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This weekly blog is to explore the news around the larger issues around Digital Health, data security, data privacy, AI / ML. technology, social media and 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 3+ 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.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-17/covidsafe-app-coronavirus-safe-effectiveness-news/12766024
What will it take for Australians to download the COVIDSafe app, and will it even matter amid coronavirus?
By political reporter Jack Snape
Posted 17 October, 2020
Almost six months on from its release, the COVIDSafe app today stands just outside the top 10 charts for iPhone apps.
Key points:
- It is six months since the COVIDSafe app launched but the Government is not revealing how many people are using it
- Experts anticipate the app becoming more useful as communities navigate the tension between activity and cases
- The Government is still refusing to incorporate Apple and Google features in the app, though discussions are ongoing
Not the overall rankings though — just among free apps in the health and fitness subcategory.
Sandwiched in the charts between Workouts by Muscle Booster and Reflectly Journal: Daily Diary, COVIDSafe is the multi-million-dollar app likened to "sunscreen" for coronavirus by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in April.
Registrations have slowed at a little over 7 million and now it barely sneaks into Australia's top 200 free apps.
But the Government continues to back it and experts anticipate the app might come into its own as Australia tries to find a coronavirus normal.
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A grassroots movement to mobilise and support women in digital health | The women in AMIA experience
Women working in the fields of digital health and health informatics are invited to a targeted webinar next Wednesday 21 October inspired by the Institute’s US counterpart AMIA.
You will go behind the scenes of AMIA’s successful leadership development and mentoring program for women in digital health Women in AMIA (WIA) founded by Prof Wendy Chapman, who is now based at the University of Melbourne.
AMIA found women are under-represented in leadership roles in the fields of health and IT. Leadership training gives women skills and confidence to apply for leadership positions. The goal is to increase the number of women in leadership and decision-making roles in health informatics and digital health.
WIA was launched four years ago with huge voluntary effort by dozens of dedicated women.
Since then, they have worked tirelessly to create career mentoring opportunities, increase the number of women nominated for and receiving awards, measure salaries in informatics in the US, bring young women to their annual symposium for the first time and even launched a podcast!
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The state of AI in 2020: Biology and healthcare's AI moment, ethics, predictions, and graph neural networks
Research and industry breakthroughs, ethics, and predictions. This is what AI looks like today, and what it's likely to look like tomorrow.
By George Anadiotis for Big on Data | October 12, 2020 -- 14:46 GMT (01:46 AEDT) | Topic: Artificial Intelligence
The State of AI Report 2020 is a comprehensive report on all things AI. Picking up from where we left off in summarizing key findings, we continue the conversation with authors Nathan Benaich and Ian Hogarth. Benaich is the founder of Air Street Capital and RAAIS, and Hogarth is an AI angel investor and a UCL IIPP visiting professor.
Key themes we covered so far were AI democratization, industrialization, and the way to artificial general intelligence. We continue with healthcare and biology's AI moment, research and application breakthroughs, AI ethics, and predictions.
Biology and healthcare's AI moment
A key point discussed with Benaich and Hogarth was the democratization of AI: What it means, whether it applies, and how to compete against behemoths who have the resources it takes to train huge machine learning models at scale.
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Dutton pushes against encryption yet again but oversight at home is slow
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton gangs up with major nations to claim that cops are just being reasonable while tech companies are endangering public safety.
By Stilgherrian for The Full Tilt | October 12, 2020 -- 04:25 GMT (15:25 AEDT) | Topic: Security
"We, the undersigned, support strong encryption, which plays a crucial role in protecting personal data, privacy, intellectual property, trade secrets and cybersecurity," wrote a bunch of nations on the weekend -- the Five Eyes, India, and Japan.
As a statement of intent, it's right up there with "Your privacy is very important to us", "Of course I love you", and "I'm not a racist but...".
At one level, there's not a lot new in this latest International statement: End-to-end encryption and public safety.
We like encryption, it says, but you can't have it because bad people can use it too.
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http://medicalrepublic.com.au/will-the-real-racgp-leadership-please-speak-up/35826
16 October 2020
RACGP exam crisis: the buck stops anywhere but where it should
“This is really devastating for my family! I have been off work for a month hoping to end my misery this weekend! The worst is, not making a dime for a whole month and still being treated shabbily and without regard by the RACGP!” ~ Anonymous student, RACGP KFP AFT exams.
Lack of leadership, hopeless stakeholder management, possible profiteering off the most vulnerable in the system, lack of transparency, poor organisation and a failure to take full responsibility for a disastrous outcome.
It’s hard to know where to start with last week’s RACGP exam failure scandal, but if you add it all up, you have an organisation that hopefully recognises it has a major crisis on its hands, and not just a screw-up of one set of student exams.
It’s a crisis of trust, and if you add it to the last 10 years of mismanagement and resultant member disengagement, it’s possibly the biggest crisis the organisation has faced since nearly going bankrupt many years ago.
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Australian Digital Health Agency Virtual Clinical Information System (CIS) classroom sessions
- October 16, 2020 ADHA Propaganda
Gippsland PHN is committed to working with health professionals, service providers and the Australian Digital Health Agency on activities aligned to Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy creating efficiencies and connectedness in our health system.
Gippsland PHN has partnered with service providers on digital health initiatives such as Healthdirect Video Call Service, Digital Health Guide, Train IT Medical’s eLearning courses, HealthNow, Remote Patient Monitoring including and the Australian Digital Health Agency on National Digital Health Strategic Priorities.
Starting this Tuesday, 20 October, the Australian Digital Health Agency’s Provider Adoption team will be holding regular virtual classroom sessions for clinicians accessing My Health Record through various clinical information systems (Best Practice, MedicalDirector, Zedmed, Genie and Communicare).
These one-hour sessions are aimed at GPs, specialists, practice managers and practice nurses interested in learning more about My Health Record and how to use it most effectively in routine practice. Using Agency’s On Demand Training platform the instructor will demonstrate how to:
- access a patient’s My Health Record via conformant software;
- use filters to find documents;
- view documents and overviews;
- enter access codes for patients with protected documents/records;
- upload documents to My Health Record; and
- ensure appropriate security and access governance mechanisms are in place.
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Dr Andrew Rochford, The Australian Digital Health Agency talking mental health
Oct 16, 2:17 PM ADHA Propaganda
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/who-really-owns-your-medical-records
Who really owns your medical records?
Avant’s head of research Georgie Haysom says it is not always clear
16th October 2020
A legal battle between a clinic and one of its former doctors is forcing a judge to answer a long-asked question: who really owns the doctor's medical records.
The clinic is suing cardiologist Dr Nima Rudd for accessing its records system in the days and weeks after he left the practice.
It alleges he was attempting to collect the contact details of the patients he treated so he could promote his new rival clinic.
Dr Rudd denies claims of any wrong-doing.
The Supreme Court of Australia is now deciding if Dr Rudd is entitled to use the records he took during his time at the practice based in Mildura in rural Victoria.
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Facebook shuts down Kiwi party’s page
Facebook shut down the page of conspiracy-embracing political party Advance New Zealand on Thursday just two days out from an election, accusing it of spreading misinformation about the coronavirus.
“We don’t allow anyone to share misinformation on our platforms about COVID-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm,” said a representative for the social media giant.
The action prompted party co-leader Billy Te Kahika, who has amassed a huge following using the online platform, to accuse Facebook of meddling in Saturday’s poll.
“Facebook have now officially interfered with the New Zealand 2020 elections,” Mr Te Kahika claimed in a live video posted to his personal Facebook page shortly after the takedown. “They did it in the middle of a broadcast and it’s unbelievable, guys. This is amazing … they’ve actually carried through with the threat.”
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https://ama.com.au/gp-network-news/my-health-record-update
My Health Record Update
15 Oct 2020
Reminder of Healthcare provider obligations under the My Health Records Act 2012 and the Privacy Act 1988
All healthcare providers who connect to the My Health Record systems must comply with certain security and patient privacy obligations. Please see a summary of these obligations provided by the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner.
Why is the reminder being distributed now?
In late 2019 the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reviewed the implementation of the My Health Record system under opt out arrangements. Access to the final ANAO report is here.
The ANAO concluded there are robust systems in place to monitor and act on cyber security risk to the My Health Record core infrastructure. But the monitoring by ADHA of healthcare provider organisation’s compliance with My Health Record security and patient privacy obligations in the legislation, needs to be more proactive.
Where can you get more information and assistance?
AMA members can email the Australian Digital Health Agency at education@digitalhealth.gov.au if they would like assistance in meeting their obligations and implementing security and access controls.
Other useful links to advice templates, and training include:
- Guidance on security and account management
- Training modules on Cyber and security awareness for healthcare organisations
- Australian Digital Health Agency implementation of ANAO Report recommendations
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/facebook-bans-antivax-ads
Facebook bans anti-vax ads
The social media giant says the pandemic has highlighted the importance of preventative health behaviours
14th October 2020
Facebook Inc will start banning all ads that explicitly discourage people from getting vaccinated, the world's largest social media company has announced.
Its current rules prohibit ads containing vaccine misinformation or hoaxes identified by leading health organisations, but allows ads opposing vaccines if they do not contain false claims.
"Today, we’re launching a new global policy that prohibits ads discouraging people from getting vaccinated. We don’t want these ads on our platform," said the company's head of health Kang-Xing Jin and director of product management Rob Leathern in a blog post.
"Now, if an ad explicitly discourages someone from getting a vaccine, we’ll reject it."
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https://www.innovationaus.com/privacy-office-is-still-severely-underfunded/
Privacy office is still ‘severely underfunded’
Denham Sadler
Senior Reporter
13 October 2020
Australia’s regulator for privacy and freedom of information missed all but one of its performance goals in the last year, leading to concerns the agency is “severely underfunded” and will be unable to effectively perform its role without a substantial resourcing boost.
The resourcing of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has been questioned for several years, with a significantly rising workload and an increasingly prominent role, but with no corresponding increase in funding.
There are particular concerns about a lack of any new funding for the OAIC’s Freedom of Information functions will mean it is unable to address its growing backlog of cases and properly perform its role in overseeing the scheme.
A spokesperson for the OAIC confirmed it will be unable to address lengthy delays if it does not get a funding boost.Privacy questions: The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is struggling for resources
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https://ajp.com.au/news/honours-for-e-scripts/
Honours for e-scripts
Fred IT receives 2020 Victorian iAward in recognition of its achievement with this year’s roll out of national electronic prescriptions
Fred IT has been recognised for its e-prescriptions innovation with an award for Business & Industry Solution of the Year at the 2020 Victorian iAwards held on Monday.
The group said it is “thrilled” with the recognition of its industry innovation with this year’s roll out of national electronic prescriptions.
The achievement of national electronic prescriptions via existing eRx Script Exchange infrastructure was achieved in six months in collaboration with the Department of Health, the Australian Digital Health Agency and over 90 industry vendors, including fellow Prescription Exchange Service, MediSecure, it said.
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Software
Developer Community Announcement
Electronic Prescribing
Technical Framework Documents
The Australian Digital Health Agency has released an update to the technical framework information to support software vendors implement electronic prescribing. This updates the technical framework documents released on 11th August 2020.
This update includes revisions to the:
- Electronic Prescribing - Participating Software Conformance Profile
This Conformance Profile is recognised as Version 2.3. Changes include the following important inclusions:
- Inclusion of Active Script List (ASL) requirements for Prescribing, Dispensing, and Prescription Delivery Service systems;
- Addition of Active Script List (ASL) requirements for Active Script List Registry systems; and
- Minor changes throughout including revised requirement wording, revised and added clarification notes, and formatting, spelling, and terminology changes
Required action
Software providers developing software products with electronic prescribing functionality that interacts with an Active Script List Registry are required to conform to the revised Electronic Prescribing - Participating Software Conformance Profile (v2.3)
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Virtual Clinical Information System (CIS) Classroom Sessions
13 October 2020
Commencing Tuesday 20 October, the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) will be holding regular virtual classroom sessions for clinicians accessing My Health Record through various clinical information systems including Best Practice, MedicalDirector, Zedmed, Genie and Communicare.
These 1-hour sessions are aimed at GPs, Specialists, Practice Managers and Practice Nurses interested in learning more about My Health Record and how to use it most effectively in routine practice.
Using the Agency's On Demand Training platform the instructor will demonstrate how to:
- Access a patient’s My Health Record via conformant software
- Use filters to find documents
- View documents and overviews
- Enter access codes for patients with protected documents/records
- Upload documents to My Health Record
- Ensure appropriate security and access governance mechanisms are in place.
To register, please use the relevant links below to view available sessions.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/doctor-vs-proctor-registrars-agonising-exam-webchat
The doctor vs proctor: A registrar's agonising exam webchat
Before last week's fellowship fiasco, the RACGP had reassured candidates it had improved the proctor experience
13th October 2020
One of the big issues to emerge last Friday after the RACGP's derailed at-home KFP exam was the registrars' struggle to communicate with their proctors.
Employed by the exam provider, the proctors were tasked with observing six candidates each through a webcam to look for signs of cheating and to ensure rules were being followed.
For many they were the only point of contact in the four hours before the college decided to abort the exam completely.
Below is a transcript of the actual online correspondence between a registrar and their proctor, which offers some insight into the way the day unraveled.
It begins with the proctor asking the registrar to prove his identity.
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https://www.afr.com/technology/internet-of-things-sets-the-cat-among-the-pigeons-20201001-p5612g
Internet of things sets the cat among the pigeons
A new industry code to secure internet-connected devices needs to be supported by an accreditation scheme and stronger market incentives, say experts.
Tom Burton Government editor
Oct 12, 2020 – 12.01am
The federal government's new internet of things security code establishes a welcome local benchmark for consumer device manufacturers but lacks an implementation and compliance framework to determine whether it is being complied with, according to industry experts.
The new code is voluntary and lays out 13 requirements for industry to follow to improve the security of so-called smart devices connected to the internet, often referred to as the internet of things (IoT).
The three main pillars of the code are the banning of default passwords such as Admin or 0000, a program for reporting bugs and vulnerabilities to manufacturers, and ensuring the device software is updated and patched for vulnerabilities.
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Business reporting of cyber attacks will be a game changer
Andrew Tillett Political correspondent
Oct 13, 2020 – 12.01am
New powers requiring big companies to report when they come under cyber attack are a game changer in how authorities can protect other businesses from economically damaging events and safeguard data, according to the federal government's top cyber intelligence operative.
The stigma attached to being a cyber attack victim has made many corporates reluctant to come forward but Australian Cyber Security Centre head Abigail Bradshaw says there needs to be greater understanding within the business community of the wider costs of cyber incidents.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian Financial Review, Bradshaw has also called on businesses to weigh the wider costs of cyber attacks when considering their defences and called on social media companies to show more transparency over the personal information they collect from users.
To counter the proliferation of online threats – which range from crudely worded criminal scams exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic through to persistent attacks by foreign governments – the Morrison government has unveiled a $1.7 billion cyber security strategy.
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https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/racgp/racgp-to-fully-refund-all-exam-candidates-affected
RACGP to fully refund all exam candidates affected by outage
12 Oct 2020
Acting President Associate Professor Ayman Shenouda details the college response to last week’s cancellation of the KFP and AKT.
On
behalf of the entire RACGP, we are sorry.
We deeply regret having to cancel both the Key Feature Problem (KFP) exam and
Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), and apologise unreservedly for the significant
distress and disruption this has caused candidates – many of whom had already
experienced a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Full refunds for all candidates will be processed from today (12 October) and
we are working to quickly reschedule the exams, which will go ahead this year.
Candidates will also be able to access one free resit of the KFP and one free
resit of the AKT within the next 18 months, and any candidate who resits and
fails will not have it count towards their exam cap.
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https://nwmphn.org.au/news/health-record-interactive-virtual-training/
Interactive My Health Record training
12 October 2020 ADHA Propaganda
During these times of social distancing and remote consultations, new and existing digital health technologies can be used to improve continuity of care for your patients.
The Australian Digital Health Agency is running a series of free interactive sessions for GPs, practice managers and practice nurses interested in learning more about My Health Record and how to use it most effectively in routine practice.
The instructor will use a software simulation platform to demonstrate how to:
- access a patient’s My Health Record using medical software
- use filters to find documents
- view documents and overviews
- enter access codes for patients with protected documents/records
- upload documents to My Health Record
- ensure appropriate security and access governance mechanisms are in place
There will also be opportunities to ask questions and troubleshoot My Health Record issues.
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'I am numb, angry, sad, in disbelief and despair': The RACGP fellowship exam fiasco
An investigation is expected after an IT meltdown forced the college to abort its KFP fellowship exam
12th October 2020
By Paul Smith
"Today is the day that was supposed to be the after-party. After 10 months of study I was going to have one day to take a deep breath, enjoy guilt-free time away from my books and computer, enjoy my own kids and my niece and nephew… and regroup to start the last phases of training tomorrow.
"Instead, today I am numb, angry, sad, in disbelief and despair due to the course of events in the last 72 hours.
"I am not okay."
This is just one of the hundreds of messages written by GP registrars over the weekend describing their anguish after the Key Feature Problem (KFP) fellowship exam was aborted on Friday afternoon after a major IT meltdown.
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Apple, Google’s app stores a ‘duopoly’
The dominance of Apple and Google’s app stores constitutes a market duopoly and requires regulatory intervention, according to private capital lobby group the Australian Investment Council, as a global brawl over the 30 per cent app fee charged by the tech giants reaches fever pitch.
In a submission to the ACCC‘s ongoing digital marketplaces probe, seen by The Australian, the AIC said Australian app developers are essentially limited to using Apple and Google’s platforms for development of their products, to the detriment of both app developers and consumers.
“The Apple/Google duopoly ties developers to the business models of these companies for development, sales and distribution. As in any market where there is dominance by one or two companies, commissions, ownership rights and distribution models are controlled by those companies, leaving little choice for suppliers and consumers,” the submission reads.
“The Council recommends instances where market competition has been obstructed due to monopolisation are rectified and compensation is paid to the impacted app developers.”
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Google’s delaying tactics won’t work
Google has been accused of using every legal manoeuvre it can to frustrate regulators and delay court settlements.
That’s the view of multinational corporation Oracle, which is locked in a decade-long battle with Google over the unauthorised use of Java-based application programming interfaces (APIs). The case began in 2010 and was back in court last week.
Oracle acquired Java when it bought Sun Microsystems in 2010 and regards Google’s use of Java in building the foundations of early Android as theft.
Google’s apparent ability to frustrate regulators is a telling point at a time the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is finalising a negotiation framework for Facebook and Google to pay media companies for news content displayed in search results and news apps.
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Why the attack on Big Tech could be destined to fail
By Michael Cogley
October 12, 2020 — 11.05am
The bid to target Big Tech with sweeping changes to antitrust laws in the US is "far-fetched" and "unlikely to go anywhere", it has been claimed.
Democrats on the House judiciary committee's antitrust panel published their 16-month-long investigation into Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook last Tuesday. The 449-page report claimed the four tech giants had developed monopolies last seen in the era of "oil barons and railroad tycoons".
The panel proposed a range of legal recommendations that could fundamentally change the way in which tech companies operate, and potentially lead to their break-up.
For instance, Congress was urged to consider making it illegal for tech giants to give their own products preferential treatment on their sites, such as the promotion of Amazon Basics products over other brands.
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https://apo.org.au/node/308779?mc_cid=86328808fe&mc_eid=4f746cd244
Digital approaches to adolescent mental health: a review of the literature
9 Oct 2020
Lucia Rost, Fiona Samuels, Carmen Leon-Himmelstine, Rachel Marcus
Publisher
Overseas Development Institute
Resources
Digital approaches to adolescent mental health: a review of the literature 3.94 MB
Description
Young people are more engaged with digital technologies than ever before, and health interventions increasingly build on these new technological opportunities. This literature review investigates digital approaches to addressing adolescent mental health and psychosocial-related challenges with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.
Key points:
- An increasing number of studies show that digital approaches have the potential to address the mental health and wellbeing difficulties of young people – for example, reducing depression and anxiety or helping to detect emerging mental disorders among adolescents.
- However, most studies on digital approaches and mental health centre on the Global North, and there are gaps in knowledge about how technology can be used to support adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- It is important that a range of actors are included when designing, implementing and evaluating digital approaches to young people’s mental health, and that inequalities of access (mediated by factors such as gender, age, socioeconomic background and location) are addressed.
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https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2020/40/where-to-next-for-telehealth-in-australias-health-services/
Where to next for telehealth in Australia’s health services?
Bodil
Rasmussen
and colleagues
THERE is currently much discussion about the future of telehealth in Australia. We have heard a number of perspectives highlighting the benefits and challenges of further expanding the use of telehealth (here, here, here, here and here) however, the perspective of the acute hospital sector has been less vocal.
Here we outline how the recent changes in the use of telehealth in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have affected health services and patients, and we provide some thoughts on the key factors for a successful integration and expansion of telehealth through acute health services after COVID-19.
Western Health serves one of the fastest growing and diverse populations in Australia. Growth in the Western Health catchment is significantly above the national average, consistently outstripping forecasts. The rate of population growth is rising and expected to grow from a current population of 800 000 to well over 1.2 million people by 2026. More than 30% of our community were born outside of Australia, at least 110 different languages are spoken, with around 8% of the population having poor or no English proficiency; significantly higher than the national average of 2.6%. These factors combine to have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the population, so Western Health provides major services in chronic and complex disease, cancer and mental illness, including one of Victoria’s biggest drug and alcohol services. In addition, the birth rate is forecast to increase from around 5500 births per annum to over 7200 births per annum by 2026.
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http://medicalrepublic.com.au/health-apps-what-are-they-good-for/35462
9 October 2020
Health apps: what are they good for?
Chronic disease is a big issue.
This is not news, because the growth in chronic diseases has taken place over the past three decades, and it would be quite hard not to have heard, for example, that diabetes rates have shot up in recent years across Australia.
What is new, and interesting, is the rise of apps. Mobile phone applications have become one of the most talked-about medical interventions, partially because they are flashy and cool, but mostly because they hold such an enormous promise. You can make an app for a fraction of the cost of traditional medical care, and instantly reach millions of users, in theory.
And so, a huge number of apps have sprung up across the world to manage and treat chronic disease, because when we have new and flashy things we want to try them on every problem to see if they work.
But there’s an issue with apps. Anecdotally, people don’t use them for very long, which is a problem when we’re thinking of using them for diseases that last a lifetime. If people only use the app for, say, a month or two, then it’s not going to help very much with diabetes that may not ever go away.
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Video and phone consultations only scratch the surface of what telehealth has to offer
October 12, 2020 5.58am AEDT
Authors
Centaine Snoswell Anthony Smith Emma E Thomas Helen Haydon Liam Caffery
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in rapid changes to the way Australians access health care. We’re now using telehealth more than ever.
Last week’s federal budget confirmed a six-month extension of Medicare subsidies for telehealth consultations, worth A$2.4 billion. It also included A$18.6 million for the preparation of permanent telehealth infrastructure beyond March 31 next year.
This goes some way to recognising telehealth is not only an important tool in our pandemic response — it’s much needed in our health system.
To fully realise the potential of telehealth, we need to recognise it’s more than just appointments via phone or videoconference.
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Comments more than welcome!
David.
