Here are a few I have come across the last week or so. Note: Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
General Comment
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Again we seem to be seeing cyber security as the issue of the week. NZ is obviously sick of it and now threatening to fine Health Services for getting breached!
Otherwise the usual announcements and apparent progress here and there!
It is hard, also, to go past the huge bonuses being paid to NBN staff for just, barely, doing their job! Talk about ripping off the taxpayer and NBN users!
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/practice/ed-doctors-are-using-my-health-record-definitely-maybe
ED doctors are using the My Health Record... definitely, maybe
Is this evidence that the system is offering real-word clinical benefits to treating doctors?
25th May 2021
One of the big selling points of the My Health Record was that ED doctors could check an
This month, we asked the Australian Digital Health Agency how many times a My Health Record document was being viewed in ED.
Instead of a direct answer, we were given a statistic on how often the My Health Record was viewed in public hospitals: 578,000 times in the past 12 months.
There is something on the My Health Record and EDs; however, the data are qualitative, comprising interviews with 10 ED doctors — only six of whom were medium or frequent users of the system.
Surprisingly, the study, published in Health Information Science and Systems, claims to be “among the first to demonstrate that clinicians associate My Health Record use with diagnostic accuracy benefits and efficiency gains”.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/low-mhr-uptake-means-aged-care-targets-may-be-missed/
27 May 2021
Low MHR uptake means aged care targets may be missed
With an exceptionally low uptake of My Health Record among residential aged care facilities so far, the aged care industry is unlikely to meet the ambitious target set out in recommendation 68 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s final report, leaders from Aged Care Industry IT Council have said.
According to an article by Pulse IT, George Margelis, chair of the Aged Care Industry IT Council (ACIITC), and Anne Livingstone, its executive lead, said that while they support the recommendation and government funding to make it happen, it would be a challenge to meet the target in that timeframe given the starting point and low uptake so far.
Just 3 per cent of aged care providers were actively using My Health Record, and only 10 per cent of aged care providers were even registered, according to figures reported by the Australian Digital Health Agency.
The final report from the Royal Commission recommended that aged care providers be required to use My Health Record by July 2022 – and more than $45 million had been allocated in the new budget to help residential aged care adopt My Health Record and implement a national electronic medication chart.
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Privacy Commissioner threatens prosecution for inadequate security of DHB systems
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
The Privacy Commissioner has
warned DHBs could be prosecuted for failing to address security failings
following news that Waikato DHB patients’ information has been sent to New
Zealand media organisations.
An email attachment is thought to be the entry point for a cybersecurity attack on Waikato DHB
which caused a full outage of its Information Services last week and is
continuing to cause chaos across the region.
The media have now received what appears to be personal and patient information
from Waikato DHB information systems.
Privacy Commissioner John Edwards says his office has been notified of the
Waikato DHB ransomware breach and is monitoring the situation closely while
providing advisory support.
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Govt is looking at mandatory reporting for cybercrime incidents
By Ry Crozier on May 25, 2021 11:56AM
Home Affairs boss indicates a scheme is 'likely'.
The government is weighing the merits of a mandatory reporting requirement on organisations that are attacked or extorted by cyber criminals.
Home Affairs boss Mike Pezzullo told senate estimates yesterday that mandatory reporting is being considered “as an extension of the cyber security strategy” released mid last year.
While cautioning that he did not want to “presume or preempt government policy”, and qualifying that further stakeholder consultation is necessary, Pezzullo expressed a view that such a reporting regime is “likely” to be introduced at some point.
“There is a specific commitment to put in place a national strategy to combat cybercrime,” Pezzullo said.
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Perth company raises $15m for AI software to transform cardiac imaging
Yolanda Redrup Reporter
May 25, 2021 – 12.00am
A Perth-based medical technology company that tackles the world’s biggest killer, heart disease, with artificial intelligence-powered imaging software has raised $15 million from institutional investors.
Artrya, launched in May 2019 by former management consultant John Barrington and former IBM global industry leader John Konstantopoulos, says its software is a more accurate and less invasive way to detect signs of heart disease than other methods. It has raised the capital to support its commercialisation of the technology.
The $15 million has come from investors,including Alex Waislitz’s Thorney, Watermark Funds Management, Washington H. Soul Pattinson, Regal Funds Management and SG Hiscock.
Artrya’s technology, called Salix, analyses cardiac CT scans in minutes and produces a 3D image and report that provides a more accurate detection of coronary artery disease, including the presence of vulnerable plaque, which is challenging to identify with existing technology.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/mens-health-provider-moves-to-e-scripts/46258
25 May 2021
Men’s health provider moves to e-scripts
To capitalise on the government’s push towards electronic scripts, online men’s sexual health provider Pilot has confirmed it is moving to e-scripts later in the year.
The self-titled “health navigator for Australian men” would look to align its e-script offering with one of the Active Script List platforms. My Script Launch, the first ASL compliant with the Department of Health, was recently activated in Tasmania and is expected to be rolled out across the country in May 2021.
ASL was on track to trump the token model launched in May 2020 as it provided GPs and pharmacists access to a shared cloud-like list of prescriptions for the patient. This would be especially helpful for people on regular medication who frequented multiple pharmacies, with QR codes and paper prescriptions to become things of the past.
“Because the ASL provides approved healthcare professionals with a shared view of prescriptions available for dispense, clinical decision-making should be more fact based, leading to a reduction in prescribing and dispensing errors,” the Pharmacy Guild of Australia said.
Chemist2U, an online business offering same-day delivery of pharmacy drugs to homes, had been working with e-scripts since February 2021, with 5–10% of its patients adopting the technology.
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Chemist Warehouse preparing for e-prescription rollout
Chemist Warehouse is set to tap ASX-listed cloud-based communications provider, Whispir, to fulfil Australia’s biggest e-prescription rollout.
The link between the two complements the federal government’s funding on telehealth services during the Covid-19 pandemic and will ensure ill people receive their medication in a contactless way - first by not having to attend a doctor’s clinic, and second by getting their prescriptions fulfilled and delivered by Chemist Warehouse.
The chemist chain fills about 50 million prescriptions across Australia each year and is expecting that number to jump by 30 per cent as more Australians adopt the digital service via Whispir.
“It seemed strange that in 2020 we would still be dependent on a piece of paper to fill a prescription, and we needed a way to immediately bring the e-prescription service to our customers during the pandemic with a sophisticated level of functionality,” says Chemist Warehouse managing partner and director Mark Finocchiaro.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/mbs-changes-aim-to-increase-video-consults/46331
26 May 2021
MBS changes aim to increase video consults
A shift in the temporary telehealth items are forcing doctors to consider opting for more video, rather than telephone consults with their patients.
From July 1, patients will only be able to receive a Medicare rebate for level A and B telephone consults. However video consults will continue to attract the same rebates.
And while phone calls are convenient for patients, they may not always be the safest and most appropriate format for healthcare.
This episode we are joined by Dr Andrew Baird, a Victorian GP, and Gillian Alexis, a telehealth workflow designer for healthcare professionals and the CEO of Phenix Health.
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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/act-launch-new-real-time-prescription-monitoring-system
ACT to launch new real-time prescription monitoring system
Thiru Gunasegaran | 25 May 2021
The Australian Capital Territory's Health Directorate announced it will be introducing a new real-time prescription monitoring system to prescribers and pharmacists in the state later this year.
WHAT IT DOES
Canberra Script will assist healthcare professionals when they prescribe or dispense monitored medicines for consumers.
Designed to help reduce pharmaceutical harm, the system will include real-time alerts and notifications through compatible medical and pharmacy software to inform prescribers and pharmacists when patients may exhibit signs of drug-seeking behaviour, such as doctor shopping.
Canberra Script will provide information about controlled medicines and some prescription-only medicines that are associated with abuse or misuse, such as Benzodiazepines.
Moreover, doctors can seek approval from the chief health officer through the system to prescribe controlled medicines.
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German cyber security chief fears hackers could target hospitals
By Staff Writer on May 24, 2021 10:21AM
Following other high-profile attacks.
German hospitals may be at increased risk from hackers, the head of the country's cyber security agency said, following two high-profile digital attacks this month on the Irish health service and a US fuel pipeline.
Ireland's health service operator shut down its IT systems last Friday to protect them from a "significant" ransomware attack, crippling diagnostic services, disrupting Covid-19 testing and forcing the cancellation of many appointments.
German clinics have been targeted by a series of cyber attacks over the last five years, and Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal cyber security agency, told Zeit Online newspaper he saw "a greater danger at hospitals".
Earlier in May, the 8850km US Colonial Pipeline Co system closed after one of the most disruptive cyber attacks on record, preventing millions of barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from flowing to the East Coast from the Gulf Coast.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/parliament-targeted-by-brute-force-attack-564952
Parliament targeted by brute-force attack
By Ry Crozier on May 24, 2021 12:47PM
Fast-tracks replacement of mobile device management system.
Australia’s parliamentary network was targeted with an “unsophisticated brute-force” attack over a 24-hour period in late March.
A brute-force attack uses trial-and-error to guess login info by throwing a number of combinations at a system.
President of the Senate Scott Ryan told senate estimates on Monday that the brute-force attack did not breach parliament’s defences, but did lead to mobile devices being locked down between March 27 and April 5.
“On March 26, the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) was the subject of malicious cyber activity,” Ryan said.
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‘Malicious actor’ attempted cyber attack on parliament
A “malicious actor” attempted to hack federal parliament’s network in late March, locking MPs and staffers out of emails on their mobile devices for more than a week.
It comes amid warnings the Department of Parliamentary Services “has been and will remain an attractive target for malicious activity, which is increasing in frequency and sophistication”.
Senate president Scott Ryan confirmed the actor had tried to access the DPS network for nearly 24 hours on March 27 through MobileIron or managed devices using “unsophisticated brute force”.
The attempted attack left MPs and staff unable to use their emails on mobiles and tablets between March 27 and April 5.
“It was unsuccessful and DPS networks were not compromised,” Senator Ryan said.
“Appropriate network controls were implemented, which ensured accounts were locked down, preventing compromise. Those controls were successful in blocking the malicious actor but also impacted legitimate user’s ability to access DPS networks for several days while even more rigorous IT arrangements were implemented.”
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/dta-shaves-40000-a-month-off-its-covidsafe-cloud-hosting-bill-564976
DTA shaves $40,000 a month off its COVIDSafe cloud hosting bill
By Ry Crozier on May 24, 2021 6:26PM
'Tuning efforts applied' after sky-high costs criticised.
The Digital Transformation Agency has cut $40,000 a month from its sky-high cloud hosting costs for the COVIDSafe app, less than two months after it was ridiculed for running up a bill of $100,000 a month.
Agency boss Randall Brugeaud told senate estimates on Monday evening that the previous hosting “estimate” had been revised down, apparently after some performance “tuning” of the app.
It still wasn’t clear exactly how the app was architected to be capable of running up such a sizable bill.
“I’d estimated $100,000 per month to host COVIDSafe at the last hearing,” Brugeaud said.
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New sensation: scientists restore the sense of touch
AFP
5:54PM May 21, 2021
Imagine being able to control a robotic arm from a distance, using only your mind. Now imagine being able to feel when its fingers grasp an object, as though it were your own hand.
US researchers have published a study in the journal Science about the world’s first brain-computer interface that allowed a volunteer with paralysis from the chest down to accomplish this very feat.
The team says its work demonstrates that adding a sense of touch drastically improves the functionality of prosthetics for quadriplegics, compared to having them rely on visual cues alone.
In 2004, Nathan Copeland was in a car accident that left him with a serious spinal cord injury and without the use of his hands or his legs.
He volunteered to participate in scientific research, and six years ago had tiny electrodes implanted in his brain. Two sets of 88 electrodes the width of a strand of hair are arranged into “arrays” that resemble tiny hairbrushes and penetrate deep into the brain’s motor cortex, which directs movement.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/the-radiotherapy-machine-that-rotates-you/
27 May 2021
The radiotherapy machine that rotates you!
Radiotherapy machines do not come in travel-light sizes, I realise, on seeing the prototype Nano-X machine, the brainchild of the University of Sydney’s ACRF Image X Institute.
But size can be misleading. What’s different about this machine is its radiation beam. It remains fixed while the patient spins, the opposite of what a LINAC machine does. The Nano-X’s beam travels from its bulbous shower-head-looking top directly to the floor, a redesign motivated by affordability.
“We think it will reduce costs of owning a machine by two-thirds,” says Dr Mark Gardner, research associate at the ACRF.
It has huge potential. One in two cancer patients worldwide need radiotherapy but less than a third get access because of the prohibitive expense of a LINAC. The Nano-X could be the answer cancer communities in the developing world have been waiting for.
You do not need as big a room to house it, and you do not need to shield the room against radiation bouncing around from a rotating beam. The institute has also designed operating software that lowers the staff-to-patient ratio required.
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Last chance for aged-care providers to claim free PainChek licence
Thursday, 20 May, 2021
This fortnight is the last chance for aged-care facilities to participate in the government-subsidised rollout of PainChek Universal, a complete point-of-care solution for best practice pain management. The rollout includes a free 12-month licence for all facilities who sign up by Monday, 31 May.
The PainChek app uses AI and smartphone technology to assess pain in those that can’t communicate. The offer is part of a government-subsidised initiative to promote innovation in aged care and support improved pain assessment and management for those living with dementia or other cognitive impairments.
To facilitate the national implementation of PainChek’s pain assessment tool in residential aged-care centres, the Australian Government has provided a grant for up to 100,000 PainChek annual licences for all Australian residential aged-care facilities.
“With PainChek, pain assessment is well on its way to becoming a new healthcare vital sign, and over the past two years we’ve seen the positive effect it’s having on the industry,” PainChek CEO and Managing Director Philip Daffas said. “Now, with only a few weeks left to sign up for a free 12-month PainChek licence, we’re urging those remaining facilities to claim their obligation-free funding entitlement and join the existing 993 facilities benefiting from PainChek.”
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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/alfred-health-taps-3m-cdi-coding-system
Alfred Health taps 3M for CDI, coding system
Thiru Gunasegaran | 24 May 2021
Victoria-based Alfred Health has selected 3M's clinical documentation integrity and computer-assisted coding system to improve documentation and streamline processes.
WHY IT MATTERS
Alfred Health will use the 3M 360 Encompass System to integrate and automate CDI, medical records clinical coding and performance monitoring across all its facilities. 3M's CDI and coding system is currently used by over 2,000 healthcare organisations across the US, Canada and Europe.
The technology will enable the hospital to improve, query and monitor documentation for optimal coded data, "increasing coding productivity, appropriate diagnosis-related group capture and reimbursement and actionable data to support the improvement of patient outcomes", 3M said in a statement.
The CDI and coding system will also be integrated with Alfred Health's Cerner EMR record system to fix the inefficiencies of having multiple coding, documentation query workflows and additional costs and burden of disconnected systems.
According to 3M, its solution promotes the complete capture of patient complexity in clinical documentation and coding "to accurately reflect case-mix and significantly reduce the time and resources needed to effectively collaborate across multiple workstreams."
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Better long-term ROI pushed NBN to replace G.Fast FttC with full fibre lead-ins
NBN has decided on a timescale of 15 years, it is better to get beyond 250Mbps with a fibre lead-in instead of relying on G.Fast.
By Chris Duckett | May 27, 2021 -- 09:00 GMT (19:00 AEST) | Topic: Networking
NBN CEO Stephen Rue has explained why the company responsible for the National Broadband Network has reversed its previous plans to use G.fast for speeds higher than 250Mbps, and instead announced earlier this month that users would get full fibre upgrades.
In the current fibre-to-the-curb (FttC) footprint, due to the company wanting to have a diversity of suppliers, half of FttC connections can only be used with VDSL, while the other half can do VDSL and G.Fast, Rue explained.
"If we're going to provide higher speeds beyond 100Mbps to people, we wanted to look at the long-term, the 15-year roadmap if you like," he told Senate Estimates on Thursday.
"When we looked at it, we took the view that we're using G-Fast, there would still be things like copper remediation, there may be still some home wiring in the home, and it was also going to be IT system builds for us and the retailers, and a harder thing for retailers to manage because they'd have to explain what service they were getting.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-overloaded-its-workforce-scheduling-system-565155
NBN Co overloaded its workforce scheduling system
By Ry Crozier on May 27, 2021 2:39PM
Doubled user base, choked system capacity.
NBN Co has finally revealed the root cause of issues with its troubled workforce scheduling system, essentially onboarding too many users at once and asking them to record too much data from the field.
The company also confirmed the architecture of the system at a high level, with ServiceMax Go acting as the app-based frontend, and a mix of Salesforce and ServiceNow sitting on the backend.
While the ServiceMax - or SMAX - component has been much maligned, it appears the broader architecture of the system had capacity constraints that were only exposed when NBN Co introduced the system to one of Australia’s largest states.
NBN Co’s chief operating officer Kathrine Dyer said earlier this month that “the first phase of the rollout of the workforce scheduling system went well in South Australia and Tasmania, however the company encountered a number of issues with phase two of the rollout of in NSW and Victoria."
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NBN CEO Stephen Rue grilled over $77m bonuses
As the fallout for the Australia Post Cartier watches drama continues to unravel, the eye-watering bonuses paid to NBN staff have been revealed.
James Hall
NCA NewsWire
May 27, 202112:04pm
NBN executives have been grilled after staff were paid more than $77 million in bonuses in 2020 despite recording a massive cashflow loss and the service provider being not “up to scratch”.
Hundreds of staff at the government-owned entity on a salary of $200,000 or more received an average bonus of almost $50,000, which was scrutinised at senate estimates given the blowback to Australia Post after it was revealed its executives were gifted $20,000 worth of Cartier watches as bonuses.
Labor senator Kimberley Kitching ridiculed the decision to approve the huge remuneration, citing the cost blowout of NBN as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-calls-audit-of-field-technician-pay-565144
NBN Co calls audit of field technician pay
By Ry Crozier on May 27, 2021 12:29PM
Says it is unable to replicate reports, but wants "line-of-sight traceability".
NBN Co said it is unable to see how a restructure of its field services contracts may result in large cuts to what technicians are being paid, and has called in an “independent auditor” to investigate.
Chief network deployment officer Kathrine Dyer faced intense questions at senate estimates on Thursday on issues with the company’s ‘Unify’ program, which changed the way the company outsources field services to major delivery partners.
Dyer was unable to confirm up to 33 percent cuts to the amount paid to technicians across a number of pieces of work, such as new activations.
She said that an “independent auditor” had been called in to compare rates pre- and post-Unify, and to essentially map out and replicate the pay cuts that subcontractors report seeing - and have spent weeks protesting.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-shared-78m-in-bonuses-among-3819-staff-565054
NBN Co shared $78m in bonuses among 3819 staff
By Ry Crozier on May 26, 2021 7:51AM
Breakdown of payments revealed.
NBN Co shared almost $78 million in “at-risk” - bonus - payments last financial year among 3819 NBN staff, up to three-quarters of its internal workforce.
The numbers, which were first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, were obscurely published by Communications department officials almost a fortnight ago.
They show that internal NBN staff across all pay bands qualified for the extra payments.
Departmental officials said that the “median” payout for 2020-21 “was approximately $14,000”, though for staff whose base salary is $100,000 or less, the average comes out closer to $7500.
That amount quickly scales up, however, for staff whose salaries are in higher bands.
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NBN Co paid some bonuses ‘equivalent to 88 Cartier watches’
By Rob Harris
May 26, 2021 — 5.00am
More than 700 highly paid employees at NBN Co, the taxpayer-owned body which runs and operates the National Broadband Network, received average personal bonuses of $50,000 last year.
New data submitted to Federal Parliament this week shows the government-owned enterprise – which paid out almost $78 million bonuses to staff despite the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression – rewarded more than 3800 staff with the cash payments.
The large salaries at NBN Co have attracted criticism in the past year, with its chief executive Stephen Rue earning more than $3 million and topping taxpayer-funded salaries after receiving a $1.2 million bonus.
More than $37 million in payments went to 2865 staff on salaries between $100,000 and $200,000 – an average bonus of $13,156, according to figures produced by NBN Co in response to questions asked in the Senate from the federal opposition.
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Friday, 21 May 2021 16:56
Half a million Aussies moved to faster NBN plans in March quarter
More than 500,000 Australians moved to faster NBN plans in the first quarter of 2021, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says in its latest Wholesale Market Indicators Report.
The report showed that about 8.3 million services were now connected to the network which is being rolled out by the NBN Co.
ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said more than two-thirds of all NBN connections were now 50Mbps or above, and about 17% were using connections that delivered 100Mbps or above.
On the downside, there were almost 465,000 fewer ‘Home Fast’ (100Mbps) and 100/40Mbps services in the same quarter, which the ACCC said was partly due to the end of a particular promotion. Other promotions aimed at even higher speeds had now been introduced.
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Enjoy!
David.
