicalrepublic.com.au/digital-healths-covid-pivot-what-stays-what-drifts-back-to-the-bad-old-days/33264
18 August
2020
Digital Health’s COVID pivot: What stays, what drifts
back to the bad old days?
Technology Webinars
Posted by Jeremy
Knibbs
As the
emergency of COVID fades and the collaborative dynamic that has advanced
digital health eventually returns to normal, which changes will we be able to
keep?
And
why has our health system been transformed by a hastily turned around
innovation requiring no more than a phone line, while a big-ticket
multi-billion-dollar digital health infrastructure project has barely made a
ripple?
We’ll
ask these questions at a COVID DIGITAL PIVOT WEBINAR on Tuesday 25
August, 11am – REGISTRATION HERE.
“There’s
opportunity for health systems to leverage from this crisis both abroad and in
Australia – to pick up some significant learnings, such as the ethos of agility
and working together across traditional boundaries, both professional and
governmental and engaging industry in a novel way.”
-----
https://www.ausdocjobs.com.au/article-details/20/6-tips-for-effective-telehealth-consults/
6 tips for effective telehealth consults
Written by Clifford
Fram
Published 13
Aug 2020
Telehealth
has come a long way since March when the MBS introduced new item numbers for GP
consultations in a funding program worth more than $650 million.
Over
the months, doctors have participated in millions of telehealth consultations
and Ausdoc.JOBS has experienced a surge in interest in telehealth positions,
both from advertisers and applicants.
We
asked practising Queensland GP and telehealth entrepreneur Dr Jared Dart to
share his thoughts on what makes a good telehealth consult.
It's
a learning curve, he says. The first priority is to ensure you have the right
technology. Not only the correct computers, webcams, speakers and apps. It
could also be as simple as having enough telephone lines and internet
bandwidth.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/google-scare-campaign-ramps-up/news-story/46f04757ba266ce11e593b9fa4a7a72a
Google scare campaign ramps up
David Swan
·
August 18, 2020
Tech giant Google has escalated its attack on Australia’s
competition watchdog, denying it has spread misinformation and reiterating that
its Search and YouTube products are “at risk in Australia”.
As The Australian reported the consumer
watchdog dismissed as “misinformation’’ warnings from Google
that proposed laws, that would force it to negotiate a payment to news
organisations to include their journalists’ work on its services, would lead to
a “dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube’’.
Google has hit back however, with the company declaring in a
statement on Tuesday it “strongly disagrees” that it was spreading
misinformation.
We are concerned that our view of the Code has been represented this way during
a phase of public consultation,” the company said.
“[The ACCC] incorrectly implied that Google indicated in its Open
Letter that it would start charging users for Search and YouTube. Google does
not intend to charge users for these free services.”
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/google-knows-your-every-move-even-with-location-history-off/news-story/99ef181fb3865746a9e187b573baeabf
Google knows your every move even with ‘location
history’ off
Chris
Griffith
Kieran
Gair
7:19AM
August 18, 2020
Android handsets are tracking where users are, and sending that
information to Google, even if location history settings are turned off and
the incognito privacy feature is turned on.
Tests
conducted by The Australian in Sydney — in which information being sent
to Google was duplicated and analysed — show the technology giant tracks the
phone’s movement even when those settings, ostensibly meant to protect the
privacy of users, are activated.
Australian Privacy Foundation chairman David Vaile said the findings
were disturbing, and Android users were being misled to think that the
incognito privacy feature, where the device does not record any activity, meant
that Google was not tracking the phone’s location either.
“They’ve proven time and time again that they’re unwilling to accept
restraints on their data-collection practices,” Mr Vaile said. “They have
essentially kept harvesting the data while giving a misleading impression that
they have obeyed your wishes.”
-----
https://www.news.com.au/technology/google-versus-australia-the-truth-behind-the-tech-giants-campaign-to-avoid-paying-for-news/news-story/793bd4e8c0ccc51a47210288e505b0ee
Google attacked for threat made to Australians over
free services being put ‘at risk’
Tech giant Google has been attacked after warning millions of
Australians that new laws will put its free services ‘at risk’.
Jennifer
Dudley-Nicholson
News Corp Australia Network
August 18, 202010:43am
Google is sending “warnings” to millions of Australians this week
in what looks like the start of a fierce campaign against new rules that could
force the firm to pay for the news it uses on its platform.
And the trillion-dollar company is making bold claims to users:
alleging proposed laws from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
will put everything from users’ privacy to the viability of Google’s free services
at risk.
But ACCC chairman Rod Sims branded some of these warnings as
“misinformation”.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/google-spreading-misinformation-about-new-rules-says-accc-chief-20200817-p55mjb.html
Google spreading 'misinformation' about new rules, says
ACCC chief
By Cara Waters
August 17, 2020 — 6.46pm
Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission chief Rod Sims has accused Google of
spreading misinformation after the search giant claimed a new regulatory code
could jeopardise its free services in Australia and increase privacy risks.
Google
on Monday intensified its opposition to a new bargaining code, proposed by the
ACCC, that would force internet giants to negotiate with media companies to pay
for their news content.
The
search advertising giant, which generated revenue of $4 billion in Australia
last year, placed a warning message on its main search page about the new code,
and used an open letter to argue the changes would "dramatically
worsen" the experience for users.
But
Mr Sims said Google was spreading "misinformation" and its assertions
were incorrect. "Google will not be required to charge Australians for the
use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses
to do so," Mr Sims said. "Google will not be required to share any
additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do
so."
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/accc-accuses-google-of-seeding-media-code-misinformation-551843
ACCC accuses Google of seeding media code
'misinformation'
By Justin Hendry on
Aug 17, 2020 6:04PM
Rejects web giant's claims.
Australia’s
competition watchdog has accused Google of spreading ‘misinformation’ after the
web giant weaponised its search engine to warn users of so-called risks with
the country’s proposed media code.
Google
on Monday intensified its campaign against proposed regulations by using pop-up ads to direct its Australian users
to an open letter claiming "the way Aussies use Google is at
risk".
The
letter, which was penned by Google Australia’s chief Mel Silva and contains a
large yellow warning sign, makes a number of claims including that the news
media bargaining code could put an end to free Google services.
It
also suggested the regulation would force Google to provide Australian users
with a “dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube”, and could see consumer
data provided to media organisations.
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/sims-accuses-google-of-misinformation-20200817-p55me7
Sims accuses Google of misinformation
Natasha Gillezeau Reporter
Aug 17, 2020
– 4.20pm
Competition
regulator Rod Sims has accused Google of spreading misinformation in its
pushback on proposed
law changes designed to correct the power imbalance between
technology giants and media companies.
The
search and advertising behemoth has warned its users and content creators, who
earn money from videos hosted on YouTube, that it could pass on the costs of a
new bargaining code proposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission.
Under
the draft code Google and Facebook will be forced to fairly pay
Australian media companies for the use of news content on digital platforms or
face hefty fines for non-compliance.
In
two letters published via the Google Australia blog on Monday, the company
argued that the code "would force us to provide you with a dramatically
worse Google Search and YouTube" and that Google would consider cutting
payments to local YouTubers.
-----
https://www.news.com.au/technology/google/google-sends-open-letter-to-aussies-threatening-to-change-free-services-due-to-news-code/news-story/fa0783aaa202510bb8a368b8a6146861
Google sends open letter to Aussies, threatening to
change ‘free services’ due to news code
Google
says everything from its ‘free services’ to its search results could change
because of a ruling that it should pay for news it uses.
Jennifer
Dudley-Nicholson News Corp Australia Network August 17, 202011:29am
Tech giant Google is sending an “open letter” to millions of its
Australian users today, warning their search results, personal data, and free
services will be put at risk by a ruling from Australia’s competition watchdog
that the company should pay for the news it uses.
The multibillion-dollar tech firm’s missive claims internet and
video search results would be “dramatically worse” by the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission’s news bargaining code, revealed two weeks
ago, and claimed “the way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk”.
The company appeared to stop short of threatening to pull out of
Australia, however, or stop showing Australian news in its search results as
some experts predicted.
Both Google and Facebook face changes as part of the ACCC’s news bargaining code, which
followed an 18-month investigation into digital platforms in Australia and
their impact on journalism and advertising.
-----
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=809431a4-23a5-47e1-a0f0-2f661cdf04ca&
Is the clock ticking down for Tik Tok?
EAGLEGATE
Australia, China August 13 2020
Australia
is unlikely to match controversial moves in America over the compulsory
acquisition of Chinese-owned social media app Tik Tok.
Brisbane
cyber lawyer Sandy Zhang says amid claims the video sharing app may be a data
gathering tool of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Australia is unlikely to
follow an American move to compulsorily force Tik Tok to sell its business to
an American company, or face a ban if it refuses.
But
a demand by US President Donald Trump that the US government would expect a
substantial slice of the price for such a sale has evoked alarm in many
quarters over so-called Mafia tactics.
Mr
Zhang, a Senior Associate with Brisbane Intellectual Property and Privacy law
firm EAGLEGATE
Lawyers, which handles matters of Commercial,
Patent law, Copyright law, Trade Marks, Domain names and general Cyber law says
there is no precedent for this sort of action.
-----
https://apo.org.au/node/307517
Mobile health apps that help with COVID-19 management:
scoping review
23 May 2020
John Leon Singh, Danielle Couch, Kevin Yap
Journal JMIR Nursing
Resources Mobile health apps that help with COVID-19
management: scoping review
Description
Abstract:
Background:
Mobile health (mHealth) apps have played an important role in mitigating the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response. However, there is no resource that
provides a holistic picture of the available mHealth apps that have been
developed to combat this pandemic.
Objective:
Our aim is to scope the evidence base on apps that were developed in response
to COVID-19.
Methods:
Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and
Meta-Analyses) guidelines for scoping reviews, literature searches were
conducted on Google Search, Google Scholar, and PubMed using the country’s name
as keywords and “coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” “nCOV19,” “contact tracing,”
“information providing apps,” “symptom tracking,” “mobile apps,” “mobile
applications,” “smartphone,” “mobile phone,” and “mHealth.” Countries most
affected by COVID-19 and those that first rolled out COVID-19–related apps were
included.
Results:
A total of 46 articles were reviewed from 19 countries, resulting in a total of
29 apps. Among them, 15 (52%) apps were on contact tracing, 7 (24%) apps on
quarantine, 7 (24%) on symptom monitoring, and 1 (3%) on information provision.
More than half (n=20, 69%) were from governmental sources, only 3 (10%) were
from private organisations, and 3 (10%) from universities. There were 6 (21%)
apps available on either Android or iOS, and 10 (34%) were available on both
platforms. Bluetooth was used in 10 (34%) apps for collecting data, 12 (41%)
apps used GPS, and 12 (41%) used other forms of data collection.
Conclusions:
This review identifies that the majority of COVID-19 apps were for contact
tracing and symptom monitoring. However, these apps are effective only if taken
up by the community. The sharing of good practices across different countries
can enable governments to learn from each other and develop effective
strategies to combat and manage this pandemic.
-----
https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2020/32/video-communication-for-gps-and-patients/
Video communication for GPs and patients
Andrew Baird
Issue 32 / 17 August 2020
GPs
have a major role in managing most people with coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19). They also have a major role in managing people who have the
epiphenomena of COVID-19: psychosocial distress, adjustment difficulties, and
mental illness. Video consultations are appropriate for managing these people.
Although
the media focus is on people who are hospitalised with COVID-19 and on people
who have died of COVID-19, most
people who have the virus are in the community for the duration of their
illness; they self-manage their illness at home.
Through
the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the aftermath, GPs have an ongoing role in
providing comprehensive, continuing care to their patients, their patients’
families and their patients’ communities. This includes providing acute care,
chronic disease management, and preventive activities. Telehealth will have an
ongoing role in many facets of patient care in general practice.
And
yet Medicare data for the months of May
and June
2020 tell us that video consultations are not being taken up in the numbers we
might expect. The data show that for non-face-to-face attendances by GPs at
levels B, C and D, 97% were by phone and just 3% were by video.
-----
https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2020/32/covid-19-unlocking-benefits-of-cloud-based-diabetes-monitoring/
COVID-19: unlocking benefits of cloud-based diabetes
monitoring
Neale Cohen
Issue 32 / 17 August 2020
THE
COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of conventional health care
delivery. As an endocrinologist, I was initially concerned that the lockdown
would be the perfect environment for previously well managed patients with
diabetes to lose their trajectory. However, it has provided a unique
opportunity to see what technology has to offer in the real world for the
management of diabetes.
More
than 1.7 million Australians are living with diabetes and were included
among those most at risk of severe COVID-19 complications. As people
around Australia were encouraged to stay at home between March and May 2020,
this new way of life presented a bigger challenge to those living with
diabetes, a chronic and lifelong condition.
The
pandemic inspired the rise of telehealth, which became an attractive option for
health care professionals when a face-to-face appointment was not possible.
Telehealth is a powerful alternative and there is growing interest in
technologies that support remote appointments.
Living
with diabetes involves regular monitoring of blood glucose levels and recording
these data. These records help health care professionals make informed
decisions about their patients’ treatment and care. Without these
data and without seeing the patient in person, it can be tricky to update their
treatment plan or offer personalised advice.
-----
Comments more
than welcome!
David.
