Talk About Not Being Able To Run A Saturday Night Chook Raffle At The Local RSL!

This nonsense seems to have happened again!

25 November 2021

Anyone know how to run an online exam?

Comment Psychiatry

By Senior Psychiatry Registrar

Another Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry exam fail, another delay in accrediting Australia’s next cohort of mental health specialists. 

Eminent psychiatrists, such as National Association of Practising Psychiatrists president Dr Philip Morris and Dr Ted Cassidy, are calling for the trainees to be urgently passed retrospectively based on the 150 formative work-based assessments they have already completed up to this point. 

Trainee psychiatrists are exhausted after repeatedly cancelling or deferring major life plans in order to sit these exams, which for many are the final hurdle before full accreditation. They are desperate to relax and return to the regular pressures of modern day pandemic life, while working long hours in our hospitals and often on the frontline.

To make clear the dire nature of the situation: since October 2019 only 207 Australian & New Zealand trainees have been able to sit the OSCE; of this group, only 25 candidates were from NSW, a state disproportionately impacted by the bungled exams. For comparison, in the period spanning from October 2017 to November 2019, a total of 682 Australian & New Zealand trainees were able to sit the OSCE.

If these statistics don’t seem relevant to the public, they should; for every trainee psychiatrist delayed in their progression, crucial psychiatric care becomes less accessible to all.

But despite all this and the mainstream media attention the failure has attracted, the RANZCP’s committee for examinations is resisting changing the rules for this cohort. That would “lower the standard” of graduated psychiatrists, according to one reported comment from an emergency meeting yesterday. This prompts one towonder what the standards are exactly – given that those setting them are unable to deploy technology that has been used in every educational institution and business since the start of the pandemic. 

This cancelled OSCE is the fourth in two years. The July exam this year went ahead but excluded NSW, the most populous state, for being in lockdown. 

And it’s not just the technical failure that is the problem. The training program is old and outdated. A review by the Australian Council for Examination Research (ACER) completed just last year called for reform, recommending the committee review and consolidate the entire examination process. Instead the committee increased the number of major assessments from five to six (critical essay examination, multiple choice and critical appraisal exam, modified essay exam, psychotherapy written case, scholarly project and OSCE).

A particular exam under the ACER spotlight is the essay-style examination. This is another “essential” component for trainees to pass, and was recommended to be scrapped in ACER’s report. This exam is considered by many to be irrelevant as it mostly tests if one’s writing is neat and fast (it gives candidates only 50 minutes to handwrite a complete essay). Those who pass are granted a pen licence and a psychiatric fellowship.

The great irony is that we all know the less legible a doctor’s handwriting the more senior they must be. We wrote to the college to ask if candidates were allowed to use an ink and quill, but – well … we couldn’t read their response.

Jokes aside, the sad truth is that the essay-style exam frequently fails to pass trainees who are not white or privately educated enough. Doctors who have moved to Australia, many fleeing prejudice and violence and all of them under more pressure than local candidates, have failed the program because of this exam despite passing everything else. 

The recent online OSCE bungles have just added to what is obviously a long and expensive training program. It gets longer and more expensive the more exams that are failed (and more so for those who are from non-English-speaking backgrounds) – and pass rates are low. Only 15% of all psychiatry trainees finish their specialist training in the standard five years, with the average time to completion resting around seven years.

Now, two years may not sound like a lot considering psychiatrists have 14+ years of tertiary education. But if graduating from high school took two years longer than advertised (and if it then took another two years because schools couldn’t figure out how to run computer-based exams in a pandemic) then Australia would be in an uproar because of the shortage of McDonald’s burger flippers. 

There is now such a backlog of psychiatry trainees, they are taking stress leave and trying to see psychiatrists for their own mental health. Unfortunately they face long waits as there are not enough psychiatrists in Australia. 

Why couldn’t the college run a national internet-based examination? It is only speculation, but tech-savvy trainees strongly suspect the online exam crashed because the college failed to purchase enough Zoom licences.

More here:

https://medicalrepublic.com.au/anyone-know-how-to-run-an-online-exam/58565

There also seems to be this issue emerging…

Fears of psychiatrist shortage after two years of cancelled exams

By Lucy Carroll and Mary Ward

November 22, 2021 — 2.36pm

Hundreds of trainee psychiatrists have been unable to complete their exams during the pandemic despite serious concerns about workforce shortages in Australia’s mental health sector.

The latest attempt at holding the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)’s final trainee exams via video link were abandoned midway through on Saturday due to technical difficulties.

Roughly 270 trainees were affected. The objective structured clinical exam involved the remote supervision of role-play scenarios.

A letter sent by the NSW Association of Psychiatry Trainees expressed “concern and disappointment” the exam had not been able to go ahead, after being postponed from October 30.

Footage seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age of a debrief meeting held after the cancelled exam showed heated discussion between trainees and college examiners which descended into participants shouting over the top of each other.

It was the third time the exam, which doctors must pass to become a fully qualified fellow of the college, have been cancelled since April 2020, when they were first disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions.

While two exams have successfully been held during that time with a reduced number taking part, a national survey of trainees conducted by the association found 88 per cent reported having two or more attempts at the exam delayed or cancelled and 27 per cent said all five exams had been disrupted.

It finds that, between October 2019 and November 2021, only 207 trainees sat the exams across Australia and New Zealand, compared with 682 between October 2017 and November 2019.

In a statement, RANZCP said 90 of the doctors taking Saturday’s exams were from NSW, where trainees were previously affected by the cancellation of an exam in July with one week’s notice. Twenty-seven of the centralised exams were completed in NSW during 2020 and 2021,

Lots more here:

https://www.smh.com.au/healthcare/fears-of-psychiatrist-shortage-after-two-years-of-cancelled-exams-20211122-p59avs.html

And then there are the poor victims….

Registrars in 'significant distress' after another remote exam failure

An IT glitch forced the college of psychiatrists to cancel its OSCE part way through on Saturday

22nd November 2021

By Heather Saxena

Nearly 300 psychiatry registrars will be forced to resit their clinical fellowship exam after yet another major IT glitch affecting a medical college.

In a scenario that echoes the RACGP’s exam debacle last year, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) was forced to cancel its Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) on Saturday.

The college has blamed a “videoconferencing failure” during the morning session of the exam, which was conducted by an external provider remotely in candidates' homes.

As a result, the 270 candidates — some of whom had reportedly waited 18 months to sit their exams — along with examiners and role players, were unable to join their virtual "rooms" for assessment.

The college said it had made “exhaustive” attempts to rectify the issues for the afternoon session, and college staff also considered attempting to run the exam themselves without the use of external exam software.

Again more here:

https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/registrars-significant-distress-after-another-remote-exam-failure

You really wonder just why the Colleges keep stuffing these exams up. Surely a few experts could make sure this sort of issue just didn’t occur again short of nuclear war!

Wanders off into the evening shaking head…

David.

Commentators and Journalists Weigh In On Digital Health And Related Privacy, Safety, Social Media And Security Matters. Lots Of Interesting Perspectives - November 30, 2021.

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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! Its pretty sad!

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.smh.com.au/technology/how-your-employer-can-keep-track-of-your-work-at-home-20211124-p59bjr.html

How your employer can keep track of your work at home

By Don Lee

November 25, 2021 — 5.00am

Since the pandemic and the rise in people working from home, employers’ use of employee-monitoring programs has been growing rapidly.

Employers say they’re tracking workers’ activity mainly for two reasons: to promote security and to boost productivity.

What monitoring tools they use and how aggressively they use them vary widely. But the practice has alarmed unions and privacy advocates.

Makers of monitoring software report booming sales, and their products run the gamut in terms of surveillance capabilities. One common feature is that they allow employers to track and collect data on workers’ devices without users’ knowledge.

That may put employers on a slippery slope as far as privacy and trust issues are concerned. But in a sampling of employee-monitoring software programs, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation found that nine out of the 10 products it reviewed could be made invisible to the people being monitored.

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https://marketplace.service.gov.au/2/digital-marketplace/opportunities/17713

Software Vendor Partnerships Manager

Opportunity ID 17713

Deadline for asking questions Wednesday 1 December 2021 at 6pm (in Canberra)

Application closing date Friday 3 December 2021 at 6pm (in Canberra)

Published Friday 26 November 2021

Category Digital sourcing and ICT procurement

Overview

The Partnerships Team are responsible for managing the strategic relationships with the Agency’s key delivery partner organisations, this includes the vendors who supply and manage health IT software in Australia. The Partnerships Team act as the main conduit between the Agency and our stakeholders to ensure communication is streamlined and issues are effectively managed. They are also responsible for contracting partners on activities that will contribute to the delivery of the Agency’s Workplan. In addition to the key roles and responsibilities outlined in the below description, the Software Vendor Partnerships Manager is also required to have a deep understanding and knowledge of Health IT, as well as technical experience. These additional requirements are outlined below. Represent and negotiate on behalf of the agency to advance the agency’s interests in cross-agency, inter-jurisdictional, international, and other forums utilising a strong existing network within the Health IT software vendor industry, including hospital, general practice, specialist, pathology, diagnostics, community pharmacy and secure messaging platforms. The candidate must be able to leverage this existing network to effectively promote the prioritisation of the Agency’s Workplan, whilst also advocating for vendor interests/limitations internally within the Agency. • Provide a strategic level of specialist, professional and technical expertise; apply experience gained working as a technical lead, software developer or systems integrator; demonstrating the ability to understand complex technical solutions and language. • Experience working across both the public and private sector, ideally within the health industry. • Engage and manage stakeholders through change, resolving conflict and managing sensitivities through effective communication with software developers and industry partners across all organisational levels (developer/technical, operational, management and c-suite). • Anticipate and establish priorities, monitor progress and work to deliver required corporate outcomes, specific agency functions; apply an expertise and demonstrated understanding of: o Software development lifecycles o Health IT technical sales or pre-sales o Issues and constraints that affect vendors and industry partners o Software industry peak bodies • Undertake highly complex analysis and interpretation; applying significant judgement in choosing a course of action to manage highly complex and sensitive issues; mapping significant vendor impacts based on the Agency’s pipeline of activities, enabling the software community to be prepared for upcoming changes and requirements. • Apply and maintain an extensive understanding of procurement, contracting and service level agreements within government and private enterprise to ensure practical and mutually beneficial contracting solutions for the Agency.

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https://www.agedcare101.com.au/the-donaldson-sisters/new-national-aged-care-advisory-council-to-guide-17-7bn-sector-reform/

New National Aged Care Advisory Council to guide $17.7bn sector reform

By Jill Donaldson on November 26, 2021 Aged Care Government Policy In the Headlines News & Issues

In an encouraging sign for aged care reform, the Government has appointed its 17-member National Aged Care Advisory Council, which will advise and guide its $17.7 billion overhaul of the sector.

The Council will be chaired by former Victorian MP Andrea Coote (centre), inaugural chair of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council, who also served on the Aged Care Sector Committee.

Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the upcoming reforms were “the most significant ever undertaken by an Australian Government” to improve home and residential care for older Australians.

“This Advisory Council will play a key role in guiding that implementation, alongside a new Council of Elders and an Inspector-General of Aged Care.

“I welcome the appointment of all 17 members to the Advisory Council and I look forward to working alongside them as we ensure our aged care system delivers respect, care and dignity for our senior Australians,” he said.

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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/newsroom/events-and-webinars/electronic-prescriptions-update-for-community-pharmacies-the-benefits-of-active-script-list

Webinar • Electronic prescriptions ADHA Propaganda

Electronic prescriptions update for community pharmacies: the benefits of Active Script List

Event details

When Tuesday, 30 November 2021
7:30pm - 8:30pm (AEDT)

Where Online

Hosted by Australian Digital Health Agency

Register here  Contact us

General enquiries

Phone: 1300 901 001
8am - 5pm (AEST/AEDT) Monday - Friday
Email: help@digitalhealth.gov.au

More information

Electronic prescriptions continue to remain a valuable component of healthcare delivery across Australia with more functions becoming available to patients and healthcare professionals who use them.

Join the Australian Digital Health Agency in this webinar to learn more about the new management options available to patients who take multiple medicines which simplify their experience of using electronic prescriptions, such as the Active Script List (ASL).

With over 70,000 patients now registered for ASL, we’ll be joined by a Pharmacist guest speaker who will share their experience of starting the conversation about ASL with patients. We will discuss the positive impact ASL can have on the pharmacy’s workflow as well as the benefits for patients who take part in registering for this new service, gaining additional convenience and flexibility to access their medicines.

Any questions about electronic prescriptions are welcome and will be answered during the session.

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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/anyone-know-how-to-run-an-online-exam/58565

25 November 2021

Anyone know how to run an online exam?

Comment Psychiatry

By Senior Psychiatry Registrar

Another Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry exam fail, another delay in accrediting Australia’s next cohort of mental health specialists. 

Eminent psychiatrists, such as National Association of Practising Psychiatrists president Dr Philip Morris and Dr Ted Cassidy, are calling for the trainees to be urgently passed retrospectively based on the 150 formative work-based assessments they have already completed up to this point. 

Trainee psychiatrists are exhausted after repeatedly cancelling or deferring major life plans in order to sit these exams, which for many are the final hurdle before full accreditation. They are desperate to relax and return to the regular pressures of modern day pandemic life, while working long hours in our hospitals and often on the frontline.

To make clear the dire nature of the situation: since October 2019 only 207 Australian & New Zealand trainees have been able to sit the OSCE; of this group, only 25 candidates were from NSW, a state disproportionately impacted by the bungled exams. For comparison, in the period spanning from October 2017 to November 2019, a total of 682 Australian & New Zealand trainees were able to sit the OSCE.

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https://marketplace.service.gov.au/2/digital-marketplace/opportunities/17666

The Australian Digital Health Agency

Development and delivery of a digital health solution

Opportunity ID 17666

Deadline for asking questions Tuesday 14 December 2021 at 6pm (in Canberra)

Application closing date Thursday 16 December 2021 at 6pm (in Canberra)

Published Thursday 25 November 2021

Panel category Content and Publishing

Additional terms Comprehensive terms apply

Overview

This procurement requires solutions that quickly target and address barriers for vulnerable Australians, specifically multicultural communities, struggling to access information about the COVID-19 vaccine and to access a vaccination. The Agency requests suppliers provide quotes on feasibility documentation for the development and delivery of a digital health solution which can provide real-time responses to address multicultural communities’ specific needs. This functionality is intended to boost the dissemination of factual vaccine information within these communities and support participation in the vaccine rollout, including any necessary vaccine booster programs.

Estimated start date January 2022

Location of work Offsite

Working arrangements Meetings via Teams. Communications via email and Teams.

Length of contract 6-12 months

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wealth/phone-fraud-stolen-accounts-warning-as-scammers-strike/news-story/0770dd7cf29f5983a896d300f88c04e4

Phone fraud: stolen accounts warning as scammers strike

Anthony Keane

4:00AM November 24, 2021

Australians’ phone accounts are increasingly being hacked by scammers who steal control of their numbers, personal information and bank details.

A new report by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has examined the “devastating” impact the practice is having on consumers and warns that some mobile providers’ security processes are poor.

Hijacking phone accounts has enabled fraudsters to order new handsets and steal mobile numbers by transferring them to a new SIM card, which can then unlock more sensitive personal data usually protected by two-factor authentication.

“In many cases, the stolen mobile number was used to gain access to their bank account or other accounts such as email or MyGov,” the report says.

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https://www.afr.com/technology/cybercrime-needs-more-than-just-reporting-to-stop-ransomware-attacks-20211124-p59bqs

Cybercrime needs more than just reporting to stop ransomware attacks

The government wants big businesses to report ransomware incidents, but should it also ban them from paying ransoms?

Cheng Lim and Bryony Evans

Nov 25, 2021 – 5.00am

Ransomware has been the cyber security threat of 2021, with almost daily reports of ransomware incidents affecting organisations, large and small. Security group CyberCX recently observed that the frequency of cyber extortion attacks against Australian and New Zealand organisations more than doubled from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2021.

The government’s recent Ransomware Action Plan is its first concrete action to address the scourge of ransomware by mandating ransomware incident reporting to government.

But while mandatory ransomware incident notifications may enhance the government’s knowledge of the ransomware threat and better support victims of attacks, does it go far enough to help address the problem? We think it is unlikely that a ransomware incident reporting obligation would in itself serve to discourage cyber criminals from continuing ransomware attacks.

Mandatory ransomware notification will impose another set of cyber security reporting obligations on businesses, in addition to the notifiable data breach reporting obligations under the Privacy Act, the cyber security incident reporting obligations under CPS 234 (for financial institutions) and the proposed cyber security reporting obligations for Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance under the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020.

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https://www.hospitalhealth.com.au/content/technology/news/digital-health-accelerator-appoints-international-advisory-committee-1510717640

Digital health accelerator appoints international advisory committee

Wednesday, 24 November, 2021

ANDHealth has appointed its inaugural International Investment Advisory Committee (IIAC), which will provide critical insights and frontline industry experience to the MRFF funded ANDHealth Digital Health Accelerator Fund and associated ANDHealth+ program.

The IIAC comprises internationally recognised investors, clinicians, founders and executives with proven track records in identification and growth within the evidence-based digital health sector.

The committee will be chaired by globally recognised digital health leader Lisa Suennen. Named 2018 Rock Health Digital Health Evangelist of the Year, Suennen has spent more than 30 years in operating and investing roles at the intersection of technology and health, and has been actively engaged with ANDHealth for many years. She heads the Manatt Phelps & Phillips Digital and Technology Practice, and is also a Managing Partner of the Manatt Venture Fund.

Suennen will be supported by: Bronwyn Le Grice, CEO & Managing Director of ANDHealth; Anand Iyer, Chief Strategy Officer, WellDoc; Andrew Murphy, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, Robotify Labs & Partner, Erisbeg Fund; Aenor Sawyer, Director, University of California Space Health; Director, UCSF Skeletal Health Service; Bill Lucia, Executive Partner, Consonance Capital and HEP Fund (former Chairman and CEO of HMS, acquired by Gainwell 2021 US$3.4B); Drew Schiller, CEO, Validic; Katherine (Kate) Merton, Principal, Hicks Cohen, former SVP Digital Care Delivery, Anthem Inc; and Ken Cahill, CEO, Silvercloud (acquired by Amwell 2021 US$320m).

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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/newsroom/product-releases/snomed-ct-au-and-australian-medicines-terminology-november-2021-release

Product releases • National Clinical Terminology Service

SNOMED CT-AU and Australian Medicines Terminology November 2021 Release

Published 22 November 2021

The National Clinical Terminology Service (NCTS) is pleased to announce that the November combined release of SNOMED CT®-AU and the Australian Medicines Terminology (AMT) is now available to registered users from the NCTS website.

Important Information

SNOMED CT-AU Change Reports, CSV

Two new custom CSV files are now available. They contain the concept changes (deltas) between the latest SNOMED CT-AU release and the one prior in an easy to use human readable format for the non-technical user.

Licensees can access these files from the Other section of the NCTS website’s Access tab, after logging in. Please contact the NCTS should you require further information.

Document Library update

The following resource has been added to the Document Library:

• Australian Medicines Terminology v3 Model Editorial Rules v3.0

Please refer to the NCTS Document Library Release Note v2.29 in Recent Updates for further details. 

Events

SNOMED CT Expo 2021

This year the conference was held as a virtual event on October 28-29. All Expo content is now available on-demand until the end of January 2022 to registered attendees. New registrations are still welcome. Not registered? Click here. 

For further information and to register for this free event, visit:
https://www.snomed.org/news-and-events/events/snomedct-expo

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https://hnc.org.au/events/my-health-record-demo-bp-xhp-x4-2/

My Health Record – a practical demonstration (Best Practice)

ADHA Propaganda

Aimed at GPs, specialists, practice managers, practice nurses and Aboriginal health workers interested in learning more about My Health Record and how to use it most effectively in routine practice.

Using a software simulation platform, the instructor will demonstrate how to:

• access your patients’ My Health Records in your software
• use filters to find documents
• view documents and overviews
• understand how to view immunisation history in My Health Record
• 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.

Run via GoTo webinar platform, these sessions will afford an opportunity for participants to raise questions directly with the instructor and to discuss other issues encountered in using My Health Record.

For more information on this or for follow up My Health Record support for your practice please contact education@digitalhealth.gov.au.

This education is CPD accredited by AAPM, RACGP, ACRRM and NAATSIHWP.

RSVP Here by Mon 22 November, 05:00 pm

Venue: Webinar

Date/Time: Mon 22 Nov 2021, 01:00 pm - 02:00 pm AEDT

Event Organiser: Australian Digital Health Agency

Email: Click here

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David.

 

Weekly Australian Health IT Links – 29 November, 2021.

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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Not a very busy week – until Omicron sprang to life late Friday and scared the world to bits. Lots of systems will be wound up again I suspect

Otherwise just a few tit-bits of interest!

Feel sorry for those exam candidates messed about by examination tech!

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nib-takes-4-million-stake-in-midnight-health-573123

Nib takes $4 million stake in Midnight Health

By Kate Weber on Nov 24, 2021 12:50PM

Year-old startup already has over 4500 subscribers.

Health insurer nib has acquired a 50 percent stake in Australian digital health startup Midnight Health for $4 million.

Midnight Health integrates telehealth technology, doctors, pharmacy networks and other health partners for patients who do not wish to visit health services in person.

Founded in October 2020, the platform connects users with other services such as male-focused health consultation company Stagger and women’s health solutions company Youly.

Both offer text-based consultations plus access to treatments and prescriptions through innovative online solutions, with plans to expand in senior care in the upcoming months.

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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/registrars-significant-distress-after-another-remote-exam-failure

Registrars in 'significant distress' after another remote exam failure

An IT glitch forced the college of psychiatrists to cancel its OSCE part way through on Saturday

22nd November 2021

By Heather Saxena

Nearly 300 psychiatry registrars will be forced to resit their clinical fellowship exam after yet another major IT glitch affecting a medical college.

In a scenario that echoes the RACGP’s exam debacle last year, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) was forced to cancel its Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) on Saturday.

The college has blamed a “videoconferencing failure” during the morning session of the exam, which was conducted by an external provider remotely in candidates' homes.

As a result, the 270 candidates — some of whom had reportedly waited 18 months to sit their exams — along with examiners and role players, were unable to join their virtual "rooms" for assessment.

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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/psychiatry-exam-fail-will-keep-system-under-pressure/58290

22 November 2021

Psychiatry exam fail will keep system under pressure

Education

By Holly Payne

There is no relief on the way for pandemic-fatigued mental health clinicians, after “significant IT issues” forced the cancellation of the RANZCP’s audiovisual Objective Structured Clinical Exam component on Saturday.

With no new psychiatrists to relieve the pressure, Australia’s mental health workforce could reach a boiling point.

Saturday’s last-minute cancellation was just the latest in a series of adjustments and delays to the RANZCP OSCE, with only 207 trainees having had the opportunity to sit the exam since October 2019. 

Pre-pandemic, about 700 fellowship hopefuls would have sat the exam over that time period, according to the NSW Association of Psychiatry Trainees. 

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https://www.smh.com.au/healthcare/fears-of-psychiatrist-shortage-after-two-years-of-cancelled-exams-20211122-p59avs.html

Fears of psychiatrist shortage after two years of cancelled exams

By Lucy Carroll and Mary Ward

November 22, 2021 — 2.36pm

Hundreds of trainee psychiatrists have been unable to complete their exams during the pandemic despite serious concerns about workforce shortages in Australia’s mental health sector.

The latest attempt at holding the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)’s final trainee exams via video link were abandoned midway through on Saturday due to technical difficulties.

Roughly 270 trainees were affected. The objective structured clinical exam involved the remote supervision of role-play scenarios.

A letter sent by the NSW Association of Psychiatry Trainees expressed “concern and disappointment” the exam had not been able to go ahead, after being postponed from October 30.

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https://itwire.com/health/sa-health,-digital-health-agency-use-new-messaging-tech-to-improve-patient-care.html

Friday, 19 November 2021 12:46

SA Health, Digital Health Agency use new messaging tech to improve patient care

By Staff Writer

New technology designed to streamline communication between hospitals and community health providers is allowing clinicians to share important patient information faster and improve patient care.

SA Health Chief Digital Health Officer, Bret Morris, said SA Health, in partnership with the Australian Digital Health Agency, has trialled the secure messaging technology and is now rolling it out in a staged approach.

“Secure Messaging allows hospitals and healthcare providers, including general practitioners, private specialists and allied health professionals to communicate with each other in a safe and secure manner,” Morris said.

“It reduces the use of fax machines and post, improving accuracy, privacy and the speed in which clinical documents can continue to be shared between sites.

"This technology makes the clinician’s work easier and more efficient, while contributing to improved patient care for South Australians.”

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http://www.healthintersections.com.au/?p=3090

HL7 Australia Webinar: Playing with #FHIR

Posted on November 25, 2021 by Grahame Grieve

After she caused plenty of excitement a few weeks ago, I’m please to inform you that Alissa Knight has agreed to appear on an HL7 Australia webinar with John Moehrke to talk about both her new report and the various responses to it.

The webinar will at 10am on Dec 1st 2021. Registration is free – see EventBrite.

I’ll be moderating the webinar on behalf of HL7 Australia, and also New Zealand – our kiwi colleagues are invited to join us as well. We’ll also be talking about what developers and administrators of systems should be doing to secure their systems.

Thanks Alissa (and John) for agreeing to share their knowledge and experience with us here in Australia and New Zealand.

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https://www.innovationaus.com/finalist-coviu-leads-in-a-banner-year-for-telehealth/

Finalist: Coviu leads in a banner year for telehealth

Rachael Bolton
Contributor

24 November 2021

Silvia Pfeiffer has always been on the leading edge of video innovation and research. In 1999, she was awarded a PhD in computer science from the University of Mannheim where her thesis was focused on content analysis and what was then called ‘new media’ applications for video.

For context, YouTube didn’t even launch until 2005.

She’s worked on content detection and video search for some of the biggest companies in the world. The prescience of naming her telehealth web service Coviu – five years before the pandemic – is perhaps fitting.

“It blew my mind when they had to pick a name [for the disease] that was so close to our company name,” Dr Pfeiffer confesses. “But there was nothing we could do. We weren’t going to change our name.”

Coviu in fact stands for ‘Collaborative Viewing’ – the core functionality of the telehealth platform.

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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/gp-fights-back-over-acronyms-specialists-letters

GP fights back over acronyms in specialists' letters

Dr George Quittner says he's sick of scratching his head over non-GP specialist letters and is calling for clarity

23rd November 2021

By Carmel Sparke

A Sydney GP has become so frustrated by the number of indecipherable acronyms in other specialists' letters that he now insists that an explanation key be included in reports. 

Dr George Quittner has started including a paragraph in his referral letters asking that all return missives contain an attached explanation of any abbreviations used.

His comments come in response to a 6minutes report on a Queensland study that found the average patient discharge summary had 17 different abbreviations.

Dr Quittner said he was often left scratching his head over acronym-laden letters, trying to decipher what tests were done or what syndrome his patient has. 

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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/588097/Hira-clinical-reference-group-created.htm

Hira clinical reference group created

Tuesday, 23 November 2021  

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

A clinical reference group has been created to advise on the Hira programme at the Ministry of Health.

The business case for Hira tranche one has been submitted to Cabinet for approval and an announcement on Cabinet’s decision is due soon.

Becky George, interim clinical director for the Hira programme, says the new reference group has 12 members and will ensure there is a strong clinical voice in the development of the ecosystem of data and digital health systems, called Hira.

She says in a new podcast episode of eHealthTalk NZ that hers is the first clinical role within the data and digital directorate and “reflects a new emphasis that we're putting on clinicians and providers”.

The clinical reference group includes clinicians from across medical, nursing and allied health professions and provides a range of viewpoints from communities throughout New Zealand.
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https://www.hospitalhealth.com.au/content/aged-allied-health/news/nsw-ambulance-upgrades-p25-network-improves-staff-safety-with-gps-tracking-1082825333

NSW Ambulance upgrades P25 network, improves staff safety with GPS tracking

Wednesday, 24 November, 2021

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The NSW Ambulance service has upgraded the Far West Project 25 ( P25) radio network with improved coverage and network performance for critical communication operations.

NSW Ambulance has more than 6000 staff, including paramedics, doctors, nurses and corporate personnel, who provide communities with emergency health care and support, clinical care, and rescue and retrieval services across the state. Each year, one in six people in the state receive care from NSW Ambulance, with a call for help every 26 seconds1. April 2021 marked 125 years of the operation for the NSW Ambulance service.

NSW Ambulance needed a partner to redesign its P25 network to ensure all geographical locations across NSW had coverage, it had adequate safety measures in place for staff and the network remained resilient without outages.

Privately owned telecommunications carrier Vertel won the tender by providing a detailed solution that demonstrated an understanding of the requirements needed for NSW Ambulance’s critical operations. The company, which has already proven to be a trusted supplier to NSW Ambulance on previous projects, designed and implemented the P25 upgrade.

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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/australia-support-accurate-meds-prescription-patients-kidney-problems

Australia to support accurate meds prescription for patients with kidney problems

Indigenous people and senior Australians are poised to benefit from this latest research project.

By Adam Ang

November 25, 2021 01:40 AM

The government-backed Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre has launched a A$1 million (above $700,000) research project that intends to empower accurate prescription of medications for patients dealing with kidney failure.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The research institute, in tandem with the Northern Territory Health and the University of South Australia, will develop this clinical decision support tool for healthcare professionals that will be delivered as a standalone service via an application program interface, making it easy to integrate with existing prescribing or dispensing software systems.

After analysing the context of medicine prescription and dispensing in the first research phase, they will create a renal dosage calculator algorithm based on NT Health's clinical data sets and other available medicine knowledge databases. In the second phase, they will simulate the impact of the tool in the urban and rural primacy clinics in NT and South Australia. 

The final research phase involves a clinical pilot in NT's urban and remote primary health care centres and community pharmacy settings. 

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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/my-health-record/covid-19-dashboard

Your COVID-19 information in one place

Your COVID-19 vaccination dashboard in My Health Record brings together information about your COVID-19 vaccinations, test results uploaded and related health information.

What to do if your immunisation details are incomplete

If the immunisation information in your dashboard is empty or seems incomplete:

Check your Medicare Information Settings (under the Profile & Settings tab).

Make sure Yes is selected for 'All information about immunisations recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).'

Selecting Yes will also let your healthcare providers see your immunisation information.

Learn more

Resources

View your record using an app

What to do if you think information is missing

Contact us

My Health Record enquiries

Phone: 1800 723 471 (select option 1)
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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https://www.miragenews.com/new-appointments-to-sydney-harbour-federation-681344/

New appointments to Sydney Harbour Federation Trust

The Hon Sussan Ley MP

Minister for the Environment

The Morrison Government has announced two new Board members for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust reflecting the importance of the Indigenous heritage of the sites, as well as the wider significance of the Harbour Trust to greater Sydney.

Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said following the Morrison Government’s steps to ensure the ongoing future of the Harbour Trust in administering former Commonwealth defence sites such as Cockatoo Island, Headland Park and Sub Base Platypus, it was important to also ensure the Board brought together the right diversity of skillsets to plan for the future.

“I am pleased to announce that Tanya Denning-Orman, Director of Indigenous Content at SBS will join the Board along with City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Steven Issa,” Minister Ley said.

“Tanya brings a wealth of communications and broadcast experience to the Board and a strong understanding of Indigenous story telling.

“Steven’s appointment reflects the importance of local government perspectives in Heritage planning and place making.

“This is a unique time of opportunity for the Harbour Trust as it undertakes long-term master planning for Cockatoo Island and North Head Sanctuary, and it is important the right mix of Board and Management experience is in place to deliver the best possible outcomes.”

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26 Nov 2021 10:00 AM AEST

HESTA expands investments in digital healthcare innovation                  

HESTA is expanding its investment in leading Australian health software solutions, today announcing it has acquired a $120m equity stake in the newly combined Genie Solutions and Citadel Group.

Citadel acquired Genie Solutions last month. HESTA, an investor in Genie since 2017 through IFM Private Equity, reinvested the bulk of its proceeds from the sale of Genie into an investment into the newly combined Citadel Group maintaining its exposure to a fast-growing business and the digital healthcare sector more broadly. Both Citadel and Genie are leading providers in their respective market segments. 

 “HESTA’s deep relationships across the fast-growing healthcare sector gives us a unique investment perspective that’s helping to deliver outstanding investment performance for our members,” HESTA CIO Sonya Sawtell-Rickson said.

“We’re proud to be continuing to invest in the next chapter of Genie Solutions’ growth. Our investment in Citadel Group will give us exposure to a group of companies providing healthcare and enterprise software services in Australia and globally.”

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https://itwire.com/deals/hesta-invests-%24120-million-to-citadel-group.html

Friday, 26 November 2021 11:20

Hesta invests $120 million in Citadel Group

By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

Australian industry superannunation fund for health workers Hesta invests a $120 million equity stake in IT service management company Citadel Group, which recently acquired Genie Solutions.

Hesta, Genie’s investor since 2017 through IFM Private Equity, reinvested its shares when Genie was purchased by Citadel Group. Hesta says this maintained its exposure to a fast-growing business and to the digital healthcare sector more broadly.

“Hesta’s deep relationships across the fast-growing healthcare sector gives us a unique investment perspective that’s helping to deliver outstanding investment performance for our members,” Hesta chief information officer Sonya Sawtell-Rickson says.

“Investments like this are helping improve our members’ experience at work, while also supporting digital innovation in their sector,” Sawtell-Rickson adds.

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https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/vodafone-lobs-cut-price-fixed-wireless-to-lure-homes-away-from-nbn-20211123-p59b9w.html

Vodafone lobs cut-price fixed wireless to lure homes away from NBN

By Zoe Samios

November 24, 2021 — 12.01am

Vodafone Australia will aggressively cut prices on its fixed wireless internet plans for the next year as it attempts to steal a slice of the broadband market back from the national broadband network (NBN).

ASX-listed TPG Telecom’s mobile brand will halve the cost of 4G and 5G home internet plans and cut the price of mobile devices by up to $600, under a major discount push designed to make the telco more competitive in the market.

TPG Telecom’s group executive - consumer, Kieren Cooney, said an increase in the number of customers using wireless products would deliver higher margins for the telco.

“[The offering] is very competitive from a customer’s point of view,” Mr Cooney said. “We can provide a really great customer experience... because it sits across our network, so there are no hand-offs.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-chair-dr-ziggy-switkowski-to-step-down-573029

NBN Co chair Dr Ziggy Switkowski to step down

By Ry Crozier on Nov 22, 2021 4:54PM

New chair and non-executive director appointed.

NBN Co has unveiled a board shakeup with Dr Ziggy Switkowski set to leave his role as chair at the end of the year, with current board member Kate McKenzie to succeed him.

The vacant board spot will be filled by Nerida Caesar, who will be a non-executive director for three years from January 1, 2022.

All three - Dr Switkowski, McKenzie and Caesar - were at one time former senior executives at Telstra.

Dr Switkowski has been NBN Co board chair since 2013, and was twice re-appointed for additional three-year terms.

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Enjoy!

David.

 

Is Anyone Out There Clear Abut The Reasons Bendigo Health Is Moving Away From Use Of Secure Clinical Messaging While ADHA etc. Are Encouraging It?

I had this e-mail from a GP Tech Support Consultant a few days ago.

Begin Quote -----

I'd like to give you a heads up on a recent development by Bendigo Health regarding the secure delivery of discharge summaries to GP clinics in the region.

I understand that these were sent by Argus, 6 months or more ago and have since been sent by a variety of other methods. The default method is now snail mail with them moving to an email-based method. As far as I have been able to determine, they are emailing GP clinics with a link to the discharge summary held on a secure site. There is some method of ensuring that the information cannot be downloaded by unauthorised persons but Bendigo Health has been scant in detail.

I am assuming, that from a security perspective, the information is safe. However, Bendigo Health has been less than forthcoming in providing this level of detail. Despite repeated requests. The information I have received from them is somewhat limited.

My main concerns are around the workflow impacts on GP clinics in the region and the unnecessary additional work imposed on these businesses. From discussions with my GP clinic clients, the time taken to access the discharge summary in this way, download it, remove any blank or unnecessary pages, upload it into the clinical software and apply the necessary metadata could take say 2 minutes per document. This would be performed by a GP clinic staff member. This is 2 minutes more than what would be required if the message was sent via HL7 messaging. In this case, Argus.

Discharge summaries are bad enough at 50000+ per year. If this approach is taken with specialist letters and ED presentations then the total number of messages could be in excess of 200000 per year. That will translate into a lot of additional unnecessary work imposed on GP clinics which could be easily avoided.

I have based these possible message volumes on information published in the Bendigo Health annual report.

It seems clear to me that the people who think it is acceptable to impose unnecessary costs on a business have never had to run a business.

Without appearing alarmist, some of the communication I have had with Bendigo Health personnel imply that similar approaches are being adopted by other similar organisations across Victoria. If this is true then we have a huge problem developing.

I believe that the widespread adoption of the Bendigo Health proposed approach has the potential to put clinical messaging back 20 years in Victoria - at least as far as the state-funded health services are concerned. In my view, this is unconscionable conduct by those involved.

I am happy to share with you all of the information I have collated on this issue so far.

End Quote -----

I have had a look at a range of the associated materials and e-mails and it does indeed seem Bendigo Health wants to move to a system of e-mailing links to GPs for them to download and process into their systems the Discharge Summaries (and other clinical documents) from a central secure server.

On the face of it, compared with the access provided by the use of Argus (or other SMD solutions), this does rather seem like a step backwards.

Can anyone reading here let us all know just what is going on and is this some sort of policy change at Bendigo Health or Victoria more widely?

Anyone want to comment on how SMD is working for GPs more broadly and what, if anything, is needed,  to improve things?

Root causes of any problems seen always welcome!

David.

 

AusHealthIT Poll Number 607 – Results – 28th November, 2021.

Here are the results of the poll.

Is It Time To Give Up On The DOH/NETHA/ADHA Experiment Of Federal Government Involvement In Digital Health In Australia?

Yes - It Has Been Long Enough 53% (43)

No - They Need More Time To Get It Right 35% (28)

I Have No Idea 12% (10)

Total votes: 81

A small majority want to see the pain of the last decade stop while many more that usual are really confused. Quite a few wanted to be patient for a while longer - maybe worried about their jobs?

Any insights on the poll are welcome, as a comment, as usual!

A good number of votes with a clear outcome! 

A very large 10 of 81 who answered the poll admitted to not being sure about the answer to the question!

Again, many, many thanks to all those who voted! 

David.