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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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Google Australia revenue surges $2bn, tax bill little changed
4:13PM May 27, 2022
Google Australia’s tax bill edged up only slightly last year despite the tech titan booking an extra $2bn in revenue.
The Australian arm of Alphabet, which manages payments for its advertising reseller business, cloud services and hardware sales, booked $7.2bn in gross revenue in calendar 2021, up from $5.2bn the previous year, with the vast majority coming from its online advertising business.
The company says in its annual financial report, lodged this week, that $6.1bn was generated from advertising reseller revenue, with the rest split between cloud reseller revenue, service revenue and hardware revenue.
But given that Google processes its advertising revenue offshore through Singapore under its Google Asia Pacific arm, its revenue reported to the Australian regulator was $1.71bn — the amount it was paid as a reseller of services — up from $1.39bn.
Net profit jumped by 77.8 per cent from $185.5m to $329.9m, while the current tax charge was $84.9m, up from $76.5m, up just 10.9 per cent.
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Roundup: Pen CS names ex-AMA official as chief medical advisor and more briefs
Also, New Zealand's Pharmaceutical Management Agency has developed an assessment tool to guide clinicians in issuing COVID-19 antiviral treatments.
By Adam Ang
May 26, 2022 10:51 PM
Pen CS appoints former AMA official as chief medical advisor
Health informatics firm Pen CS has named Dr Kean-Seng Lim as its new chief medical advisor.
Dr Lim is a general practitioner at Mt Druitt Medical Centre in western Sydney. He previously held leadership roles as president of the New South Wales chapter of the Australian Medical Association from 2018 to 2020, as well as a board member of the Western Sydney Primary Health Network.
In 2015, he was named the GP of the Year by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
According to a media release, Dr Lim will provide clinical governance and oversight to the Pen CS ecosystem of health technology solutions for primary care and population health.
He will head both of the company's clinical advisory and data governance committees while also guiding the design of Pen CS's product roadmap.
Commenting on his appointment, Pen CS CEO Edweana Wenkart said: "Dr Lim has a unique view of primary care, in that, he understands both macro and micro requirements – for technology it is clinical workflow and patient activation – to achieve a value-based healthcare system. His experience at the population, provider, and patient levels is matched to the Pen CS ecosystem".
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‘Dystopian’: Govt-endorsed education apps surveilling Australian children
Denham
Sadler
National Affairs Editor
26 May 2022
A number of education apps and websites endorsed by Australian governments and used throughout the pandemic have been surveilling and tracking children and sending their data to advertisers, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
The New South Wales and Victorian governments have announced inquiries into the education technologies (EdTech) used in schools in the states in response to the report, released on Wednesday.
The NSW Privacy Commissioner has also confirmed they are making “further enquiries” into the issues raised in the report.
The Human Rights Watch report examined 164 EdTech products – apps and websites – and found that 146 (89 per cent) appeared to engage in data practices that put children’s rights at risk, contributed to undermining them, or actively infringed on these rights.
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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/606538/Kiwi-AI-tool-launches-in-India.htm
Kiwi AI tool launches in India
Wednesday, 25 May 2022
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
An Artificial Intelligence retinal screening tool,
developed in New Zealand, is being used in 20 eye clinics in India and is about
to launch in the United States.
THEIA has been created by Toku Eyes and provides diabetic screening to detect signs of eye
disease. Clinical trials were held at Counties Manukau DHB in its central and
satellite units, as well as a private optometrist in Palmerston North.
Co-founder Ehsan Vaghefi says the company has been working hard over the past
year to convert the AI from a research tool into a medical product and it is
now registered in India and the United States as such.
The medical product includes the development of a special camera to take the
necessary images, clinical audit functionality and a platform to capture
patient information and present the results to clinicians.
The new technology is now being used in the largest eye hospital chain in the
world, Aravind in India, which sees around four million patients a year and
performs around 500,000 eye surgeries.
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Meta updates privacy policy with more detail about what data it collects
The social media giant assured it's not collecting any new data, but just wants to make its privacy policy easier to understand.
Meta said after being "inspired" by user feedback and privacy experts, the company has rewritten its privacy policy "to make it easier to understand".
The updated policy, formerly referred to as its data policy, now provides examples of what information is collected, and how it is used, shared, retained, and transferred, including with the type of third parties. New controls to manage who can view a post and the topic users want to see ads about has also been included.
Meta has also used illustrations, a video, and a table to present the information, instead of relying on a giant wall of text.
"Our goal with this update is to be more clear about our data practices … At Meta, we've always set out to build personalized experiences that provide value without compromising your privacy. So, it's on us to have strong protections for the data we use and be transparent about how we use it," Meta product chief privacy officer Michael Protti said in a blog post.
Protti also assured while the text might look slightly different, Meta is "not collecting, using, or sharing data in new ways …. and we still do not sell your information".
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Doctors aren't formally taught to write medical letters - some are telegrams, others literary masterpieces
Dr Oliver is a GP in Sydney, NSW. You can find her blog on Twitter @thatladydoctor.
27th May 2022
Having recently been the subject of correspondence between my GP and several specialists, I’ve been reflecting on the slightly archaic art of medical letter writing.
I don’t remember ever being formally taught to write letters. I think maybe you just pick it up from sidelong glances at other doctors’ letters.
Who among us doesn't remember our first few weeks wrestling with the dictaphone as the entire office of admin staff, nurses and other doctors listen in?
After gliding over the address, list of recipients and specialties with complete poise, you come to that first line: “Dear Margaret, I saw Fred today in clinic with his wife, Jean. He…” and then all comes apart, and you begin adding your own wear and tear to the stop and rewind buttons.
When the letters come back from the typist, you can see your stream of medical consciousness in unpolished print. And you’re embarrassed because that’s what it must sound like when you actually speak.
Some letters are pieces of literature.
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35612152/
A Log Analysis Exploring the Predictors of Electronic Health Record Access by Clinicians for Consumers Aged ≥65 Who Present to the Emergency Department
Alexandra Mullins 1 2 , Helen Skouteris 3 4 , Heather Morris 3 , Joanne Enticott 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 35612152
- DOI: 10.3233/SHTI220531
Abstract
Electronic health records are widely implemented, yet little is understood around adoption and use in the ED setting. Older patients (≥65) are a cohort likely to benefit from use. The primary outcome (MHR access) was explored using logistic regression of 9 independent variables. 28.33% of patients had their MHR accessed within 3 days of presenting. Access is more likely when patients arrive via urgent ambulance and/or are triaged as critical.
Keywords: My Health Record; electronic health record; emergency department; hospital; medical system.
LinkOut - more resources
· Full Text Sources
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https://itwire.com/business-it-sp-511/business-it/medcart-hits-$10-million-in-annual-sales.html
Thursday, 26 May 2022 11:38
Medcart hits $10 million in annual sales
Health and medical start-up Medcart has achieved annual sales of close to $10 million in less than 12 months with the help of tech platform Marketplacer.
“We spotted a gap in the market for high-quality PPE items in Australia,” comments Medcart founder Phil Leahy. “Thanks to the power of the Marketplacer team, we were able to design the portal and have it up and running in just one month.”
“Ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic was causing strong demand for PPE. Many health facilities and care providers have struggled to obtain sufficient stock of everything from face masks and protective visors to scrubs and gloves,” Leahy said.
“There was no mechanism in place to assist staff to locate manufacturers and place PPE orders,” Leahy added.
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https://www.health.gov.au/news/music-therapy-ehealth-supporting-people-with-dementia
Music therapy eHealth supporting people with dementia
A music therapist and a human-computer interaction expert help carers use music to calm people with dementia.
Date published: 26 May 2022
Type: News
Intended audience: General public
Music therapy
‘Music therapy helps to calm people with dementia if they experience states of agitation,’ says Professor Felicity Baker, University of Melbourne. Felicity’s research shows that singing to people with dementia improves their symptoms. ‘This is amazing because dementia is a degenerative disease,’ she says.
‘Music also generates autobiographical recall. If someone with dementia listens to music they know, it stimulates their memories. That helps to calm the person.’
Felicity wants the benefits of music therapy to be widely available. She created the Homeside study, used in countries around the world. This program guides carers to use music to help people with dementia complete everyday tasks.
Computer music therapy
But carers cannot always be present. So Felicity’s team is working with Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, to develop an eHealth music therapy application.
Dr David Silvera, Australian eHealth Research Centre, CSIRO, is one of the project’s technical leads. He is an expert in autonomous systems and human-computer interaction. David’s team will design the algorithm that chooses what music to play to the person with dementia.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/without-data-healthcare-is-a-game-of-chance/69815
25 May 2022
Without data, healthcare is a game of chance
By Wendy John
What happens when a GP turns into a data analyst? Fewer ‘unlucky’ patients and a bridge across the equity gap.
Dr David Dembo says that data is full of signals that can help transform healthcare.
That data might be a fluctuating heart rate, or the fact a teenager is listening to Barry Manilow – it all has a story to tell, we just need to listen.
A former GP, Dr Dembo now heads up Health Catalyst Australia and New Zealand. In this episode of The Tea Room he speaks about how to use patient engagement tools, such as automated communication and remote monitoring, in a non-invasive way to augment care and maintain visibility before, during and after treatment periods.
“Modern medicine is far too complex for humans unaided by technology to practise safely. That means you need data-informed decision-making at the point of care delivery. And the data is there, it just needs to be aggregated, read, cleansed and repurposed in a meaningful way,” Dr Dembo said.
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Opportunities for women in digital health to lead a new frontier (and why it’s worth celebrating)
24 May, 2022
Last year, the inaugural Brilliant Connected Women in Digital Health awards demonstrated how women in digital health have led us through a period of vast uncertainty in recent times, and while we may be turning a corner on the COVID-19 pandemic there remains considerable scope for women in this sector to lead a new frontier.
Professor Mary Foley AM, Managing Director at Telstra Health notes for example a big opportunity to minimise the gender gap in the ICT sector as more women rise in digital health.
“Digital health has enormous potential to lead the ICT sector in the representation of women in influential roles, securing the benefits of gender diversity in improving technology and improving patient outcomes,” she says.
However, one of the most pressing issues facing the digital health sector in Australia remains attracting and retaining the best talent. To ensure the sector is continually evolving and innovating, it’s critical that women are afforded the right pathways from clinical roles and supported holistically to stay.
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Facebook ‘prepared for months’ for news ban
4:22PM May 22, 2022
Facebook was preparing internally for Australia’s landmark news bargaining code for at least five months, despite later blaming a “technical error” when it blocked charities, government services and critical health organisations amid bushfires and the pandemic.
Changes made by Facebook to its user terms of service announced publicly on September 2, 2020 show that the tech giant was working behind the scenes to limit any legal fallout from Australia’s impending news media bargaining code, which became law in February 2021, forcing tech companies including Facebook to pay millions of dollars to news publishers.
The addition, which was effective from October 1, 2020 and remains in Facebook’s terms of service, reads: “We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.”
In February 2021, a week before the parliament vote on the media bargaining laws, Facebook said it would remove news from its platform. However, the pages that were removed included hospitals, charities, emergency services and even the government. Whistleblowers earlier this month came forward alleging the take-down was a deliberate tactic to wreak havoc and maximise leverage in its fight against the federal government, while Facebook claims its failings were “inadvertent.”
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Facebook’s conduct is ‘inexplicable’, says Rod Sims
12:01AM May 23, 2022
Australia’s former competition tsar Rod Sims has taken aim at Facebook’s unwillingness to engage with legitimate publishers under the terms of the news media bargaining code, and warned that the social media giant could face sanctions if it continues to thumb its nose at the legislation.
In a report to be published by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism on Monday, Professor Sims, who was chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for almost 11 years until March this year, says it is “inexplicable” that Facebook has “arbitrarily” decided that it no longer wishes to engage with Australian publishers and news content providers who would be eligible for payment under the news media bargaining code.
Last year, around 20 media businesses, including News Corp (publisher of The Australian) struck commercial deals with Google and Facebook to ensure the digital giants paid a fair sum to news companies for the use of their content.
The news media bargaining code came into effect in March 2021, with the understanding that Google and Facebook would continue to negotiate and strike deals with news publishers where appropriate.
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/healing-healthcare-strain-and-inequity-with-data/69457
23 May 2022
Healing healthcare strain and inequity with data
Advanced analytics, AI and automation can help the system cut waste and use every dollar well.
The strain on Australia’s healthcare sector will not diminish, but continue to compound. While it’s positive to see different sides of politics make health system performance a priority, it’s crucial to move away from short-term fixes.
Instead, we need to resolve the root causes of existing constraints, and these are largely clinical variation, limited care coordination and insufficient early intervention. The long-term performance of the sector depends on it.
With the election behind us, there are major opportunities to convert pre-election discourse into outcomes for healthcare, and for the benefit of all Australians, by expanding the use of data and automation to overcome the aforementioned challenges.
Healthcare funding was predictably a focal point of the election campaign. The reality is there is likely to be sufficient funding in our healthcare budgets provided we can identify and remove waste from the system. Healthcare waste accounts for up to half of all healthcare expenditures. They arise from workflow inefficiencies, poor communication, inappropriate treatment, missed treatment opportunities and insufficient meaningful information exchanges.
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David.
