-----
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! I wonder
will the new CEO make a difference?
The new CEO has been in place 2+ weeks – no new minutes obvious
yet, or any other major improvements!
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.zdnet.com/article/facebook-to-ban-content-that-seeks-to-intimidate-voters/
Facebook to ban content that seeks to intimidate voters
It will
also ban political ads once the polls for the US elections close on November 3.
By Campbell Kwan |
October 8, 2020 -- 00:43 GMT (11:43 AEDT) | Topic: Mobility
Facebook
announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it will remove any content that
seeks to intimidate voters as part of its preparations for the upcoming US
presidential election.
The social
networking giant already
has a ban on posts that call for "coordinated interference" or
bringing weapons to polling locations, but the expanded policy will see more
focus be placed on addressing concerns around voter intimidation.
"[Facebook
will] remove calls for people to engage in poll watching when those calls use
militarized language or suggest that the goal is to intimidate, exert control,
or display power over election officials or voters," Facebook VP of
integrity Guy Rosen said.
-----
https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2020-australias-cyber-dollars-are-full-of-stale-hot-air/
Budget 2020: Australia's cyber dollars are full of
stale hot air
New is not
new in Australia's federal Budget. Almost all of the cybersecurity spending is
a re-announcement, and there are few measurable targets.
By Stilgherrian for
The Full Tilt | October
7, 2020 -- 04:35 GMT (15:35 AEDT) | Topic: Security
Australia's federal
budget papers, which dropped on Tuesday night, make it clear just how
little attention the government is paying to its cyber policies and to good
governance generally.
ZDNet has already
reported how most
of the Budget was pre-announced, with those previously-announced figures
included in the totals of supposedly new spending. In reality, though, it's
even worse.
Yes, the
"additional $201.5 million" to help deliver the nation's disappointing
Cyber Security Strategy is just another part of the AU$1.7 billion over 10
years already
announced in August.
Yes, the vast
majority of that total figure is the AU$1.35
billion cyber kitty for the Cyber Enhanced Situational Awareness and
Response (CESAR) package already announced with much fanfare back in June.
-----
https://www.zdnet.com/article/genevieve-bell-and-what-the-future-of-ai-might-look-like/
Genevieve Bell and what the future of AI might look
like
Safe,
responsible, and diverse are her three wishes.
By Aimee
Chanthadavong | October 7, 2020 -- 03:45 GMT (14:45 AEDT) | Topic: Innovation
Ask Genevieve
Bell what she hopes the future of artificial intelligence (AI) will look like,
and three thoughts come to mind: How to make it safe, how can we make it
responsible, and how to ensure everybody is part of the conversation.
As the
director of the 3A
Institute at the Australian National University, Bell believes a
combination of efforts will be required if these three wishes are to come true.
One of the
main the pieces, she said, will be bringing diversity to the conversation.
"The
thing about AI is it's not singular, it's AIs. There will be lots of them; it's
not a monolithic AI out of science fiction. So, making sure you have lots of
views will help," Bell told ZDNet.
-----
https://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/story/6952266/scamwatch-fake-amazon-prime-and-my-health-record-calls/?cs=743
October 9
2020 - 3:00PM
Scamwatch: Fake Amazon Prime and My Health Record scam
calls
Every year, thousands of
Australians are targeted by scams, whether it be online, via phone, mail or
even in person. Australian Community Media has compiled a list of
current scams identified on sites such as scamwatch.gov.au
and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's website dedicated to
informing people about fraudulent and dishonest activities:
Have you been scammed?
Have you been a victim of a recent scam? Australian Community
Media is interested in publishing first-hand accounts from those who have been
taken advantage of by unscrupulous operators. If you're interested in sharing
your story as a warning to others, contact Anna Wolf at anna.wolf@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Amazon Prime scam
- The Australian Communications and
Media Authority has receive reports this month of scammers calling people
and impersonating staff from entertainment and media subscription service
Amazon Prime.
- Be wary of callers claiming you owe
money to Amazon and that funds will be taken from your bank account if you
do not act immediately.
- Scammers may also ask you to go
online to confirm your personal details or Amazon account information.
- Amazon does not ask customers to
disclose or verify personal or account information over the phone.
- If a call sounds suspicious, hang up
immediately. Never give personal information over the phone unless you can
independently confirm who is calling.
Fake digital health calls
- The Australian Digital Health Agency
(ADHA), responsible for the My Health Record system, has receive reports
of fraudulent telephone calls from an individual or organisation claiming
to be a representative of the agency.
- The caller says they are calling
from the "digital health agency" to enrol people to get a
"health record".
- ADHA will not telephone you with an
offer to enrol you for a My Health Record.
- If you receive a call from someone
offering to enrol you for a "health record", hang up the call
and report it to scamwatch.gov.au.
- If you have shared your Medicare
number with an unknown caller, report this to Services Australia who will
place your details on a watch list to monitor for any compromise or misuse
of your Medicare record. Email protectyouridentity@servicesaustralia.gov.au
or phone 1800 941 126.
-----
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13755-020-00126-4
Improving accessibility of the Australian My Health
Records while preserving privacy and security of the system
·
Pasupathy
Vimalachandran,
·
Hong Liu,
·
Yongzheng Lin,
·
Ke Ji,
·
Hua Wang
&
·
Yanchun Zhang
Health Information Science and
Systems volume 8,
Article number: 31 (2020)
Abstract
Australian My Health Record (MyHR) is a significant development in
empowering patients, allowing them to access their summarised health
information themselves and to share the information with all health care
providers involved in their care. Consequently, the MyHR system must enable
efficient availability of meaningful, accurate, and complete data to assist an
improved clinical administration of a patient. However, while enabling this,
protecting data privacy and ensuring security in the MyHR system has become a
major concern because of its consequences in promoting high standards of
patient care. In this paper, we review and address the impact of data security
and privacy on the use of the MyHR system and its associated issues. We
determine and analyse where privacy becomes an issue of using the MyHR system.
Finally, we also present an appropriate method to protect the security and
privacy of the MyHR system in Australia.
http://medicalrepublic.com.au/our-11-most-valuable-digital-health-tech-companies/35519
9 October
2020
Our 11 most valuable digital health tech companies
Practice Management Technology Telehealth
Posted by Jeremy
Knibbs
As
a sort of diversion from our normal Saturday fare of COVID-19, government, the
regulators and medical college guts and gore, this week we thought you might be
interested in why medical technology companies are suddenly so hot right now,
and whether COVID-19 has much to do with that.
Oops,
COVID-19 again, sorry. Can’t seem to shake the thing. This is not an investment
column, just a novice’s dive into the whims of medicine, technology, digital
stuff and how people see value and either make money or lose it.
Since
we are ultimately talking about assessing value, and taking risk, a cautionary
tale might be a good place to begin.
On
the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), there are 176 companies listed as
healthcare stocks of which only seven could be classed really as digital health
technology companies. Device companies, of which there are many listed, aren’t
included.
-----
https://andhealth.com.au
Budget 2020: Impact on the Digital Health Sector
This
week saw one of the most anticipated Federal budgets in memory handed down. By
and large ANDHealth felt that the budget was positive for our sector,
especially noting the winding back of planned changes to the R&D Tax
Incentive. Below we’ve outlined some thoughts on how the implementation of some
key budget measures could be considered to benefit the digital health sector:
Modern Manufacturing Initiative – Medical Products – We welcome the renewed
focus on our manufacturing capability in the medical field and encourage the
Government to ensure that we focus on manufacturing the medical products of the
future, not the products of the past. Connectivity and companion and integrated
software is essential to creating a new generation of connected devices to
support the evolution to virtual care and delivery of diagnosis, care and
treatment outside of clinical settings.
Funding for research including the MRFF – The MRFF remains a significant asset
to Australia’s international competitiveness in the research, development and
commercialisation of health and medical research and innovation. However we
need to focus on research, development AND commercialisation activities that
will ultimately impact patient outcomes, but also create the next generation of
companies such as ResMed, Cochlear and Planet Innovation.
-----
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=51d4c92f-f870-4eda-a6a5-fff78829ccc4
Court’s $2.9 million penalty against HealthEngine
delivers clear guidance to businesses about customer reviews and the use of
customer information
DLA Piper
What
has happened?
The
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has succeeded in its case
against HealthEngine Pty Ltd. HealthEngine hosts an online directory listing
70,000 health practices and practitioners across Australia and facilitates
patient bookings.
HealthEngine
admitted that it engaged in false, misleading and deceptive conduct by
publishing selective patient reviews and ratings and sharing patients’ personal
information with private health insurance brokers without appropriate
disclosures.
HealthEngine
consented to orders requiring it to pay a penalty of $2.9 million.
Key
takeaways
There
are two key takeaways from this case.
- While online customer reviews can be
an effective marketing tool, businesses that selectively remove, suppress
or edit reviews or ratings risk breaching the Australian Consumer Law. If
businesses choose to collect and publish customer reviews or ratings, then
they must be prepared to take the bad with the good. The decision also
highlights the ACCC’s ongoing enforcement focus on online reviews, with
this case following other recent enforcement proceedings concerning the
veracity and independence of online reviews and ratings against Service
Seeking, Trivago and Meriton.
- Businesses that collect personal
information from customers must make appropriate disclosures about how
they intend to use that data, particularly if they propose to disclose the
information to a third party. A failure to make adequate disclosures risks
breaching the Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC is currently focused on a
range of consumer data privacy issues.
-----
https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/the-10-most-innovative-health-companies-20200930-p560ly
The 10 most innovative health companies
A digital
wellness platform that helps people manage their mental health is the winner of
the best innovation prize in the health industries category.
Alexandra Cain
Oct 9, 2020 –
12.01am
The
AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies list recognises the most innovative
organisations in Australia and New Zealand, as judged by the expert panel
assembled by The
Australian Financial Review and Inventium.
The
assessment methodology is outlined here.
A
digital wellness platform has won the best innovation prize in the health
industries category.
In
2020, the list has been split into 10 industry-specific categories.
These
are the top 10 innovations in health industries.
-----
https://itwire.com/your-it/apps/victorians-shy-away-from-the-mobile-phone-covidsafe-tracking-app.html
Thursday, 08 October 2020 14:22
Victorians shy away from installing the COVIDSafe
tracking app
By Peter
Dinham
Only 56% of Victorians have the
COVIDSafe ‘tracking app’ on their phone more than five months after the app was
launched by the Federal Government in late April and as the State continues in
lockdown with stage 4 restrictions.
According to a Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey on Victoria’s Stage 4 restrictions, those
with the COVIDSafe app are more likely to say they would feel safe visiting a
shopping centre if everyone was required to have the app. (55% vs 20% of those
without the app).
But, only 22% of Victorians
believe that a person should be refused entry into a shopping centre if they
refuse to have the ‘tracking app’ on their phone.
This contrasts strongly with
Victorian views on masks and temperature checks, with 90% of Victorians saying
people not wearing a mask should be refused entry to a shopping centre and 87%
saying people who refuse a temperature check should also be refused entry.
-----
https://www.teatreegully.sa.gov.au/Events_and_places/Places_-_Council_parks_facilities_and_venues/Library/Library_events_and_Digital_Hub_webinars/Introduction_to_My_Health_Record_-_free_webinar
ADHA
Propaganda
Introduction to My Health Record - free webinar
How much does it cost?
Free
Book here
Email: library@cttg.sa.gov.au
Phone: 8397
7333
When is it?
Thursday 22
October 2020 at 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Upcoming
dates: Thursday 19 November 2020 - 2:30PM
Where is it?
Tea
Tree Gully Library (online webinar)
571
Montague Road, Modbury View on map
Online
webinar for home or work
This
session will introduce you to My Health Record. My Health Record is an online
platform allowing healthcare professionals to share information with each other
as well as the patient, to help give a clearer and more complete picture of a
person’s health to aid in their treatment.
This
session will give you an overview of the platform, along with the opportunity
to access and use My Health Record.
You
will need an active email address and a MyGov account.
This
is an online webinar and an email with the webinar link will be provided prior
to the session.
Tea
Tree Gully library has received a grant to deliver this course and is required
to capture attendees' details as part of this funding.
-----
https://www.hospitalhealth.com.au/content/technology/article/why-health-care-must-prioritise-data-protection-1221092389
Why health care must prioritise data protection
By Josh Gluck*
Wednesday, 07 October, 2020
Healthcare
providers are facing an unprecedented risk of cyber attacks amid the coronavirus
pandemic. In recent weeks, the Australian Cyber Security Centre
has raised concerns in regard to healthcare providers — including hospitals and
aged-care homes — being increasingly targeted by COVID-19-themed ransomware
attacks.
Experts
say the risks of a successful attack are higher than usual right now, and
ransomware attacks can be devastating to the critical infrastructure within the
healthcare sector. This is due in part to the crippling effect ransomware has.
It restricts access to important clinical and research data needed by
clinicians and researchers that can mean the difference between life and death.
Consequences
of these attacks can be dire, requiring payment to the attacker, decryption
tools, or the gamble of recovering sensitive data from infrequently tested
backups. Putting an organisation’s most valuable asset in a hostage scenario
often results in massive payouts to cybercriminals, federal penalties and
reputational damage.
Despite
billions of dollars spent annually to guard entry points to clinical data, many
healthcare providers still underestimate the strategic value of improving data
protection. As this pandemic continues, essential services must be able to use
their data while storing it securely.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/big-tech-has-reason-to-fear-a-biden-victory-20201008-p56329.html
Big Tech has reason to fear a Biden victory
By Joe Nocera
October 8,
2020 — 8.20am
Silicon
Valley has long been in the camp of the Democrats - a place where candidates
could reliably raise lots of money, deliver keynotes at technology conferences
and pick the brains of the tech elite over dinner. This year, however, the most
powerful of those executives should probably be rooting for Donald Trump's
re-election. If Joe Biden wins the presidency - and the Democrats take the
Senate - it's going to be lights out for Big Tech.
Not
literally of course. But the antitrust sword that has been hanging over the
four tech monopolies - Apple, Facebook, Amazon.com and Alphabet's Google - is
far more likely to drop if the Democrats are in charge than if the Republicans
retain power. This was made abundantly clear on Tuesday (US time), when the
antitrust subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee released
a 449-page report excoriating the four companies for what it
described as continuing and systematic abuses of their monopoly power. And it
laid out recommendations that would limit their power, force them out of
certain lines of business and possibly even break up several of them.
The
report is the culmination of a long investigation by the subcommittee. It began
when Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island became chairman after the
2018 elections turned the House over to the Democrats. Cicilline, an antitrust
newbie when he first joined the subcommittee in 2016, spent his first two years
learning both about the government's inability to curb Big Tech's monopoly
abuses - as well as the monopoly abuses that needed to be curbed.
-----
https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2020-public-service-transformation-hyped-as-key-to-economic-recovery/
Budget 2020: Public Service transformation hyped as key
to economic recovery
A further
batch of government tech transformation initiatives funded up until mid-2024.
By Asha Barbaschow |
October 6, 2020 -- 11:02 GMT (22:02 AEDT) | Topic: Digital
Transformation
In handing
down its 2020-21 Budget on Tuesday night, the federal government walked through
the steps it has taken to set the Australian Public Service (APS) up for
success in allowing it to move forward with helping the nation's economic
recovery.
It pointed to
its Welfare
Payment Infrastructure Transformation (WPIT) program that it has touted
would provide "new and improved channels for accessing the welfare system,
ensuring quicker approvals, faster payments, and the flexibility to implement
new payments faster than ever"; as well as its digital
identity system that is being used by more than 1.6 million Australians and
1.1 million businesses to access over 70 government online services.
"The
need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that the
government and APS serve the needs of the public. The APS has built on the
government's investment in more accessible, smarter and seamless digital
services. Leading global expertise in ICT has been engaged to ensure that we
build the most advanced technologies," the Budget papers say.
-----
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=efe6b593-20fe-46a8-b2d2-c4c540b8c03b
HealthEngine decision: understanding the overlap between
privacy and consumer laws
Gadens
We
have seen a recent overseas trend by EU and US based competition regulators to
address privacy related matters within a broader competition context. This is
not something we have seen occurring in Australia to any great extent although
the recent introduction of the Consumer Data Right has seen both the Office of
the Australian Information Commission (OAIC) and the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) working hand in glove to regulate
consumer data rights.
A
recent 2020 decision now confirms the ACCC’s move into the privacy realm as
part of its competition remit. In Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v
HealthEngine Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 1203, the ACCC succeeded in its
proceedings against HealthEngine Pty Ltd (HealthEngine),
resulting in orders requiring HealthEngine to pay a penalty of $2.9 million.
HealthEngine
provides an online platform through which patients can access a booking system
for an online healthcare directory of over 70,000 health practices and
practitioners in Australia.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/us-investigation-highlights-tech-giants-abuse-of-power-20201007-p562pd.html
US investigation highlights tech giants' abuse of power
By
Tony Romm, Cat Zakrzewski and Rachel Lerman
October
7, 2020 — 9.33am
Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google engaged in anti-competitive,
monopoly-style tactics to evolve into four of the world's most powerful
corporate behemoths, according to US congressional investigators, who called in
a wide-ranging report released on Wednesday AEDT for sweeping changes that
regulators could bring Silicon Valley back in check.
The roughly 450-page report, capping a 15-month investigation by
the House of Representatives' top antitrust committee, found the four tech
giants relied on dubious, harmful means to solidify their dominance in search,
smartphones, social networking and shopping; and in the process evaded the very
regulators whose primary task it is to ensure that companies do not grow into
such corporate titans.
Investigators faulted Facebook for gobbling up potential
competitors with impunity, and they concluded Google had improperly scraped
rivals' websites and forced its technology on others to reach its pole position
in search and advertising. Lawmakers' report labelled both of those companies
monopolies while faulting the US government for failing to crack down on them
sooner.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/facebook-bans-all-qanon-groups-as-dangerous-amid-surging-misinformation-20201007-p562oe.html
Facebook bans all QAnon groups as dangerous amid
surging misinformation
By Joseph Menn
October 7, 2020 — 8.23am
San
Francisco: Facebook on Tuesday, local time, classified the
QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and began removing Facebook
groups and pages as well as Instagram accounts that hold themselves out as
representatives.
The
step escalates an August policy that banned a third of QAnon groups for
promoting violence while allowing most to stay, albeit with content appearing
less often in news feeds. Instead of relying on user reports, Facebook staff
now will seek out and delete the groups and pages, the company said in a blog
post.
Since
the August restrictions, some QAnon groups have added members, and others used
coded language to evade detection, for example referring to "cue"
instead of Q. Meanwhile, adherents have worked to integrate themselves in other
groups, such as those concerned with child safety and those critical of
restrictions on gatherings due to the coronavirus, according to researchers at
Facebook and elsewhere.
-----
https://www.aapm.org.au/Knowledge-Hub/Latest-News/paid-research-into-digital-health
ADHA
Propaganda
6 October
Paid research into digital health
October 6,
2020 By Laura
Jolley Announcement,
Digital
Health Agency, Research
0
The
Australian Digital Health Agency is inviting Practice Managers to
participate in paid market research to discuss your experiences with digital
health. In appreciation for your time, you will be paid $400 by Focus People,
an independent market research recruitment agency that are recruiting the
participants for our research.
The
research involves:
- Participating in a secure online
platform over four days - 30 mins per day (can be completed at a time
convenient to you)
- Responding to different tasks each
day and sharing your honest opinions and experiences with digital health
- All responses will be confidential
and deidentified in any reporting
If
you are interested in participating, please click here to complete
a short questionnaire.
A
representative from Focus People may then contact you after you complete the
short questionnaire. This information will not be used for any other purpose. Please
note that spaces in this research are limited so we appreciate your
understanding if you are not called to participate on this particular occasion.
If
you have any questions or concerns surrounding this research, please get in
touch with Trudy Morrison at Focus People at trudy.morrison@focuspeople.com.au
All
participation is voluntary and confidential.
-----
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/practice/why-video-telehealth-isnt-yet-mustsee-viewing
Why video telehealth isn't yet must-see viewing
The 'law of
diffusion' goes some way towards explaining the continued popularity of the
telephone
14th
September 2020
By Dr Hamish Meldrum
Many
GPs in Australia still underestimate just how popular telehealth is with our
patients.
A
recent HotDoc patient survey found that 55% of patients who had a telehealth
appointment over the previous two months would prefer a telehealth appointment
to seeing a GP in person, even when the COVID-19 restrictions are at an end.
Also,
68% said they believed their last in-person appointment could have been done
just as effectively via telehealth.
Patients
rate receiving results by telehealth as their biggest preference. But using
telehealth for seeing a new doctor, addressing mental health or a new problem,
or diagnosing sick children, was not so popular (see table below).
I
suspect that this correlates fairly well with GPs’ own preferences for when
telehealth works best.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/a-smart-companion-for-locked-down-seniors-20201005-p561zd.html
A smart companion for locked down seniors
October 6, 2020 — 10.30am
Stuck
at home for months on end, seniors might find a smart speaker or display makes
for the perfect lockdown companion.
While
going back into lockdown was tough on all Melburnians, it's been especially
difficult for seniors who've had to be extra cautious; like my parents who are
in their 70s and have basically been stuck at home since Easter.
Around
that time we got the exciting news that my sister was having another baby, so
mum and dad have spent the last six months knowing that when their new
granddaughter arrived they probably wouldn't get to visit her in the hospital.
I
thought they might appreciate a digital photo frame so the first baby photos
could take pride of place; the digital equivalent of sending them
"straight to the pool room".
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/50-000-miss-self-isolation-in-uk-because-of-outdated-excel-spreadsheet-20201006-p562bv.html
50,000 miss self-isolation in UK because of outdated
Excel spreadsheet
October
6, 2020 — 9.44am
London: An outdated Excel spreadsheet has been blamed for a new
coronavirus fiasco in England, where as many as 50,000 people who should have
been self-isolating were not because a batch of positive cases were never
passed on to contact tracers.
Britain's second wave appeared to be flat-lining last week before
it was revealed nearly 16,000 positive tests between September 25 and October 2
were never made public.
The blunder meant only 7000 cases were reported on Friday when the
true figure was close to 12,000.
Italy has recorded its highest daily increase in COVID-19 since
the country's lockdown in April.
The missing cases were also never registered with the National
Health Service tracing regime, meaning close contacts of the 16,000 infected
people did not get notified that they might be at risk and should self-isolate
for 14 days.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/google-drops-australia-from-news-showcase-launch-amid-regulator-rancour-554274
Google drops Australia from News Showcase launch amid
regulator rancour
By Byron Kaye on
Oct 5, 2020 8:36AM
Cites regulatory complications.
Google
has postponed the Australian rollout of News Showcase citing regulatory
complications, just three months after announcing the product, as the US
internet giant grapples with one of the most audacious attempts to police its
activities.
After
naming Australia, Germany and Brazil as markets where it would start paying
publishers to feature their news, Google dropped Australia from the product's
launch last week because its antitrust body has since pushed for laws forcing
Google to pay royalties for content industry-wide.
Google
said it has therefore "paused" contracts with five local publishers
whose news was due to feature on News Showcase, which presents content on
swipeable cards it dubs story panels.
"As
we work to understand the impacts of the news media bargaining code on
partnerships and products, we have put this project on pause for now,"
Google's managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Mel Silva, told Reuters
in an email.
-----
https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/213/7/telehealth-opportunity-increase-access-early-medical-abortion-australian-women
Telehealth: an opportunity to increase access to early
medical abortion for Australian women
Danielle
Mazza, Seema Deb and Asvini Subasinghe
Med J Aust 2020; 213 (7): . || doi:
10.5694/mja2.50782
Published online: 21 September 2020
Telehealth offers an opportunity to address limited access to
early medical abortion during COVID‐19 and beyond
Access to early medical abortion (EMA), using mifepristone
followed by misoprostol to end an early pregnancy, remains a challenge in
Australia, especially for women from vulnerable groups and those living in
rural and regional areas.1
Low numbers of general practitioner providers, lack of peer networks to support
the establishment and ongoing provision of EMA services, and stigma are real
barriers as is a broader lack of knowledge regarding medical abortion among
health professionals.2,3
Many women are also unaware of the availability of EMA and the current
gestational limit of 63 days.4
They also face difficulties navigating the health system to find an EMA
provider, particularly when they encounter conscientious objections.4,5
Women can also face other barriers such as needing to travel to access services,
take time off work or find childcare, and many need to source financial support
to meet the costs.5
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/facebook-bans-us-ads-that-claim-voting-fraud-widespread-20201001-p5614c
Facebook bans US ads that claim voting fraud widespread
Joseph Menn
Oct 1, 2020 –
4.31pm
San
Francisco | Facebook on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) banned ads on its
flagship website and Instagram photo and video sharing service that claim widespread voting fraud,
suggest US election results would be invalid, or which attack any method of
voting.
The
company announced the new rules in a blog post, adding to earlier restrictions
on premature claims of election victory.
The
move came a day after US President Donald Trump used the first televised debate
with Democratic challenger Joe Biden to amplify his baseless claims that the
November 3 presidential election will be "rigged."
Trump
has been especially critical of mail-in ballots, and he cited a number of small
unrelated incidents to argue that fraud was already happening at scale.
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Comments more
than welcome!
David.
