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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Well it is either a feast or famine. Heaps to browse this week.
An interesting blog from Pulse+IT may amuse some:
https://www.pulseitmagazine.com.au/blog
The 27 August effort seems to be coming around to a position rather similar to that found here!
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ADHA begins process to define Australia's next national digital health strategy
Adam Ang | 25 Aug 2021
The Australian Digital Health Agency has launched a nationwide online survey as part of a wider process to define a new national strategy around digital health.
The current national digital health strategy, whose implementation began in 2017, is set to end next year when a new strategy is targeted for enforcement.
WHY IT MATTERS
According to the website, feedback from the nationwide survey – which will run until October this year – will be used to develop the draft strategy and implementation plan on digital health for governments, healthcare providers, consumers, innovators and the technology industry.
ADHA CEO Amanda Cattermole said the 2022-2027 national digital health strategy will "lay the foundations for next-generation healthcare" in the country.
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https://hwlebsworth.com.au/oaic-to-commence-gp-privacy-audits/
OAIC to commence GP Privacy Audits
25 August 2021
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has announced its plan to audit General Practice clinics’ compliance with My Health Record privacy obligations. The audits are being described by OAIC as ‘assessments’ and will focus on promoting good privacy practice.
Under Rule 42(1) of the My Health Records Rule 2016, any healthcare provider organisation that uses the My Health Record System (including GP clinics) must have a written access policy in place. That policy must ensure staff and contractors’ access to the MHR system is secure. The focus of OAIC’s assessments will be whether GP clinics have written access security policies in place and are complying with those policies.
The assessments will focus on:
- how staff and contractors are granted access to the MHR system;
- how that access is controlled and monitored; and
- how system risks are identified and managed.
Failure to have a suitable security access policy in place (and follow it) may amount to a breach of Australian Privacy Principles 1.2 (relating to the open and transparent management of personal information) and 11 (relating to the obligation to keep personal information secure).
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COVID vaccine certificates can be forged within 10 minutes due to 'obvious' security flaw
By technology reporter James Purtill
Posted Yesterday at 5:00amMon 23 Aug 2021 at 5:00am, updated 23h ago23 hours ago
Near-perfect forgeries of the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine digital certificate can be made in 10 minutes using free software, a member of the public has discovered.
Key points:
- A flaw in the Medicare app means Australia's COVID-19 vaccine digital certificates can be forged
- A basic security audit would have identified the vulnerability
- Without confidence in certificates, governments may delay giving the vaccinated more freedoms
Richard Nelson, a software engineer in Sydney, has found an "obvious" security flaw in the Express Plus Medicare app allowing him to make vaccine certificates with any name and date of birth and featuring the background animations meant to prevent forgery.
The Prime Minister has previously said the certificates are a "credible and effective" way for states to administer exemptions from aspects of lockdowns.
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SA govt trials home quarantine app with facial recognition, GPS tracking
By Justin Hendry on Aug 24, 2021 12:41PM
Built in-house in less than three months.
The South Australian government is set to trial a smartphone app that uses facial recognition and geolocation to confirm a person’s location during home quarantine.
The government will trial the app known as Home Quarantine SA with 50 residents who are required to undertake 14 days of quarantine on return from interstate locations this week.
The app will allow trial participants to “confirm their location with regular check-ins” through a live face check-in feature that uses facial recognition and location verification.
It gives individuals 15 minutes to respond to the random location verification requests at their registered location.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/one-three-gps-say-profits-are-down-telehealth
One in three GPs say profits are down with telehealth
The specialty's pandemic 'selflessness' shows with the move to telehealth hitting the bottom line for 35% of GP practices: CommBank report
24th August 2021
More than one third of GP practices have reported a fall in profits from COVID-19's telehealth measures, while one in four say the vaccination rollout has also hit their bottom line, a survey shows.
Some 35% of practices say telehealth has “negatively affected” their profitability, and 28% report the same for providing vaccinations, the 2021 CommBank GP Insights Report reveals.
More than half of the GPs surveyed also spent more than they had budgeted for on technology upgrades to meet the growing number of telehealth consults.
“The widespread adoption of telehealth has been a monumental task for GPs to manage,” said CommBank, which surveyed “decision makers and influencers” at 223 general practices in May and June this year.
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Electronic Health Records (EHR, EMR)
Allscripts to install cloud-based chemotherapy prescribing system across SA health sites
The solution will be integrated with the agency's existing EMR system.
By Adam Ang
August 23, 2021 05:19 AM
Health IT firm Allscripts has secured a competitive tender to deliver an electronic chemotherapy prescribing system to over 20 SA Health hospitals and care facilities offering cancer treatment services across South Australia.
SA Health mentioned that the system will be planned, designed and implemented over two and a half years with initial deployment starting in mid-2022. It will be integrated with their existing EMR system from Allscripts.
WHY IT MATTERS
The system to be introduced is the iQemo solution by UK-based company iQ Health Tech. According to a press statement, it offers functionalities such as predefined regimens, prescribing, scheduling, dispensing, chemotherapy administration and reporting.
Allscripts ANZ General Manager Todd Haebich added that the ECPS solution helps enhance patient safety through features like comprehensive chemotherapy regimen management,
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Monday, 23 August 2021 13:01
OAIC reports 446 data breach notifications; organisations urged to tighten security
The Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has released the latest Notifiable Data Breaches Report, which highlights how businesses should respond and prevent data breaches caused by ransomware and impersonation fraud.
According to the OAIC, it received 446 data breach notifications from January to June 2021, with 43% resulting from cyber security incidents.
The OAIC reported that data breaches, arising from ransomware incidents, increased by 24%, from 37 notifications last period to 46.
Australian information and privacy commissioner Angelene Falk attributes the increase in ransomware incidents due to difficulties in assessing breaches.
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Australia report shows that most data breaches in first half of 2021 occurred in healthcare organisations
A majority of the cases were caused by criminal acts such as phishing and ransomware.
By Adam Ang
August 23, 2021 05:24 AM
The healthcare sector reported the most number of data breaches in Australia between January and June this year, according to the latest report by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
FINDINGS
According to OAIC's website, a data breach occurs when personal information of an organisation or agency is lost or subjected to unauthorised access or disclosure, such as when a customer’s personal information is lost or stolen, a database with personal information is hacked or personal information is mistakenly given to a wrong person.
The OAIC said in the biannual report that the healthcare sector reported the most cases of a data breach at 85, which accounted for almost a fifth of all notifications.
It was found that malicious or criminal attacks (48 cases) were the main source of breaches within the sector, which is a "significant shift" from previous reports that consistently indicated human error as the main cause.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/doctor-repay-30k-after-billing-medicare-text-message-consults
Doctor to repay $30k after billing Medicare for 'text message consults'
An investigation was launched following concerns over his use of the technology
27th August 2021
A doctor who billed MBS telehealth items for text message consults has agreed to repay $33,000 to Medicare.
The Professional Services Review (PSR) launched an investigation following a tip-off over the doctor’s use of the item for Level C phone consults last year.
The doctor, who was not a specialist GP, had claimed rebates for text-based consults with a number of patients as well as inappropriately billing for face-to-face Level C and Level D consults, the watchdog said.
No clinical details of the doctor's 20 minute text consults have been released.
But PSR executive officer Bruce Topperwien said the shortcomings of text-based technology for patient care were “pretty obvious” in the view of the PSR’s clinical advisors.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/pandemic-rules-remote-prescribing-will-be-ditched
Pandemic rules for remote prescribing will be ditched
The rise of e-scripts means there is no reason for allowing doctors to send pharmacists pictures of scripts, the government says
26th August 2021
Temporary measures allowing GPs to email pictures of scripts to pharmacies will end in September, with the Federal Government saying new electronic prescribing systems will fill the gap.
GPs will still have the option of phoning, emailing or faxing a pharmacist to prescribe for a patient they have seen via telehealth but will have to mail the pharmacist a paper script afterwards, under longstanding state-based rules for emergency prescriptions.
The temporary measures were introduced in March last year and essentially removed the need to the mail any paper script at all, allowing GPs to simply send a photograph of a paper script to the pharmacist.
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https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/image-based-prescriptions-to-end-30-september
Image-based prescriptions to end 30 September
There are concerns that ending the service is ‘likely to cause unforeseen problems’. So what are some solutions?
25 Aug 2021
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent
stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns in early 2020, the introduction and
widespread expansion of telehealth brought a number of innovative digital
health models.
Among those is electronic
prescribing, including Federal Government-subsidised SMS prescription
tokens − recently
extended until June 2022 – and image-based prescriptions.
Image-based prescribing commenced
March 2020 to coincide with the rollout of COVID-related telehealth
options, and allowed prescribers to email, text or fax a digital image of a
paper script to the patient’s pharmacy following a telehealth consult.
However, the special arrangement in place for image-based prescriptions is due
to end
on 30 September 2021 and members of the RACGP Expert Committee − Practice
Technology and Management (REC−PTM) are concerned that the service is being
wound up too early.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/opinion/how-drug-safety-warnings-are-bypassing-gps
How drug safety warnings are bypassing GPs
Antony is a medical reporter with a special interest in technology and pharmacy.
20th August 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the spotlight on parts of health regulation machinery that barely register with the general public under normal circumstances.
Advisers like ATAGI, for example, have suddenly become controversial despite doing basically the same job they have performed for decades.
And there’s an abiding interest in TGA safety warnings, like the one issued in April for thrombosis and thrombocytopenia linked to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, and the alert in July on myocarditis and pericarditis linked to the Pfizer shot.
The terms ‘adverse event reports’ and ‘safety signal’, while not quite reaching the vernacular, probably enjoy a bit more familiarity now.
But what impact do they have on the medical profession?
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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/serco-now-supports-fiona-stanley-hospitals-ict-services
Serco now supports Fiona Stanley Hospital's ICT services
Adam Ang | 27 Aug 2021
Serco Asia Pacific, a government service contractor, has begun running several specialised services at Fiona Stanley Hospital, a digital public hospital in Perth, Western Australia.
The ICT services, which cover the hospital's service desk, network infrastructure, Enterprise Compute and application teams, have been previously supported by global IT provider BT since the FSH commissioning a decade back.
On 19 August, Serco started overseeing the services and the remaining workforce from BT, which are now operating under its ICT and Digital portfolio.
WHY IT MATTERS
According to a media release, the inclusion of the hospital's ICT services in Serco's end-to-end facility management has enabled "smooth" delivery of services. It has also backed some major projects, such as a network infrastructure upgrade.
THE LARGER CONTEXT
This month marks the start of the extended six-year term contract of Serco with the WA government. The AU$730-million contract (around $525 million) is for delivering support services at FSH, covering reception, external patient transport, HR, recruitment and training, among others. The parties had a 10-year long contract which started with the commissioning of the 783-bed public hospital in 2011.
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Better Medical taps PracticeHub for practice management system
It will integrate the PracticeHub platform with its existing Cgov cloud-based quality management system.
By Adam Ang
August 24, 2021 05:28 AM
South Australia-based general practice clinics operator Better Medical has engaged online practice management platform provider PracticeHub by Avant to help enhance its clinical and corporate governance.
WHY IT MATTERS
Established in 2015, Better Medical runs 85 clinics across South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. It employs over 600 general practitioners, seven doctor-owners and more than 900 support staff.
Dr Colin Goodson, chief medical officer at Better Medical, said in a statement that PracticeHub was chosen for its ability to centralise management and oversight of operations. "Its customisable features will provide a framework to ensure quality, consistency, accountability and risk mitigation in practice management across our group," he added.
Another reason was the ability to integrate the PracticeHub platform with Better Medical's existing cloud-based quality management system from Brisbane-based healthcare software company Cgov. The integration enables reporting of work health and safety, clinical, and risk incidents, as well as patient complaints, which the healthcare provider can configure to their specific needs.
"Having a solid governance framework will allow our team to provide seamless management services to our GP clinics, so they can focus on improving the health of the communities they serve," Dr Goodson stated.
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MEDIA RELEASE
24 August 2021
PracticeHub chosen as practice management partner by primary care group Better Medical
Leading online practice management platform, PracticeHub, has recently partnered with Better Medical, the third-largest operator of GP clinics in Australia, to support the group’s practice operations.
Better Medical is a primary care organisation launched in 2015, that has grown steadily year on year, now with 85 clinics across South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. More than 600+ general practitioners, seven doctor-owners, and 900+ support staff work in the clinics.
Seeking to improve their clinical and corporate governance, Better Medical found the solution in PracticeHub. Chief Medical Officer, Dr Colin Goodson said, “We chose PracticeHub because of its ability to centralise management and oversight of operations across our growing business. Its customisable features will provide a framework to ensure quality, consistency, accountability and risk mitigation in practice management across our group.”
Another reason Better Medical chose PracticeHub is because the Cgov cloud-based quality management system can be integrated into the platform for reporting of WHS, clinical, and risk incidents as well as patient complaints, which Better Medical can configure to their specific needs.
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Medibank to use digital foundations to stand up more health pilots, programs
By Ry Crozier on Aug 25, 2021 11:03AM
Brings focus to accessibility and personalisation.
Health insurer Medibank is set to use technology platforms it has put in place to more quickly develop new programs and pilots of accessible, personalised health services for its customers.
CEO David Koczkar told the company’s FY21 results briefing that technology “remains a critical enabler” to the insurer’s plans to “transform into a health company.”
“With more collaboration by working through cross functional squads, we’re quicker at developing new programs and pilots which leverage our technology platforms, making health more accessible, personalised and rewarding for our customers,” Koczkar said.
“Scaling technology platforms and investments in our data analytics will help drive additional value for our customers and further streamline our operations.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/triple-zero-call-tracking-tech-now-deployed-australia-wide-569026
Triple Zero call tracking tech now deployed Australia-wide
By Justin Hendry on Aug 25, 2021 12:03PM
Eight-month advanced mobile location rollout complete.
All emergency services organisations across Australia can now pinpoint the location of smartphone callers thanks to the arrival of advanced mobile location (AML) technology.
Communications minister Paul Fletcher announced the completion of the rollout on Wednesday, eight months after the AML technology first became available in Australia.
AML is an emergency call-based location service native to smartphones running Android 4.1 or higher and iOS 14.3 or higher that automatically sends operators an SMS with the caller’s best available coordinates.
It is capable of providing a caller’s location “within a five-metre radius outdoors and a 25-metre radius indoors”, according to the Triple Zero website.
Telstra previously triangulated the location of callers using its Push MoLI solution and cell towers, including in regional areas.
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Thursday, 26 August 2021 06:06
AML technology can help pinpoint location of emergency calls
Australia has completed the rollout of advanced mobile location technology which makes it possible to pinpoint the exact spot from which a triple zero call is made.
A statement from Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said all users with an upgraded Android handset or an iPhone would be able to access the technology.
Two kayakers in South Australia were saved using the technology, after they were caught in strong winds three kilometres offshore, saving a great deal of expenditure on an air and sea search, the statement said.
Fletcher urged all mobile phone users to upgrade their handsets so that the technology would be available to them.
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Can computer alerts when patients fail to fill their scripts help GPs?
The hope is that new software could prevent deterioration or relapse of patients with mental health conditions
14th July 2021
Researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide have developed software that trawls through Medicare claims and PBS data on the My Health Record to identify missed prescription refills and mental health care plan reviews.
It does this by using an algorithm based on best-practice guidelines for treatment of mental health conditions.
The hope is that interventions, like medication reviews or compliance aids, can be put in place to prevent deterioration or relapse of their condition.
The researchers conducted an eight-month trial involving 304 patients with serious mental health disorders and found the software flagged 142 patients who were at risk of medication non-adherence.
Significantly, the alerts were generally associated with patients who had been transferred from mental health services back to the care of their GP.
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Alcidion - FY21 Full Year Results and Annual Report
Alcidion delivers record results and starts FY22 in strong revenue position
Highlights:
- Record revenue for FY21 of $25.9M, up 39% on FY20 ($18.6M)
- Recurring revenue increased to $16.3M, up 56% on FY20
- EBITDA loss of $0.5M, improvement of $3.4M on FY20
- Positive Underlying EBITDA (excludes M&A advisory & share based payments) of $0.5M
- Positive operating cashflow of $1.5M, an improvement of $3.6M on FY20
- Well capitalised with cash reserves of $25.0M poised for further growth in FY22
- Entering FY22 with strong pipeline of business and $15.1M of contracted revenue already signed, 18% higher than at same time last year
Melbourne, Australia – Alcidion (ASX: ALC) has
today released its audited full year results and Annual Report to Shareholders
for the Financial Year ended 30 June 2021 (FY21).
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ANDHealth Partners with Therapeutic Goods Administration to Support Digital Health SMEs
ANDHealth, Australia’s leading digital health
commercialisation organisation, today announced a partnership with the
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to support Australia’s digital health
companies navigate the regulatory environment for ‘Software as a Medical
Device’ (SaMD)*.
This initiative will build the capability of Australian SMEs to design and
deliver robust clinical trials and evidence to support the safety and efficacy
of digital health products.
Bronwyn Le Grice, CEO and Managing Director of ANDHealth said, “Having a strong
regulatory environment for digital heath products not only provides access to
safe, evidence-based digital health products to improve patient outcomes, but
also improves the commercial potential of new innovations."
ANDHealth will deliver a series of interactive webinars, live Q&A and
feedback sessions, alongside customised 1-1 coaching on SaMD considerations,
through ANDHealth’s Office Hours program.
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Safety net for doctors gets the tick from investors
By Cara Waters
August 24, 2021 — 12.00am
When Doctor Thomas Kelly was sent on a placement as an intern at the Royal Melbourne Hospital to Horsham in country Victoria it would often be just him and a second year doctor running the entire emergency department overnight.
“We saw hundreds of different patients who had lots of different either near misses or entirely missed diagnoses and other issues that could have been easily avoided if we had better tools,” he said. “One of the main things that I wished for at that time was just something that could have listened to the conversation that I was having with the patient and suggested a couple of questions that I might have missed. Just like a safety net really.”
Dr Kelly set about creating Oscer, an online platform that enables medical students to practise their clinical reasoning skills with virtual patients powered by artificial intelligence.
The newly launched startup has raised $5 million in funding led by Blackbird Ventures with participation from January Capital, Inventures, Archangel Ventures and angel investors Brendan Hill and Jeff Bargmann.
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Wednesday, 25 August 2021 11:44
Researchers develop computer vision system that can detect babies’ faces while monitoring their vital signs
University of South Australia researchers have developed a computer vision system that can automatically detect a tiny baby’s face in a hospital bed and remotely monitor its vital signs from a digital camera with the same accuracy as an electrocardiogram machine.
UniSA researchers say that while artificial intelligence-based software can detect adult human faces, this is the first time they have developed a software reliably to detect a premature baby’s face and skin when covered in tubes, clothing, and undergoing phototherapy.
UniSA engineering researchers and neonatal critical care specialist collaborated to monitor the heart and respiratory rates of seven infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Nicu) at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide using a digital camera.
“Babies in neonatal intensive care can be extra difficult for computers to recognise because their faces and bodies are obscured by tubes and other medical equipment,” explains UniSA and lead researcher professor Javaan Chahl.
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AI software enables remote monitoring of vital signs in premature babies
Adam Ang | 27 Aug 2021
The University of South Australia has published a study where an AI-powered computer vision system that has the same accuracy as an ECG machine was used to remotely monitor premature babies' vital signs. The platform can also detect their faces while lying in hospital beds.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
According to a press statement, the university's researchers developed the "baby detector" software using a dataset of videos of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to reliably detect their skin tone and faces.
In the study, whose findings were published in the Journal of Imaging, seven infants in NICU at the Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide, South Australia were filmed using high-resolution cameras at close range. Their vital physiological data such as heart and respiratory rates were also extracted using advanced signal processing techniques that detect subtle colour changes in heartbeats and body movements not visible to the human eye.
It was demonstrated that the AI software can "reliably" detect a premature baby's face and skin when covered by tubes, clothing or undergoing phototherapy for jaundice. The researchers claimed that the vital sign readings "matched those of an ECG", even outperforming it in some cases.
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August 24, 2021
Pharmacy Alliance drives digital transformation for independents
Pharmacy Alliance and Arrotex Pharmaceuticals are partnering to spearhead the digital transformation of independent pharmacies by engaging start-up health technology company Medmate.
The partnership with Medmate will see Pharmacy Alliance offer electronic prescription enabled e-commerce websites to 700+ independent pharmacy members to enhance their bricks and mortar stores with online capability for prescription and over the counter products.
The venture works as customers receive electronic prescriptions by SMS, upload them into the pharmacy website, shop for general pharmacy items and checkout with express home delivery. Pharmacy Alliance members will also have the option to list their pharmacy on the Medmate App to enhance their digital presence and reach more customers.
The health technology company founded in Melbourne by General Practitioner and former Healius executive Dr Ganesh Naidoo, provides a digital platform that makes fulfilling prescription medications as simple as ordering a meal from UberEats with secure express delivery of pharmacy products to patients in 60 minutes.
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Thursday, 26 August 2021 11:12
Fitbit’s electrocardiogram app gets regulatory clearance
Fitbit’s electrocardiogram (ECG) app has earned regulatory clearance, which means Fitbit Sense users can now access it today.
Fitbit says the app will be soon available on Charge 5, an advanced health tracker.
According to Fitbit, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia with an estimated 1.2 million over 18 suffering from conditions related to heart or cardiovascular disease.
The ECG app will help patients assess and monitor their heart rhythm and health by measuring and recording the electrical activity of their heart through their Fitbit device.
The results can be downloaded and easily shared with the patient’s doctor to help detect such problems. It can deliver the following outcomes such as:
- Potentially life-saving notifications and insights
- Help healthcare providers offer more personalised, patient-centred care
- Equip healthcare providers with the ability to shift their approach from treatment to prevention and wellbeing
- Help to improve the effectiveness and affordability of healthcare, while supporting the sector’s financial sustainability
ECG tests help doctors detect atrial fibrillation, which is an electrical problem in the heart that increases the risk of serious heart conditions like stroke.
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Australian medtech startup Nutromics bags $4M in pre-market funding for continuous molecular monitoring device
Adam Ang | 27 Aug 2021
Nutromics, an Australian medical technology startup, has raised A$5.7 million ($4.1 million) in a pre-market funding round participated by private investors. This brings its total capital raised in the past three years to A$10 million ($7.2 million).
WHAT IT DOES
Founded in 2018, the startup is developing continuous molecular monitoring (CMM) platform technology that is able to track multiple targets in the human body via a single wearable sensor. The platform provides real-time, continuous molecular-level insights for remote patient monitoring and hospital-at-home systems.
The "lab-on-the-skin device" is being researched and developed in collaboration with the RMIT University, the University of New South Wales, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, the University of California Santa Barbara and the University of California San Diego.
WHY IT MATTERS
The startup said in a statement that it will use its fresh funds to set up a manufacturing facility and conduct the device's first human clinical trial that will begin later this year. The CMM patch is planned to be initially introduced in Australia and the US.
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Australian government hands out AU$79m to fund digital health tech development
Four organisations will each receive AU$19.75 million to help Australian SMBs commercialise their medical research.
By Aimee Chanthadavong | August 20, 2021 -- 04:19 GMT (14:19 AEST) | Topic: Innovation
The Australian government has announced it will invest AU$79 million to develop new digital health technologies, medical devices, and medicines.
The funding, delivered under the Medical Research Future Fund's Medical Research Commercialisation initiative, will be equally shared among four organisations that will work with local small and medium-sized businesses to commercialise the application of their research. Each organisation will receive AU$19.75 million.
"The initiative has already supported implementation of new products that are changing clinical practice and improving lives," Minister for Health Greg Hunt said.
"They include a novel device that improves the success rate of breast cancer surgery and an implant that promises to treat glaucoma for six months from a single injection, removing the need for daily drop therapy."
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https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/victoria-tips-%2473-million-into-nbn-upgrades.html
Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:39
Victoria tips $73 million into NBN upgrades
The Victorian Government is putting $73 million into the Victorian NBN State Program Fund to help finance new network infrastructure in certain parts of the state.
The money, to be held on trust by NBN Co, will be used to support selected area switch technology change programs.
In return, NBN Co will co-fund projects that deliver positive outcomes to Victorian communities and a threshold commercial return to the company.
The first project is to create eleven new NBN Business Fibre Zones in Benalla, Colac, Cranbourne South, Dromana, Hamilton, Lara, Pakenham North, Pakenham South, Portland, Warragul and Wonthaggi-Inverloch.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/vic-govt-to-sink-73m-into-nbn-area-switches-business-upgrades-569080
Vic govt to sink $73m into NBN area switches, business upgrades
By Ry Crozier on Aug 26, 2021 9:37AM
To be pursued under the state's 'Connecting Victoria' program.
The Victorian government will co-invest $73 million into upgrades to parts of the NBN in the state.
The funds “will be used to partner with NBN Co on upgrades to business connectivity, regional connectivity for communities served by fixed wireless and satellite services, and fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) … area flips.”
On the residential side, “the funding from the Victorian government will be combined with funds from NBN Co to enhance national broadband network infrastructure through an area switch available under NBN Co’s technology change program,” federal communications minister Paul Fletcher said in a statement.
NBN Co will draw from a $300 million pot of money set aside for co-investment in regional residential service upgrades, or from a separate $50 million pot for the extension of business-grade services.
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Wednesday, 25 August 2021 10:02
Aussie Broadband peaks 1000th NBN Enterprise Ethernet order; NBN announces discounts for Enterprise Ethernet
Telecommunications company Aussie Broadband has reached its 1000th NBN Enterprise Ethernet order.
“We’ve seen an increasing uptake in the number of business users signing up to NBN’s Enterprise Ethernet product,” says Aussie Broadband general manager sales Aaron O’Keeffe. “It took nearly two years to get 500 services connected, and just another 8 months to get to 1,000 services.”
“Our extra focus on small to medium businesses has really paid off, and the demand shows that this product really works for business customers,” adds O’Keeffe.
The benefits of NBN Enterprise Ethernet, according to O’Keeffe, is it can deliver symmetrical speeds from 50/50Mbps up to gigabit without needing any infrastructure or equipment upgrades once the initial service is connected.
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NBN price model re-negotiators reduce options from three to two
By Ry Crozier on Aug 24, 2021 11:19PM
Disinterest in maintaining the status quo.
Internet providers negotiating a new price deal for NBN services appear to have already rebuffed one of three models tabled by NBN Co that was effectively a sweetened version of its existing pricing.
A meeting of the working groups renegotiating the NBN price model on August 12 agreed to progress only two potential models, both of which would include flat pricing, a key industry demand.
Retail service providers (RSPs) want to pay a single flat wholesale rate per service per month, instead of the current system where they pay NBN Co a fixed price per month for a service 'bundle' and then incur variable costs on top of that, depending on usage.
The result of the August 12 meeting would appear to suggest that the working groups are developing something similar to constructs 2 and 3 proposed by NBN Co back in June.
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https://www.afr.com/companies/telecommunications/uniti-plots-to-eat-nbn-co-s-lunch-20210824-p58lck
Uniti plots to eat NBN Co’s lunch
Lucas Baird Reporter
Aug 24, 2021 – 3.04pm
Key Points
- Full-year revenue ($m) 160.5, up 176pc
- Underlying EBITDA ($m) 93.7, up 253.3pc
- Net profit ($m) 29.2, up 83pc
- Final dividend nil v nil
Uniti Group says its share of the optic-fibre broadband internet market will soon be equal to NBN Co’s as cash flow and secured premises race up at the up-start telco.
The company recorded a 15 per cent increase in active, connected or in construction premises to take its total to 500,000 in the second half of the 2021 financial year. When the migration of customers from its buyout of Telstra Velocity is finished, this will stretch to over 565,000.
Chief executive Mick Simmons said it was “realistic” Uniti could share the optic-fibre broadband market with NBN Co as his company expands.
“NBN Co, because it is the national broadband network, will be servicing all greenfield premises in Australia and, therefore, their numbers will be quite good,” Mr Simmons told The Australian Financial Review.
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https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/more-consumers-take-up-faster-nbn-plans.html
Tuesday, 24 August 2021 09:55
More consumers take up faster NBN plans
The ACCC reported that about 400,000 residential broadband customers moved to higher speed plans in the June 2021 quarter as the recent trend of Australian consumers upgrading to faster NBN connections continued, as indicated its latest NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report.
The ACCC report looks at the wholesale market for NBN services in which retail service providers purchase access to the NBN so they can supply broadband internet to consumers and businesses.
Consumers and businesses increased their take-up of higher speed services of 50Mbps or above in the June quarter. Almost three-quarters of all NBN wholesale connections are now at speeds of 50Mbps or above, including 17.3% of all services at speeds of 100Mbps or above, the ACCC disclosed.
“Most broadband customers are now using higher speed tiers and that is a result of more retail providers and NBN promoting higher speed plans,” ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said.
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Ocean planets a hot tip for aliens
By Kaya Burgess
The Times
6:24PM August 26, 2021
Scientists have identified a “new class of habitable planets” that could be our “best bet” to detect alien species in the next two to three years.
They have been called “hycean” planets due to their hydrogen-rich atmospheres and oceans of water. Temperatures of up to 120C and high atmospheric pressure had meant that they were dismissed as future havens. New analysis, however, suggests that some could maintain “habitable surface pressures and temperatures”.
Their large size makes them easy to find, raising the chances of identifying signs of life. Astronomers have identified more than 4000 planets orbiting other stars. They estimate that there are 100 billion across the Milky Way.
The search for habitable planets has focused on those that are most “Earth-like”, usually smaller rocky worlds within a narrow “Goldilocks” zone around their host star where water can exist as a liquid.
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Enjoy!
David.
