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This weekly blog is to explore the news around the larger issues around Digital Health, data security, data privacy, AI / ML. technology, social media and related matters.
I will also try to highlight ADHA Propaganda when I come upon it.
Just so we keep count, the latest Notes from the ADHA Board were dated 6 December, 2018 and we have seen none since! It’s 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.innovationaus.com/anti-trolling-bill-introduced-to-parliament-before-inquiry-wraps-up/
‘Anti-trolling’ bill introduced to Parliament before inquiry wraps up
Denham
Sadler
National Affairs Editor
10 February 2022
The highly controversial “anti-trolling” bill has been introduced to Parliament by the government despite the inquiry into it not having wrapped up yet and amid contradictory claims over its real purpose.
Communications minister Paul Fletcher introduced the Anti-Trolling Bill to the House of Representatives on Thursday morning, despite the inquiry the government has been using to seek feedback on the bill not having provided its advice yet.
The bill creates a “new novel framework to allow Australians to respond to defamatory content posted on social media” but officials have said it has almost nothing to do with online trolling.
The government had requested that stakeholders provide feedback on the draft legislation, unveiled in December last year, through the newly-established House Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/law-council-backs-statutory-tort-for-privacy-breaches/
Law Council backs statutory tort for privacy breaches
Denham
Sadler
National Affairs Editor
10 February 2022
The peak body representing Australian lawyers has thrown its support behind the development of a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy as part of the ongoing review of local privacy laws.
A key consideration of the Attorney-General Department’s review of the Privacy Act is whether to introduce a statutory tort of privacy. In a discussion paper unveiled last year, four different options for this reform were included.
These include the introduction of a statutory tort for invasion of privacy as recommended by the Law Reform Commission, a “minimalist” tort leaving the scope and application to the courts, leaving the issue to the states to consider, or not introducing a tort.
In its submission on the discussion paper, the Law Council of Australia backed the development of a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, so long as there are sufficiently high thresholds in place to ensure actions are limited to serious invasions of privacy.
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https://www.zdnet.com/article/beware-of-spies-and-radicalisation-attempts-online-asio-chief/
Beware of spies and radicalisation attempts online: ASIO chief
Mike Burgess warns of espionage via social media and dating sites, and a surge in the online radicalisation of minors. But on the plus side, good cybersecurity is achievable.
Written by Stilgherrian ,
on February 11, 2022 | Topic: Security
Foreign spies are increasingly approaching Australians on social media and even dating sites, according to Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
"Spies are adept at using the internet for their recruitment efforts," he said in his third annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday night.
Burgess said spies make "seemingly innocuous approaches" such as job offers on "any of the popular social media or internet platforms".
"This then progresses to direct messaging on different, encrypted platforms, or in-person meetings, before a recruitment pitch is made," he said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, these approaches shifted from professional networking sites -- he means LinkedIn -- to more personal messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp.
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https://www.racp.edu.au/expressions-of-interest/2022-digital-health-scholarship
Calling Australian Fellows and Trainees: Apply for a 2022 Digital Health Scholarship
Date published: Feb 11, 2022, 15:06 PM ADHA Propaganda
Summary
10 Digital Scholarships to the value of $4,000 are available for Fellows and Trainees familiar with, or practicing, the use of My Health Record and electronic prescribing.
Description
Continuing the College’s partnership with the Australian Digital Health Agency, the RACP is offering 10 digital health scholarships to eligible Australian Fellows and trainees.
Scholarships to the value of $4,000 each are available for Fellows and trainees familiar with, or practicing, the use of My Health Record and electronic prescribing in the healthcare environment.
Applicants must:
- be an RACP Fellow or trainee who resides in Australia
- be currently employed in a public or private-accredited clinical environment
- have a recent demonstrated record of prescribing electronically and/or adopting various digital health initiatives
Apply
To apply, submit an expression of interest form (DOC) to engagement@racp.edu.au by Friday 25 February 2022.
Creation Date:
Feb 11, 2022, 15:00 PM
Closing Date:
Feb 25, 2022, 23:59 PM
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https://www.noongarradio.com/news/myth-busting-vaccine-certificates-and-my-health-record/
Myth busting vaccine certificates and My Health Record
11 February 2022 · Consumer Protection · COVID · Noongar Radio Breakfast ·
The Australian Digital Health Agency is warning consumers to be wary of scammers offering the use of online fake vaccination certificate generators.
It is highly likely you will be providing your personal information including credit card details to cyber criminals, putting you at risk of identity theft.
Personal health information is a valuable commodity on black market web forums and once you lose control of this information, it is extremely difficult to regain.
Creating or using fake vaccination certificates is illegal and also endangers the wider community.
Dr Andrew Rochford from the Australian Digital Health Agency spoke with Noongar Radio.
Myth busting vaccine certificates and My Health Record
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https://www.seek.com.au/job/55880568?type=standout
Insights Analyst
Australian Digital Health Agency
Brisbane CBD & Inner Suburbs
Information & Communication Technology
Business/Systems Analysts
$101,757.00 - 114,800.00 total rem including super
Full time
About the Agency
The Australian Digital Health Agency is responsible for national digital health services and systems, with a focus on engagement, innovation and clinical quality and safety. Our focus is on putting data and technology safely to work for patients, consumers and the healthcare professionals who look after them.
About the Role
Under limited direction, the Insights Analyst is accountable for work that is complex in nature, playing a critical role in creating actionable insights which will drive customer experiences, innovation and behavioural change utilising quality data and evidence.
Applying initiative and judgement in signifying the value of insights through the analysis of internal and external data, the Insights Analyst will leverage data to inform the design of digital products and services and drive health innovation research projects in a fast-moving environment with agility and adaptability.
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Chinese hackers attack local media group
6:36PM February 9, 2022
Chinese state-affiliated hackers have targeted a major Australian media company, stealing passwords and data using a publicised vulnerability within hours of the software flaw being revealed.
The nation’s biggest cybersecurity company, CyberCX, said the attackers moved swiftly to exploit the Log4j vulnerability in December last year, gaining access to the company’s IT systems before it had a chance to patch the affected software.
CyberCX said those responsible for the attack used “tradecraft consistent with Chinese state-sponsored actors” to gain access to the company’s mobile devices management software.
The company – which was not News Corp and understood not to be Nine Entertainment – was initially notified of the security breach by the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The attack occurred on December 10 – the same day the Log4j vulnerability was publicised, sparking a rush by users around the world to close the potential backdoor.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/proda-looks-like-a-horror-show-for-certain-healthcare-providers/
11 February 2022
PRODA looks like a horror show for certain healthcare providers
Government Patient Management Systems
It’s a perfectly natural technology iteration for our healthcare services infrastructure, but beneath the PRODA deadline lies some seriously difficult issues for healthcare providers and digital health vendors which the government is either underestimating or thinking they will simply “push through”.
News earlier this month that our largest patient management vendor needs another three months or so to prepare properly for the new Medicare Web Services regime is late warning that the scale and ramifications of this impending change for healthcare providers is much bigger and worrying than many have so far realised.
It is understood that quite apart from the issues faced by the major primary care software vendors in meeting the deadline, nearly all hospital software vendors in the country won’t be able to meet the PRODA deadline either.
PRODA (provider digital access) is an online authentication system that Services Australia are starting to use to verify the identity of users who want to access important government online services.
In the case of healthcare providers, it will be needed to access the Department of Human Services (DHS) HPOS (Health Professional Online Services) which processes just about every important healthcare transaction you can think of (see Table below).
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https://www.seek.com.au/job/55882498?type=standout
Chief Clinical Adviser (SES Band 2 equivalent)
Australian Digital Health Agency
Brisbane CBD & Inner Suburbs
The Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency) is committed to the delivery of world-leading digital health capabilities. The Agency leads, coordinates, and innovates, in partnership with the health sector, across jurisdictions and with health consumers, to design and deliver seamless, safe and secure digital health services for the better health of all Australians.
Reporting to the CEO, the Chief Clinical Adviser provides timely, high-quality, clinical and medico‑political advice and guidance to the CEO and the senior executive leadership team. This advice, informed by current clinical practice, supports the strategic objectives and key priorities of the Agency and in a government context forms a key pillar of the Agency’s multi-faceted approach to clinical governance and assurance. The role also requires the Chief Clinical Adviser to provide thought leadership on future directions in digital health and to support the CEO in maintaining strong relationships with key clinical bodies and peak organisations, jurisdictional health colleagues and other key stakeholders.
To be successful in this role you will need high level understanding of and engagement in Australian digital health infrastructure and systems, together with sound technical knowledge of health data, analytics and other emerging digital health innovations. You will have extensive and ongoing clinical experience in the Australian health system with direct responsibility for the care of patients. You will have a strong network and be well regarded across the health sector. As a senior executive in the Agency, you will be expected to contribute strong contemporary leadership and direction and be able to build and manage effective relationships with senior government stakeholders and with a broad range of health peaks and other key bodies. As an expert clinician with a high-level understanding of Australia’s health policy environment you will represent the Agency as a media spokesperson and at relevant public forums.
Applicants must be practising clinicians and are expected to work on average 30 hours per fortnight.
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National digital ID plan sparks ‘Australia Card’ warnings
February 10, 2022 — 5.00am
The states and territories have agreed to work with the federal government on a national digital ID system, sparking fresh warnings from privacy advocates who have likened the proposal to the controversial ‘Australia Card’ plan of the 1980s.
A joint communique released this week outlined a proposed system that would allow Australians to create a verified online login that could then be connected to an array of state and federal services, potentially through platforms such as Services NSW, Service Victoria and the federal MyGov.
It could mean only one login would be required to prove a person’s identity, rather than supplying paper documents like a passport or birth certificate, when asking for a state service like a vehicle registration, a federal provision like welfare or potentially even when dealing with a business.
Federal authorities have been developing a digital identity system since 2015, and it is already in use for many Commonwealth services, but the communique issued this week from data and digital ministers confirms that states and territories are now involved in the process.
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Frequently asked questions – NASH Certificates.
How do I know if I need to renew my NASH PKI certificate?
Who in my organisation can renew the NASH PKI certificate?
I am a practice manager/pharmacy manager but have not been linked to my organisation as an OMO. What do I do?
What is the difference between SHA-1 and SHA-2 NASH PKI Certificates?
What happens if my NASH PKI certificate expires?
How do I know if my software is SHA-2 ready?
How do I renew my NASH PKI certificate?
Within the certificates tab, I do not have the option to renew my certificate, what does this mean?
If my software version is not compatible with NASH PKI SHA-2 and not included on the list, will I need to download a SHA-1 certificate?
If I renew my NASH PKI certificate and receive another SHA-1 certificate, will my digital health services (e.g. My Health Record and electronic prescriptions) still work post 13 March 2022?
If I have to download the SHA-1 certificate, when will it expire?
My organisation uses a software product from a Contracted Service Provider (CSP), do I still need to renew my NASH PKI certificate?
What about the transition to web services for Medicare and PBS claiming?
Who do I contact if I need more assistance in my NASH PKI certificate renewal?
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/asio-warns-of-increased-online-threat-landscape-575837
ASIO warns of increased online threat landscape
By Juha Saarinen on Feb 10, 2022 5:36AM
Foreign spies on dating apps.
The director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess, used an annual address to warn of a range of online threats, ranging from straight cyber criminality to radicalisation of young people and foreign intelligence service recruitment via social media and dating apps.
Burgess delivered the address from ASIO's headquarters and began by defending the national spy agency's drive for increased transparency.
Greater transparency could lead to increased trust, Burgess said, and help the spy agency in its own recruitment efforts.
Australia's threat landscape was complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic which has meant more people are going online and are working from home.
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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/careers/various-project-positions-infrastructure-delivery-section
Various Project Positions – Infrastructure Delivery Section
APS5
($90,901 - $98,303), APS6 ($101,757 - $114,800), EL1 ($125,047 - $142,618)
Technology
Services Division > Project Management
Brisbane,
Canberra, Sydney
Closing - 20 Feb 2022
Division Overview
Technology services – responsible for the operation of high quality, trusted, reliable and secure national digital health infrastructure and health support systems.
Primary purpose of position
All roles will be in the Technology Services Division which is responsible for the operation of high quality, trusted, reliable and secure national digital health infrastructure and health support systems.
APS5 Project Coordinator
In this role you will provide support to the Project Management Office (PMO) in driving best use of quality standards, frameworks, processes and governance for technology projects and assisting in project delivery support activities. You will have the opportunity to exercise both initiative and judgment in the application of project management practices and procedures to provide support in relation to a range of activities and problems. Project Management qualifications are desirable. The key skills and experience required include:
- providing administrative and project support to a program/ project management team
- ability to take the initiative to deliver own and teamwork tasks to agreed budgets, timeframes and standards
- clear and effective communication skills with a strong customer focus
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https://www.policycircle.org/life/are-digital-health-apps-useful/
Digital health apps: How useful are they?
J oe ThomasFebruary 7, 2022
There is an exponential growth in the number of digital health apps available on Google Play and App Store. It is estimated that there were 53,054 Android apps and 53,979 iOS apps available in the beginning of last year (L. Ceci). Innovation in the digital health domain is taking place at an unprecedented scale. Studies found that about 25% of the adults aged between 18 and 34 years were using at least one health app.
Digital health is an umbrella term that discusses a range of information technologies that can collect health-related data and share health information. This includes mobile health applications (apps), electronic health records, telehealth, telemedicine, wearable devices, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Digital apps are expected to provide a new approach to the health and wellbeing of the users. Apps are supposed to help users and sponsors to take proactive action on individual and public health. Apps encourage users to access widely accepted health and medical facts to help them understand more about their conditions. This may help them engage in more productive discussions with healthcare providers. Health and medical apps also help collect more systematic data on health and wellness conditions.
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https://marketplace.service.gov.au/2/digital-marketplace/opportunities/18932
Australian Digital Health Agency
1 x Systems Safety Lead
Opportunity ID 18932
Deadline for asking questions Thursday 10 February 2022 at 6pm (in Canberra)
Application closing date Monday 14 February 2022 at 6pm (in Canberra)
Published Tuesday 8 February 2022
Category Agile delivery and Governance
Overview
The Systems Safety Lead is the primary owner of the Agency’s Clinical Assurance methodologies. This includes responsibility for embedding system safety engineering principles to the methodologies within the context of the Agency Clinical Governance and Risk Management Frameworks. This role provides direction and advice to the section and broader Agency on applying clinical assurance methodologies to product design, development, deployment, and operational use. This role requires a specialist with expert knowledge who can operate where there is uncertainty and limited direction and a need for judgment to be applied. The successful candidate will have proven abilities in probing information and identifying critical gaps and recommending viable solutions. An emphasis is to ensure the methodologies provide a firm foundation for contemporary clinical safety management.
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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/careers/various-project-positions-infrastructure-delivery-section
Various Project Positions – Infrastructure Delivery Section
APS5
($90,901 - $98,303), APS6 ($101,757 - $114,800), EL1 ($125,047 - $142,618)
Technology
Services Division > Project Management
Brisbane,
Canberra, Sydney
Closing - 20 Feb 2022
Division Overview
Technology services – responsible for the operation of high quality, trusted, reliable and secure national digital health infrastructure and health support systems.
Primary purpose of position
All roles will be in the Technology Services Division which is responsible for the operation of high quality, trusted, reliable and secure national digital health infrastructure and health support systems.
APS5 Project Coordinator
In this role you will provide support to the Project Management Office (PMO) in driving best use of quality standards, frameworks, processes and governance for technology projects and assisting in project delivery support activities. You will have the opportunity to exercise both initiative and judgment in the application of project management practices and procedures to provide support in relation to a range of activities and problems. Project Management qualifications are desirable. The key skills and experience required include:
- providing administrative and project support to a program/ project management team
- ability to take the initiative to deliver own and teamwork tasks to agreed budgets, timeframes and standards
- clear and effective communication skills with a strong customer focus
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Google hits out at Australian media code as US reviews laws
By Zoe Samios
February 7, 2022 — 5.00am
Search advertising giant Google has hit out at Australia’s media bargaining laws, telling a US government department the legislation would be unworkable and harm democracy in the world’s largest economy.
Australia’s news media bargaining code came into effect last February. Google initially fiercely opposed the code, but it eventually relented with chief executive Sundar Pichai describing the laws to this masthead as “the right construct” allowing it to support news publishers.
However, in a submission to the US Copyright Office, which is reviewing the country’s media laws, the search giant indicated it is still strongly opposed to the framework of paying publishers for the ability to link to their news stories.
“While no digital platform has been designated under the code at this stage, we believe that it should not be replicated,” the submission says.
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https://www.fool.com.au/2022/02/08/2-small-cap-asx-shares-to-handsomely-reward-patient-investors/
2 small-cap ASX shares to handsomely reward patient investors
Ask A Fund Manager: SG Hiscock’s Rory Hunter reveals the 2 little-known stocks that will put smiles on investor faces in the long run.
Published February 8, 8:30am AEDT
Hottest ASX shares
The Motley Fool: What are the 2 best stock buys right now?
Rory Hunter: As the small companies guy, I’d probably mention two smaller caps in this space at the moment, with the caveat of course that within a rising rate environment, you’re going to get to the valuation-multiple compression. So one would have to be quite patient with the stock picks.
The first one I’d mention would be a company called Beamtree Holdings Ltd (ASX: BMT).
So Beamtree used to be known as PKS Holding, which, I think, was Pacific Knowledge Systems. Basically, it’s a technology that works — they capture, manage, and analyse and review AI [artificial intelligence] analysis to provide to decision support systems — to doctors in hospital settings.
Operating in the same space — data analytics or health IT — as the likes of Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC), Mach7 Technologies Ltd (ASX: M7T), and others.
The first thing I’d say is, Beamtree is a fantastic growth profile. We see the prospect of them getting to about $50 million of ARR [annual recurring revenue] over the next 3 to 5 years from a base of around $10 million they are now. They operate in over 20 countries, 4 continents.
From a valuation perspective, they’re trading on about 5 times ARR currently.
If you look at the wider sector, you’ll probably get valuation multiples of, from about 9 to 15 times sales. So with the growth profile, we’re protective of the functionality that they have. Customer satisfaction, they have 99% client retention. We think that they’re fantastically placed to continue to grow really strongly.
Within the healthcare industry, something that’s key to remember, is that when customers come to making a decision on buying a product, technology or anything, a lot of the time it’s about the people involved. They need to be able to trust the people that they’re buying from.
Tim Kelsey, who’s the CEO of Beamtree, he’s got a fantastic reputation in the industry. He was previously the national director for patients and information in the NHS in the UK. He’s incredibly well connected in this space and has a very reputable track record.
So bringing all of that together in a really good place.
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Privacy commissioner in court win against Facebook
5:55PM February 7, 2022
Tech giant Facebook has lost a case in the Federal Court against Australia’s privacy watchdog, with the full bench of the court dismissing Facebook’s appeal that it had lodged on the grounds that it doesn’t actually operate in Australia.
The judgment paves the way for a larger case to now proceed against Facebook over its privacy settings and how it handles user data.
The case relates to the now-infamous Cambridge Analytica data analysis firm and its personality quiz ‘This is Your Digital Life’, which the Australian Information Commissioner alleges unlawfully disclosed the personal information of thousands of Australians between 2014 and 2015.
When launching Federal Court action in 2020, Commissioner Angelene Falk said that Facebook had breached Australian privacy law and that its “opaque” privacy settings made it difficult to exercise control over their own data.
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By Susan Bradley, Contributing Writer, Computerworld | 1 February 2022 4:30 AEDT
The basics of patching and repairing balky Windows PCs
When your Windows machine starts acting up, there are some simple ways to get things back on track.
When you have a Windows computer and have to deal with Microsoft patches, hard drives that die, and hard drives that should be updated to solid-state drives (SSDs), there are a few key tasks you need to know how to do.
This month’s updates turned out be disruptive for business patchers. For domain controllers and Server 2012 R2 virtual servers, in particular, users had to uninstall the January updates to keep their hardware from rebooting. I often see users deal with patching side effects by rolling back hardware to a saved recovery point. Instead, I recommend uninstalling the problematic update until it’s fixed.
To do so, open Settings, then go to Update and Security, then go to Windows Updates. Click on Advanced options and choose “Uninstall updates.” The list of updates will open and you can uninstall the ones you want to get rid of by right-clicking on them. Once they’re uninstalled, go back into the Windows Update section and pause updates until Microsoft fixes the offending update. (It’s useful to keep an eye on the Windows health release dashboard where Microsoft lists known issues and workarounds.)
For the updates released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday) it usually takes Microsoft a week to acknowledge problems and post workarounds. That’s why I recommend pausing updates for at least a week, if not longer, so any major side effects can be identified before you proceed.
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https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/are-older-lgbt-australians-being-forgotten/209715
Are Older LGBT Australians Being Forgotten?
Linc Jenkin — February 7, 2022
It’s 2022 and it’s never been a worse time to be an older person or indeed, to be getting older!
And it’s a place that we are all going to be, eventually and yet, the level of shrug about the challenges that older Australians face is bewildering to many of us who are facing the prospect of ending up in these places in the next 20, 30, 40 years time.
It’s especially tough for LGBTQI Australians who are already accessing home care or currently living in an aged care facility. Not only do older LGBTQI Australians have to contend with all the challenges that heterosexual older Australians do, they have their own set of unique challenges to overcome.
Older LGBTQI Face Unique Challenges
Nicky Bath, Chief Executive Officer of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia spoke to Star Observer about the distinctive challenges that the older members of our communities are facing.
“LGBTQI older people have particular and unique needs. This is due to historic and continuing experiences of discrimination, criminalisation, stigma, poorer health and wellbeing outcomes, and invisibility within the aged care system. Older people who are trans and gender diverse and intersex people can face difficulty accessing their specific medical needs. Trans and gender diverse older people routinely report failure to use correct pronouns.”
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Cyber security: Social media and social engineering
Published 7 February 2022
In this podcast, find out how to minimise the risk of your information being used in ‘social engineered’ cyber-attacks.
Speakers include: Dr Andrew Rochford (Facilitator), Donna Alexander (Agency Cyber Security Professional), Greg Gebhart (Senior Trainer, eSafety Commission), Dr Shane Jackson (Director of the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy and former national president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia).
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David.
