-----
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.
-----
https://events.humanitix.com/digital-health-tips-for-busy-parents-skmoy8r9
Good
Things Foundation Australia
Digital health tips for busy parents
Tue 9th Aug
2022, 10:00 am - 11:00 am AEST
Price FREE
Event description
Learning
how to use digital health can be a valuable time saver for busy parents. Join
our free webinar to gain practical tips on how to manage your child’s health
using reliable online tools such as using their My Health Record to store
information on allergies, reactions, vaccination records and much more!
This
is an online event held via Zoom. You will receive a link by email to join the
event after you register.
To
join this event, you will need:
- Enough data to stream a 1 hour video
- A device that can access the
internet eg smartphone, tablet or computer
- A quiet place to sit
with headphones or speakers to listen to the event (your device
may have a speaker built in)
- An email address to get your link to
join the event
- Be able to access Zoom on your
device (watch this video tutorial for hints if you are
new to Zoom)
You
can register for this event as:
- An individual - to watch online at
home or at work by yourself
- A group - to watch online with
others such as on a large screen with your community group
This
webinar is being presented by Good Things Foundation Australia as
part of our Your Health in Your Hands program. Find out more about our digital health
literacy programs and webinars.
-----
https://www.innovationaus.com/broader-review-of-mygov-platform-is-on-the-cards/
Broader review of myGov platform is on the cards
Denham
Sadler
National Affairs Editor
27 July 2022
The
new Labor government has been advised that a “broader review”
of myGov may be needed to shape the future of the platform, as “underlying
complexities” continue to plague efforts to integrate services onto it.
Under
an election campaign policy, an audit is currently underway into the
reliability, functionality and user-friendly experience of myGov following
“ongoing disappointments” with its performance.
In
a briefing to Government Services minister Bill Shorten, released following a
Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Social Services
acknowledged this audit but said that a wider ranging review may be required.
“A
broader review of myGov functionality and user experience within the context of
a large and complex whole-of-government digital ecosystem would support future
shaping of the myGov platform,” the incoming brief said.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/we-re-all-guilty-of-using-technology-as-the-digital-babysitter-20220728-p5b5h5.html
‘We’re all guilty of using technology as the digital
babysitter’
By Konrad Marshall
July 30, 2022 — 5.00am
Julie
Inman Grant leads the world’s first regulatory agency designed to keep people
safe online, after an influential career working with US Congress, as well as
in senior positions at Silicon Valley giants Microsoft and Twitter.
But
she’s also just a mum, albeit one who understands better than most the
pressures parents face in keeping their kids out of harm’s way online.
“My
daughter is 16 years old,” says Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, “and I knew
that the world was going to be very different when she was about three, and was
more interested in playing with my phone than she was playing with a doll.”
Fast-forward
to her current experience with 10-year-old twins, and the challenge feels even
bigger. “They say, ‘Mum, every kid except for us has a phone.’ And … they’re
just not ready yet,” she says. “They just don’t have the cognitive ability to
self-regulate, to deal with the content, conduct, and a whole range of other
things that we need to prepare them for.”
-----
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/racfs-prescribing-changes-an-important-step-forwar
RACFs prescribing changes ‘an important step forward’
Adoption of
electronic medication charts in residential aged care facilities could be ‘a
game changer’ for GPs who provide aged care.
Morgan Liotta
29 Jul 2022
In
the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s final
report, recommendation 68 calls for ‘universal adoption by the aged
care sector of digital technology and My Health Record’.
In response, the Department of Health and Aged Care engaged the Australian
Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to develop online resources to
support the rollout of electronic
National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC) services.
From July, all residential aged care services (RACFs) now have the option to adopt
transitional eNRMC products to better support medication management.
Under a Transitional Arrangement, prescribers in RACFs can use transitional
eNRMC products for PBS medication chart prescribing, dispensing and
administration, eliminating the need for paper medication charts or
prescriptions.
-----
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/taskforce-prepares-to-tackle-medicare-failings
Taskforce prepares to tackle Medicare failings
Members of a
new taskforce are preparing to gather to address one of the biggest issues
facing Australia’s health system: fixing Medicare.
Jolyon Attwooll
28 Jul 2022
Health
professionals and advocates tasked with solving long-standing issues with
Medicare will meet for the first time on Friday.
Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler this
week confirmed the 17 members of what he called a ‘diverse’ group
making up the Government’s new Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
They are being asked to collaborate on solutions to make it easier for patients
to see GPs, as well as ease pressure on hospitals and reform the Medicare
system. The taskforce’s stated aims also include improved patient affordability
and better management of chronic conditions.
RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price is the college’s representative
on the taskforce, which will be chaired by Minister Butler.
Professor Price says she is relishing the opportunity to be involved and
advocate for substantial reforms to help GPs meet the challenges in providing
patient-centred care.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/deepmind-cracks-structure-of-nearly-all-known-proteins/news-story/c9baec752ebcc510a179878d31439f0f
DeepMind cracks structure of nearly all known proteins
By Rhys
Blakely
The Times
July 29, 2022
Almost every
protein known to science has been revealed in a breakthrough that could
transform our understanding of biology and accelerate the discovery of
lifesaving drugs.
DeepMind, the
artificial intelligence company, said it had used an AI system to predict the
3D shape of more than 200 million proteins – from every creature, plant and
microbe that has had its DNA sequenced.
Professor
Venki Ramakrishnan, a Nobel prize-winning chemist, said: “This represents a
stunning advance on the protein-folding problem, a 50-year-old grand challenge
in biology.”
He said it
would “fundamentally change biological research”.
Proteins are
at the heart of life. The antibodies that fend off germs are proteins, as are
the enzymes that power basic biological processes. The functions they perform
are dictated by how they fold into complex 3D structures.
Working out
the shape of proteins had previously required expensive and time-consuming
experiments that frequently failed to deliver answers.
-----
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0000bc77-521b-4671-9b8a-3c16bbf02eef
Q&A: the data protection legal framework in
Australia
Piper Alderman - Andrea Beatty, Andrew Rankin, Craig Subocz, Joshua Annese
and Lis Boyce
Australia July 27 2022
Law
and the regulatory authority
Legislative framework
Summarise
the legislative framework for the protection of personal information (PI). Does
your jurisdiction have a dedicated data protection law? Is the data protection
law in your jurisdiction based on any international instruments or laws of
other jurisdictions on privacy or data protection?
The
legislative framework in Australia is based on both federal laws and state and
territory laws.
At
the federal level, the collection, use, disclosure and holding of personal
information by an agency or organisation to which the Australian Privacy
Principles (APPs) apply, including Australian Commonwealth government agencies
and most private organisations (excluding small businesses with an annual
turnover of less than A$3 million unless they engage in certain activities –
see below), is governed by the Privacy
Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The
Privacy Act incorporates 13 APPs and facilitates additional obligations being
imposed on specific sectors by the registration of additional Privacy Codes
such as the Credit Reporting Code.
Most
Australian states and territories have adopted their own regimes for collecting
and handling personal information and for collecting and handling health
information that applies to either public sector providers only or both public
sector and other health service providers. The state and territory legislative
framework is summarised in the table below.
-----
https://itwire.com/business-it-news/security/%e2%80%98impersonation%e2%80%99-scams-still-plague-consumers.html
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:18
Impersonation scams still plague consumers
By Staff
Writer
Consumers
have been warned about ongoing scams where scammers are impersonating
well-known telecommunications or tech companies like Telstra, NBN Co and
Microsoft.
The alert has
come from Australia’s telecommunications industry regulator the Australian
Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) which says it is aware of ongoing
reports of the scams and poses the question - “Have you received unsolicited
calls from people saying there is a problem with your computer and offering to
fix it?” - and warning that “it’s likely to be a scam”.
“They make
claims to alarm you, such as your broadband has been hacked or your computer
has a virus or there are issues with your internet or phone connection,” the
ACMA says.
“These
scammers will often pretend to be ‘support desk’ or ‘technical support’ staff
and ask to remotely access your computer to identify and fix the problem. They
may also ask for your personal and/or financial details to pay a service fee or
ask you to buy unnecessary software as part of a fix.”
-----
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=b612e859-60bb-465e-86ce-a3a10cf276fa
Facial recognition and artificial intelligence in
Australia. Do we need more rules?
Gilbert + Tobin
- Simon Burns, Jen Bradley, Sophie Bogard
and Amelia
Harvey
Australia July 25 2022
The
use of facial recognition technology has been in the spotlight recently,
following news that some Australian retailers have been using facial
recognition technology to capture the biometric data of customers in their
stores. The news has re-sparked a debate about whether Australia’s existing
laws are adequate to regulate facial recognition technologies and AI systems.
Privacy
Act and the collection of biometric data
One
of the few existing regulations in Australia surrounding the use of AI systems
is the Privacy
Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), in circumstances where the AI
system uses personal information. In addition, and relevant to facial
recognition systems, the Privacy Act requires regulated entities to meet a
higher standard of conduct for the collection of biometric data that is to be
used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric
identification, which is considered to be ‘sensitive information’ under the
Act. Entities regulated by the Privacy Act cannot collect such biometric
information from individuals unless:
- the individual has consented to the
collection of the information (consent can be implied, but the OAIC
expects that consent be informed, voluntary, current and specific and be
given by a person who has capacity); and
- the information is reasonably
necessary for one or more of the entity’s functions or activities, (or
other specific exceptions apply).
Consequently,
if an entity regulated by the Privacy Act decided to use a facial recognition
system, it would be necessary for it to comply with these conditions in respect
of the collection of any biometric information by the facial recognition
system. Additionally, the entity would need to provide individuals adequate
notice that this kind of information was collected by the entity, for example
by disclosing the collection in the entity’s privacy policy and any privacy
collection notice.
-----
https://wildhealth.net.au/hospital-operations-why-is-it-clinicals-poor-cousin/
21 July 2022
Hospital operations: why is it clinical’s poor cousin?
Sponsored
Breaking
down the complexity of Australian hospitals.
If
you’ve ever been to a city emergency room, you know they are incredibly busy
places, full of organised chaos.
At
any one time, there is often a long list of people waiting – children with
fractured arms, grandparents nursing broken bones, men who have tussled with
lawnmowers and lost – and those people are all destined to meet at least four
or five clinical professionals who will assist them during their visit.
They
may be triaged, examined by a doctor, have an x-ray by a radiologist and be
checked on by a nurse.
But
while they wait for medical attention, they will see an absolute mass of people
– hundreds of professionals moving purposefully about rooms, corridors and
stations doing their jobs.
-----
https://wildhealth.net.au/is-this-the-dark-before-the-dawn/
26 July 2022
Is this the dark before the dawn?
By Ben Chiarella
We
have the opportunity to make major reforms to our healthcare system, but will
we take it?
BA.5
is here, and you only have to look at last week’s paper with the headline
“Albanese calls emergency national cabinet meeting as premiers push for
pandemic leave reboot” to realise we are far from out of the covid mess.
Only
last week on my way back from the gym I heard that yet another variant of
concern – BA.2.75 – is now emerging in India. Although it’s still too early to
tell, we know there will be more mutations before the year is out and we
certainly aren’t out of the woods just yet.
There
is a feeling of Deja vu about these headlines, but after almost 3 years of wave
after wave, variant after variant, it appears that globally frontline workers
are done and internationally healthcare systems are struggling.
For
the first time in recent years the Nursing and Midwifery Council register in
the UK reported 25,219 and another 1780 Midwives and dual registered
Nurse/Midwives left the profession in 21-22. It was an increase of 13% from
20-21. A report released in Australia back in March 2022 on the Australian
Nursing workforce reported more than two thirds of our workforce are
experiencing ‘burnout’, and there are real fears of a mass exodus from the
profession in the coming years.
-----
https://wildhealth.net.au/what-if-amazon-starts-buying-gp-businesses-in-australia/
28 July 2022
What if Amazon starts buying GP businesses in
Australia?
By Jeremy Knibbs
“Alexa,
I need a doctor … now”.
Who
seriously thinks this isn’t coming to a lounge room near them, in the
not-too-distant future, even in Australia’s far, far away, interoperability
challenged, slow-moving and risk-averse healthcare system?
There
are four horseman of the digital apocalypse we all know we have to be careful
about: Google, Amazon, Meta (Facebook) and Apple.
They
all have global digital platforms which are root and branch entwined with our
everyday personal and working digital lives, they all have more capital and
influence than they know what to do with, and they all have expressed a strong
desire to rule healthcare one day.
Three
and half years ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook made the out-of-the-blue statement that
“If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question,
‘What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’ It will be about
health.”
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/free-speech-no-defence-bullying-social-media-warns-ahpra
'Free speech' no defence for bullying on social media,
warns AHPRA
'The standard
we walk past is the standard we accept,' the watchdog says in a public
statement
26th July
2022
By Staff writer
AHPRA
has issued a fresh warning to doctors that using social media to bully, harass
or intimidate cannot be defended on the grounds of free speech.
The
watchdog's statement, issued jointly with the Medical Board of Australia on
Monday, comes in the wake of the Dr David Berger case.
The
WA GP was recently sanctioned for unprofessional conduct over a series of
social media posts using “emotive and pejorative language” which, according to
AHPRA, implied politicians, governments, doctors and pharma companies were
acting deceptively.
It
sparked a backlash from a group of 18 high-profile doctors and academics who
said that Dr Berger’s posts were part of his campaign for tougher measures to
protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-----
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/governments-go-digital-to-rebuild-trust-20220726-p5b4sc
Governments go digital to rebuild trust
The new buzzwords for bureaucracy are trust and transparency.
Can they deliver – and at what cost?
Jennifer Hewett Columnist
Updated Jul
26, 2022 – 5.55pm, first published at 5.40pm
Several
years ago, Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital
Government, toured Uber’s operations to see how it used
real-time data to understand and manage consumer demand.
He
was so excited about the potential for a similar level of customer-focused,
efficient delivery for government services, he insisted his senior bureaucrats
take the same tour.
At
the time, he concedes a lot of his political colleagues just thought he was
crazy, while his passion for digital was largely dismissed as “playing in the
kids’ corner” rather than the real reform of big players such as transport,
education and health.
By
now, the NSW government is mired in political debacle about a distinctly old-fashioned
“jobs for the boys” scandal, but even other state governments
privately concede NSW’s model of digital services delivery is the most advanced
in Australia.
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/government-warned-against-digital-id-scope-creep-20220726-p5b4r5
Government warned against digital ID scope creep
Paul Smith Technology
editor
Jul 26, 2022
– 6.32pm
Top
state and federal bureaucrats say that unnecessary complexity could risk
efforts to create a national digital identity because, while people have moved
past 1980s reservations about an Australia Card, they will only use it if it is
simple.
Speaking
at The Australian Financial Review Government
Services Summit in Canberra on Tuesday, NSW minister for digital and
customer service Victor Dominello, Victorian privacy and data protection deputy
commissioner Rachel Dixon and Western Australia’s chief digital officer Jonas
Petersen discussed the evolution of government efforts to let people identify
themselves online.
On
Tuesday, Mastercard announced it had been accredited as the third external
credential provider – after Australia Post and EFTPOS – to the federal
government’s trusted digital identity framework (TDIF). However, Summit
speakers said different state-based and commercial schemes risked making things
too complex for people.
The
TDIF is an attempt to give Australians a digital identity credential, with
which they can transact with government and other accredited bodies, and both
sides can trust that the individual is not an imposter.
-----
https://www.afr.com/politics/budget-cuts-needed-after-1b-blowout-in-business-registry-revealed-20220726-p5b4qc
Budget cuts needed after $1b blowout in business
registry revealed
Michael Read Reporter
Jul 26, 2022
– 6.13pm
Labor
is warning it will need to make additional budget cuts after uncovering a $1
billion blowout in the Morrison government’s signature program to consolidate
business registries.
The
revelations come as Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to deliver a statement on Thursday
that will paint a dire picture of the state of the federal budget, which is
forecast to remain in deficit for the next decade.
Financial
Services Minister Stephen Jones said the cost of the federal government’s $480
million program to consolidate 30 separate business registries into one had
blown out to more than $1.5 billion.
“We’re
going to have to look and find new sources of savings or new sources of
revenue,” Mr Jones told The Australian Financial Review.
-----
https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/healthcare-providers/initiatives-and-programs/my-health-record/clinical-incidents
My Health Record
Clinical incidents
Legislation
Healthcare
provider organisations participating in the system are required to understand
and comply with a range of legislative obligations including the following
legislation:
My Health Records Act 2012, My
Health Records Rule 2016, My
Health Records Regulation 2012, My
Health Records (Assisted Registration) Rule 2015, Healthcare
Identifiers Act 2010, Privacy
Act 1988
All
healthcare systems, including the My Health Record system and other digital
health products, require careful monitoring to ensure that potential clinical
incidents are identified and addressed.
A clinical
incident is defined by Australian
Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) as
"an event or circumstance that resulted, or could have resulted, in
unintended and/or unnecessary harm to a person and/or a complaint, loss or
damage".
A
clinical incident can be related to safety, usability, technical, and privacy
and/or security issues.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/standards-lag-creates-a-cyber-minefield/news-story/a3b6f4e94f5fcc6ecdfdb419b097881c
Standards lag creates ‘a cyber minefield’
Sarah Ison
12:00AM July
26, 2022
Australia is
at risk of falling behind in the development of standards for new technologies,
according to a milestone report that says doors are being left “unlocked” for
cyber criminals to harvest data and steal the identities of Australians.
The report by
national standards body Standards Australia said Australia had a lot of work to
do in setting standards for emerging technologies and the nation’s “future
prosperity” depended on keeping ahead of the curve.
Standards
refer to voluntary documents that set out guidelines that aim to ensure
products, services and systems are safe, consistent and reliable.
“With the
rapid emergence of new technologies, standards drive innovation and
competitiveness in these fields in Australia while also helping ensure
responsible and secure use of the technologies,” the report said.
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-alumni-raise-10m-to-stop-you-googling-your-health-20220713-p5b17t
Canva alumni raise $10m to stop you Googling your
health
Tess Bennett Technology
reporter
Jul 25, 2022
– 1.00pm
Two
former product managers at design software giant Canva have closed the largest
seed round so far raised by an all-female-founded Australian start-up, securing
$10.15 million to launch a new personalised healthcare platform.
Georgia
Vidler, Canva’s former head of product, and Kate Lambridis, who was a senior
product manager, formed a friendship while working at the Aussie unicorn and
bonded over shared challenges navigating the healthcare system which led them
to co-found a start-up called Human in November.
“Like
many, we have both experienced how frustrating finding quality information for complex health
conditions can be, via our own experiences and those of multiple
family members,” Ms Vidler said.
Ms
Lambridis added, “It was genuine lived experience, like incredible, painful
experiences that we’ve gone through that led us to want to solve this problem.”
-----
https://www.hospitalhealth.com.au/content/technology/article/double-extortion-ransomware-and-patient-data-protection-141032117
Double extortion ransomware and patient data protection
By Paul Prudhomme, Head of Threat Intelligence
Advisory, Rapid7
Monday, 25 July, 2022
With
access to a network and holding data for ransom, it’s no surprise that
ransomware is one of the most pressing and diabolical threats faced by
cybersecurity teams. Causing billions in losses around the world, it has
stopped critical infrastructure like healthcare services in its tracks, putting
the lives and livelihoods of many at risk.
To
better understand how ransomware attackers think, what they value and how they
approach applying the most pressure on their victims to get payment, Rapid7
recently released a report titled ‘Paint Points: Ransomware Data Disclosure
Trends’, revealing insights on the
data that threat actors prefer to collect and release.
The
report investigates the trend pioneered by the Maze ransomware group, of
“double extortion”, examining the contents of initial data disclosures intended
to coerce victims to pay ransoms.
Threat
actors have upped the ante by using double extortion as a way to inflict
maximum pain on an organisation. Through this method, not only are threat
actors holding data hostage for money, but they threaten to release that data
(either publicly or for sale on dark web outlets) to extract even more money
from companies.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/stockhead/here-are-the-top-10-crucial-trials-coming-up-for-asx-biotechs-in-2022/news-story/fe61273ef87c8008cf64c56f35674e29
Here are the Top 10 crucial trials coming up for ASX
biotechs in 2022
·
By Eddy Sunarto
·
Stockhead
·
July 25, 2022
Big rewards, big risks. In biotech investing, a trial’s results
can be the difference between boom and bust. Here are 10 crucial trials this
year.
Risk v reward: A tale of two companies
Historical data shows that biotech is one the best sectors in
which to put your money, over the long term.
Since 2007, the S&P Biotech Index is up by 500%, beating the
benchmark S&P 500 return of 150%.
And over the years, the sector has been one that routinely
delivers single-day 50 per cent or 100 per cent gains.
But while investing in biotech stocks can lead to these quick
gains, it also comes with great risks, as it could easily go the other
direction.
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/australia-remains-an-ai-laggard-new-report-warns-20220722-p5b3vw
Australia remains an AI laggard, new report warns
Gus McCubbing Reporter
Jul 25, 2022
– 1.08am
Australian
companies are less sophisticated than their overseas counterparts when it comes
to adopting artificial intelligence, a new report says.
The
Committee for Economic Development report says AI is still in the early phases
of implementation in many Australian companies and industries, with only 34 per
cent of firms using it across their operations.
“AI
has the potential to give organisations – and Australia – a huge competitive
advantage,” CEDA chief executive Melinda Cilento said.
“However,
Australian companies are currently lagging in sophistication when it comes to
AI adoption.”
The
report points to Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Index, which
showed Australia’s private investment in AI was valued at $US1.25 billion ($1.8
billion) in 2021.
Up
from just shy of $US300 million in 2020, this marked the biggest yearly jump
since 2014, and put Australia ahead of South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain
and Portugal.
-----
David.
