This Is Really An Interesting and Difficult To Address Issue. Information Overload Versus Missing Something Really Important.

This interesting article appeared a few days ago.

IT could aid problem of growing drug side effects lists

May 24, 2011 | Healthcare IT News Staff

INDIANAPOLIS – The lists of potential side effects that accompany prescription drugs have ballooned in size, but thanks to computer software designed to monitor side effects on drug labels, physicians may be able to better identify which medications would be best for their patients.

The average list of drug side effects on a label is 70 reactions per drug, a number that can overwhelm physicians trying to select suitable treatments for their patients, according to a new study of drug labels.

Long lists of drug side effects—whether found in magazine advertisements or in package inserts—are a familiar sight to patients and doctors. Now researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine have quantified just how complex drug labels have become.

In the study, appearing in the May 23, 2011, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, the researchers found that the average label contains 70 different side effects, with more commonly prescribed drugs averaging around 100 side effects. The upper range was remarkably high, with a single label containing as many as 525 reactions. The study involved analysis of more than 5,600 drug labels and more than half a million labeled effects.

"Having a high number of side effects on a drug's label should not suggest that the drug is unsafe. In fact, much of this labeling has less to do with true toxicity than with protecting manufacturers from potential lawsuits," said lead author Jon Duke, MD, Regenstrief Institute investigator and assistant professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine.

"But having all these labeled side effects can overwhelm doctors who must weigh the risks and benefits when prescribing a medication. The Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to discourage such 'overwarning,' but at present information overload is the rule rather than the exception," Duke said.

.....

The study, "A Quantitative Analysis of Adverse Events and 'Overwarning' in Drug Labeling" was co-authored by Dr. Duke, Dr. Friedlin and Patrick Ryan, M.Eng. of the University of North Carolina. The work was conducted with support from the Regenstrief Institute and the National Library of Medicine.

Lots more here:

http://healthcareitnews.com/news/it-could-aid-problem-growing-drug-side-effect-lists

I am not sure anyone really has the answer to this - and there is no doubt that as the number of medications grows management of ‘what goes with what’ and more important what does not mix is getting beyond the human brain to manage and needs to be helped by really smart decision support!

Clever ideas welcome.

David.

The Australian Medical Association Wants Nothing to Do With the PCEHR as Presently Proposed By NEHTA. Time For Plan B!

The following appeared today.

PCEHR an expensive legal trap: AMA

• By Gemma Collins on 1 June 2011

The AMA has spoken out against proposals for the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record System saying it will create “medicolegal risks” and a financial burden for doctors.

In its submission to the Department of Health on the draft concepts of the introduction of the PCEHR, (see link) the AMA says the proposals have “fundamental flaws” and its complex design could see medical practitioners unable to access or contribute to it.

The doctors’ group insists the flaws are a consequence of the decision to make the record system opt-in rather than opt-out, which will lead to doctors not able to find a record for some of their patients, which could eventually see them giving up on the system altogether.

It says giving patients the option of several access settings will mean doctors may not be able to access important information.

Meanwhile the doctor’s obligation to discuss the system’s clinical risks with their patients will create a “medicolegal minefield”.

More here:

http://www.6minutes.com.au/news/pcehr-an-expensive-legal-trap--ama

Here is the summary of the AMA Submission:

AMA Submission to the Department of Health and Ageing on the Draft Concept of Operations Relating to the introduction of a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record System

31 May 2011 - 5:00pm

The AMA submission on the proposed PCEHR expresses concerns that the proposed form of the PCEHR will provide only limited safety benefits and these are significantly outweighed by its inherent clinical and medico-legal risks for medical practitioners and the administrative burden it will impose on medical practices.

The AMA submission advocates for:

• a shared electronic medical record (that sits within a personally-controlled electronic health record) that contains reliable and relevant medical information about individuals that has been posted by medical practitioners;
• health consumer participation in the PCEHR to be opt-out. An opt-in system will mean that doctors eventually give up looking for PCEHRs after failing to find them for other patients; and
• system protocols that align with clinical workflows and integrate with existing medical practice.

The submission highlights that the proposed PCEHR:

• will be extremely complex to use because it is built around exceptions to clinician access and input to the record;
• allows health care providers who are not medical practitioners to upload information;
• allows patients to hide key pieces of medical information, thus compromising its usefulness to medical practitioners;
• creates significant exposure to medico-legal liability for participating medical practitioners;
• must not impose penalties on medical practitioners if they do not use the PCEHR; and
• imposes significant administrative and financial burdens on participating medical practitioners and practices.

The submission concludes that the cumulative effect of these points will mean that medical practitioners are unlikely to use the PCEHR in the form proposed.

The full submission is linked to from this page:

http://ama.com.au/node/6777

To me this spells the end of the present incarnation of the PCEHR. The AMA is clearly not happy Joyce and unless they are on board no amount of change management will be enough!

No substantial change in the Health System has ever succeeded without at least tacit support from the AMA and their Submission is a long way from that!

They have been saying they are not happy for quite a while as has been mentioned on the blog.

See here:

http://aushealthit.blogspot.com/2011/05/final-version-as-submitted-to-doha-of.html

(Point 8 of the body of the Submission).

I can see it all now - Ms Roxon and Ms Halton blaming the AMA for blocking their brilliant proposal when in actuality they are actually saving them from themselves.

Time for the ‘big rethink’! That the AMA is not ‘pre lined up’ only shows how incompetent NEHTA and the e-Health Group at DoHA actually are.

David.

Extension of Deadline for Submissions On Draft PCEHR Concept of Operations. You Have A Week!

The following e-mail just arrived from ehealthsystems@health.gov.au.

“With over 4,000 downloads to date, a wide range of stakeholders have been providing feedback on the Draft Concept of Operations - Relating to the introduction of a PCEHR system.

Due to the high level of interest in this document—a key building block in creating an e-health system for Australia’s future—the consultation period has been extended for another week.

Submissions will now be accepted until midnight on Tuesday, 7 June 2011.

To make a submission, go to www.yourhealth.gov.au. The Draft Concept of Operations document can be found under "Consultations".

----- End E-Mail.

So if you have a burning need to say something about the document you have a few more days.

David.

NEHTA Turns Up at the Senate Estimates and Claims That All Their Projects are On Track!

The e-Health Component of the Senate Estimates happened late in the afternoon yesterday - from about 4:30 till about 5:45pm.

The obfuscation was just fabulous. Peter Fleming was asked about the 2009 year of delivery and could not say what had happened then and so just chatted about where things have got to some 1.5 years later. He seemed happy - indeed claimed all the NEHTA projects were tracking to their ‘critical paths’ and that all was totally in hand. I seem to recall some detail on this was requested, on notice, so it will be interesting to see what is produced.

Sadly no-one asked about adoption, benefits and delivery of actual clinical outcomes.

The main achievement was that NEHTA actually turned up - after years of being utterly unaccountable.

There will be a transcript of the details in a day or so and we will subject the comments to the usual forensic examination - but sadly I think they think it was OK. It wasn’t by any stretch!

I am sure the questions on notice - on vacancy rates, consultant spends and the like will be fun in due course.

One area of questioning I found really quite amusing was when Senator Sue Boyce asked about staff morale and recruitment in the presence of the current drop dead date of June 30, 2012 for both NEHTA and the PCEHR Program. One can only imagine someone, somewhere has some plans but it was by no means clear the Peter Fleming (the NEHTA CEO) has any visibility on just what they care given his response to the questions.

It is also interesting that NEHTA has paid Medicare $14M for the IHI service and IBM $8M for NASH. I hope we see some actual use for these systems quite soon.

The main feature to my mind was, however, that we actually have set a precedent and now have expectations of at least a little more transparency every six months or so! This can only be a good thing. Even better would be value for money and efficiency audits of both NEHTA and the e-Health section of DoHA - conducted by the Auditor General. All other parts of Government are periodically reviewed to why not this area as well?

David.

Consultation NEHTA Style - Long Lists of Participants But Not Many Answers!

Last week, just a day or so before submissions on the PCEHR were due, we had two consultation reports released. These were sent to stakeholders and today CHIK has received permission to make them available.

Two documents were made available to those groups consulted last week - but were not made available publicly.

As mentioned they are now accessible and have been made available from CHIK servers.

1. The PCEHR Consultation Report January 2011 to April 2011

http://www.chik.com.au/files/NEHTA/PCEHR_ConsultationJan_April2011.pdf

2. Questions and Responses - from the roundtables held during March.

http://www.chik.com.au/files/NEHTA/PCEHR_Q&A.pdf

I was lucky enough to be sent copies late last week, and have has some time to browse them.

Sadly, in usual NEHTA style, we have many issues raised but very, very few issues actually resolved.

Typical of the sort of responses is the following.

NEHTA PCEHR Q&A page 8

Q - How can we be confident that the information in a PCEHR is correct and accurate at the time?

A - This is a challenging issue. The accuracy and reliability of information in any health record must be taken into account, in the context of other sources of information, including directly from the patient. However, this is largely dependent on the quality of information provided by healthcare organisations. Experience with shared records in Australia and globally indicate that the quality may be not be high initially, but improves rapidly with the introduction of the system due to its exposure and “peer-review”. The concept of having a nominated provider to manage the information going into the Shared Health Summary will help to ensure that information is up to date and relevant and to highlight important information needed for the ongoing care of the patient.

All one can conclude is that the whole PCEHR idea is just a very early work in progress.

Working out how the quality of information held in a shared record can be fit for purpose is quite fundamental and to be this vague at this point, is really quite alarming!

Enjoy browsing, if only to the frustrated regarding just how little is actually sorted out!

David.

AusHealthIT Poll Number 72 – Results – 30 May, 2011.

The question was:

Should There Be A Fundamental Review of The PCEHR Proposal Before It Goes Any Further?

The answers were as follows:

For Sure

- 48 (81%)

Probably

- 4 (6%)

Probably Not

- 2 (3%)

Not A Chance

- 5 (8%)

The clearest poll yet. There really has to be a review of this monster before it gets out of hand!

Votes : 59

Again, many thanks to those that voted!

David.

Weekly Australian Health IT Links – 29 May, 2011.

Here are a few I have come across this week.

Note: Each link is followed by a title and a paragraph or two. 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

As far as I am concerned the main news this week is that Paul Madden, CIO of the Commonwealth Department of Health has recognised that e-Health (forget the nonsense PCEHR) is a decade long journey and not something that can be undertaken based on political deadlines.

Senate Estimates is on tomorrow (May 30). We shall see what flows - look forward to some commentary later in the week!

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http://www.apo.org.au/research/evaluation-features-support-safety-and-quality-general-practice-clinical-software

Evaluation of features to support safety and quality in general practice clinical software

• Michelle Sweidan, and others
• BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

Read the full text

PDF Evaluation of features to support safety and quality in general practice clinical software

24 May 2011 Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) offers an opportunity to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care and is now the norm in many countries. There is evidence to show that e-prescribing (often with clinical decision support) is associated with a reduction in medication errors and incomplete or unclear orders, improved drug allergy detection and greater adherence with clinical practice guidelines. There are however also reports of unintended negative consequences of e-prescribing, for example unfavourable effects on workflow and the introduction of new types of errors.

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http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/a-future-where-we-carry-our-genomes-on-our-smartphones-20110528-1f9hm.html

A future where we carry our genomes on our smartphones

Steve Dow

May 29, 2011

IT COULD be a grief-saving app of the future, the day we carry our gene sequence in our phones.

When two people want to have children, they'll bump genomes and a database might reply: ''Think again, you both have faulty disease-causing copies of the same gene.''

That's the hope of the Australian geneticist Richard Cotton, who heads the international Human Variome Project, which aims to collect all variations of all genes that cause all disease from all countries.

It's a Herculean task, but Professor Cotton is spurred by a "vivid imagination" and the rallying of clinicians, geneticists and researchers from more than 30 countries.

The 70-year-old founder of the Genomic Disorders Research Centre at Melbourne University, who yesterday spoke at the TEDx ideas conference at CarriageWorks, Eveleigh, regularly taps his imagination to "feel the pain" of those families whose loved ones are stricken with commonly fatal diseases such as cystic fibrosis or Huntington's disease.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/experts-gather-for-csc-clinical-advisory-council/story-e6frgakx-1226061455925

Experts gather for CSC clinical advisory council

• Karen Dearne
• From: The Australian
• May 24, 2011 12:00AM

CSC Australia has established a clinical advisory council, funding participation by key medical thought leaders, as it steps up its local health presence.

CSC's chief medical officer Robert Wah was keynote speaker at the "kick-off" meeting in Sydney last week.

Dr Wah said the intention was to "start getting clinical input" that would become a valuable source of expertise to be tapped by current e-health projects around the nation.

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http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/387659/health_shortlists_infrastructure_tenders/?fp=4&fpid=1398720840

Health shortlists infrastructure tenders

Fujitsu, CSC and at least two consortia of smaller e-health providers are believed to be among those shortlisted for potential participation in the Federal Government’s $467 million personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) initiative.

• James Hutchinson (Computerworld)
• 24 May, 2011 12:23

The national infrastructure partner, one of four such partners sought by the Department of Health and Ageing for the e-health rollout, would deliver, integrate and provide continued maintenance for enabling systems including core system infrastructure; operations and call centres; reporting and template servicing; and separated portals for use by both consumers and healthcare providers.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/industry-sectors/health-communication-network-sale-divides-analysts/story-e6frg97f-1226061230331

Health Communication Network sale divides analysts

• Michael Bennet
• From: The Australian
• May 23, 2011 3:09PM

PRIMARY Health Care's potential $300 million sale of its general practitioner software business, Health Communication Network, has divided the market, with some analysts questioning the strategic rationale of selling the division.

Primary on Friday confirmed a report in The Australian that it was considering the sale of HCN, which provides software and IT services to doctors, and that it was mulling over an incomplete draft proposal, tipped to be from private equity, or global health firms.

In late trade, Primary was up 1.7 per cent at $3.56 in a weak market.

Indeed, analysts expect healthy bidding tension for the unit as governments worldwide increase spending on e-health, and amid HCN's likely role in implementing any national rollout of an electronic health record system, a longer-term ambition of the government.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/health-communication-network-up-for-sale/story-e6frgakx-1226061827392

Health Communication Network up for sale

• Karen Dearne
• From: Australian IT
• May 24, 2011 11:55AM

LOCAL GP software leader Health Communication Network is poised for sale by owner Primary Health Care, which is considering whether to sacrifice the division to pay down debt.

Primary yesterday confirmed it was looking at a draft proposal for a sell-off of HCN.

"The terms of the proposal are incomplete, and the proposal itself remains subject to board consideration,'' it said in a statement to the ASX.

"Primary will provide full details to the market, should a decision be made to proceed. However, there can be no assurance that that will occur.''

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/market-shows-interest-in-e-health-company/story-fn7rgef9-1226063724738

Market shows interest in e-health company

• Nabila Ahmed
• From: The Australian
• May 27, 2011 12:00AM

Conspiracy theorists wondered if the government was plotting an e-health joint venture after an official was seen at the Primary Health Care office.

The recent sighting of the federal government's Health Department chief information officer Paul Madden at the Sydney headquarters of Primary Health Care's Health Communication Network sparked speculation of some sort of joint venture for its e-health strategy.

That is not thought to the be the case.

However, the good news for Primary shareholders is that the company's decision to test the market's appetite for that asset has been well received.

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http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/vendors/healthcare-identifiers-developers/licensed-material/index.jsp

Healthcare Identifiers Licensed Material

On this page

• Accessing the Healthcare Identifiers Licensed Material
• Healthcare Identifiers Licensed Material

Medicare Australia is the owner and distributor (by whatever means) of the official Healthcare Identifiers (HI) Licensed Material, unless we notify otherwise. The material is distributed through this website. Developers are bound by the terms and conditions of the Licence Agreement - Use of the Healthcare Identifiers Licensed Material for Notice of Connection when using the Material available for the HI Service. Medicare Australia will inform developers, and provide notice on this website, whether the HI Licensed Material contains any third party material which may require a separate licence.

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http://newsletter.nehta.gov.au/industry-brief/industry-brief-archive/archive/view/listid-4-industry-ezine/mailid-73-industry-brief-special-bulletin-may-2010

Industry Brief Special Bulletin May 2011

NEHTA has released an information pack for industry members wishing to comment on the Federal Government’s draft Concept of Operations for the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) before submissions close on 31 May 2011.

The resources include:

Audio recording and slide pack (see attached) from the ICT Industry Roundtable – more than 100 participants took part in this high profile discussion in Sydney, on 23 March 2011.

Audio recording from the 'Four-Cornered Roundtable' which brought together 200 key stakeholders from industry, government, clinicians and consumers, on 30 March 2011.

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http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/news/search-is-on-for-the-perfect-anatomy-alternative

Search is on for the perfect anatomy alternative

23rd May 2011

Byron Kaye

WHEN books are a distant memory, medical students will be carving up synthetic cadavers and undertaking electronic simulations for anatomical training, experts say.

With the cost of cadavers rising – currently about $6000 per body – and technological advances offering ever more realistic alternatives, experts say the use of human cadavers is set to slow as educators look to more innovative options.

“Where the real future probably lies is with electronic or digital simulations which will… give a much more real perspective to students without the need for cadavers,” said GPET chair Professor Simon Willcock.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/government/local-gp-group-bags-telehealth-funding/story-fn4htb9o-1226063167076

Local GP group bags telehealth funding

• Karen Dearne
• From: Australian IT
• May 26, 2011 8:30AM

THE peak GPs' body will be paid $567,000 to develop telehealth standards and training ahead of the launch of new Medicare rebates for online consultations slated to commence on July 1.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners practically wrote a job application for the role in its January response to the Health department's discussion paper, Connecting Health Services with the Future.

“There will need to be an appropriate set of clinical and technological standards that define at least the minimum requirements for establishing and operating telehealth facilities,” the GP college said.

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http://www.itwire.com/it-policy-news/government-tech-policy/47349-healthcare-funding-model-jeopardises-telehealth-

Healthcare funding model jeopardises telehealth

By Beverley Head

Tuesday, 24 May 2011 17:47

Healthcare funding models which effectively penalise doctors for keeping patients out of hospital are acting as a brake on widespread adoption of teleheath services.

David Ryan, executive officer of the Grampians Rural Health Alliance (GRHA), has warned that although the introduction of a Medicare claim number for video-consults from July this year will unleash demand for videoconferencing from GPs and private specialists, hospital based doctors who are paid by the States will have no incentives to adopt other telehealth services.

GRHA has already deployed a $7.6 million videoconferencing network connecting hospitals and medical centres in 40 towns in the Grampians region. That network is currently racking up 4,500 hours of videoconferences a year – a figure Mr Ryan believes could leap to 6,000 thanks in part to the advent of the Medicare rebate.

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http://ehealthspace.org/news/racgp-gets-telehealth-standards-funding

RACGP gets telehealth standards funding

Posted Fri, 27/05/2011 - 14:37 by Josh Gliddon

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has reportedly been granted $567,000 in funding to develop telehealth standards.

The news comes ahead of next week’s Rural and Remote Telehealth Conference, as well as the addition of new telehealth items to the MBS on July 1.

The RACGP was unable to confirm details of the funding at press time, however it is understood the funding is intended to develop standards around the new MBS items.

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http://www.agedcareinsite.com.au/pages/section/article.php?s=Technology&idArticle=21029

Duplication nation

The roll out of e-health records present unique opportunities, and challenges, for aged care providers. Beverley Head reports.

The Federal Government has released a draft concept of operations document regarding the use of personally controlled electronic health records (PCEHR) in Australia, which are being touted as a cornerstone of national e-health programs that could revolutionise the way aged care is provided.

The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, has said that the PCEHR initiative means "patients will no longer have to remember every immunisation, every medical test, every prescription as they move from doctor to doctor".

This national blueprint, and the consultation and development that will follow, will help to develop e-health records for all Australians who want one from 1 July 2012, she said.

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http://www.zdnet.com.au/isoft-takeover-hits-new-roadblock-339315784.htm

iSoft takeover hits new roadblock

By Josh Taylor, ZDNet.com.au on May 27th, 2011

The sale of troubled healthcare software company iSoft to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has again come under threat, with shareholders raising concerns in the Federal Court yesterday over the purchases of convertible notes.

Oceania Capital Partners (OCP) is a 24.5 per cent shareholder of iSoft, as it has $39 million in convertible notes in the company. In a move to clear all company debts before CSC takes over, the company is seeking to buy up all of these convertible notes at face value.

This has concerned the other shareholders in the company, notably former chairman Gary Cohen's company RJL Investments, as CSC has offered just 17 cents per share to acquire the company.

At a Federal Court hearing yesterday, seeking court approval to send out the documents for the scheme of arrangement for the takeover ahead of the shareholder vote, Justice Arthur Emmett said that shareholders may be of the belief that as the convertible notes are being paid out in full, they may not be getting the full value for their shares.

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http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/acute-care/6892/morecambe-bay-says-lorenzo-now-stable

Morecambe Bay says Lorenzo now stable

23 May 2011 Jon Hoeksma

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has told eHealth Insider it has stabilised Lorenzo and now has only a small number of outstanding issues with the software.

The position indicates a remarkable improvement from the position at the end of March, when EHI understands the trust had almost 600 fixes remaining for the iSoft electronic patient record, almost a year after going live with the latest version.

The trust told EHI that it has made steady progress since then, and that: “486 of the 537 issues at the end of March 2011 are fixed. This leaves 51 lower priority issues open awaiting retest on build 646.”

It went on to state that the software “has been stable since December 2010”. EHI further understands that the trust is about to stand down key project managers. The clinical leads in the project left at the end of March.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/former-chief-gary-cohen-fails-to-derail-isoft-sale/story-e6frgakx-1226061458303

Former chief Gary Cohen fails to derail iSoft sale

• Karen Dearne
• From: The Australian
• May 24, 2011 12:00AM

THE sale of Australia's former e-health star iSoft to US-based IT services group CSC is back on track with the NSW Supreme Court dismissing an action by iSoft founder and former chief Gary Cohen.

Last month, CSC offered to buy the struggling software firm for about $188 million, an offer accepted by major shareholder Oceania Capital Partners.

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http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/387459/nsw_court_dismisses_isoft_founder_/

NSW court dismisses iSoft founder

After hearing evidence and submissions, NSW Supreme Court found RJL’s propositions relating to Pre-emption Deed were without foundation

• Julia Talevski (ARN)
• 23 May, 2011 10:50

The NSW Supreme Court has dismissed litigation by RJL Investments against investor Oceania Healthcare Technology Investments (OHT) relating to a Pre-Emption Deed on shares held in iSoft.

RJL is owned by former executive chairman and CEO of iSoft, Gary Cohen, who commenced legal proceedings against OHT, which is a subsidiary of Oceania Capital Partners (OCP).

RJL claimed circumstances had arisen in the CSC proposal to purchase iSoft, which required OHT to provide a transfer notice of approximately 15 business days to acquire a portion of the shares in iSoft held by OHT.

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http://www.zdnet.com.au/hurdle-removed-in-csc-isoft-buy-339315492.htm

Hurdle removed in CSC iSoft buy

By Suzanne Tindal, ZDNet.com.au on May 23rd, 2011

The NSW Supreme Court last week removed an obstacle to CSC's purchase of iSoft, according to iSoft investor Oceania Capital Partners.

Oceania Capital Partners said a month ago that RJL Investments, a company controlled by former iSoft executive chairman and founder Gary Cohen, had filed legal proceedings against Oceania subsidiary Oceania Healthcare Technology Investments (OHT). Cohen left iSoft in August last year.

Cohen's firm claimed that the circumstances of the CSC proposal forced OHT to serve a transfer notice to RJT, providing it with 15 business days to acquire 15 per cent of the shares. Oceania had control of 24.5 per cent of issued iSoft shares.

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http://www.agedcareinsite.com.au/pages/section/article.php?s=Technology&idArticle=21031

Tools for the future

One shortcoming of Productivity Commission's draft report was the omission of a detailed examination of the role technology will play in delivering better quality healthcare to ageing individuals, writes George Margelis.

The Productivity Commission should be commended for driving such a wide ranging review of Australia's ageing services framework. The intergenerational report showed us the issues we are facing with a large and rapid increase in the ageing population. As someone on the tail end of the baby boomer generation, I think it is important to recognise that this ageing tsunami is not a bad thing. The alternative to ageing is far less palatable for those of us entering that phase of our life. It demonstrates that the various health and social policies of the past decades have, to a large degree, had the desired effect of improving the health and wellbeing of the population. The consequence of that is a population that is getting older and, human physiology being what it is, requiring aid.

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http://www.techworld.com.au/article/387830/fedora_15_released_first_gnome_3/

Fedora 15 released, first with GNOME 3

New service manager to speed up boot time

• Rodney Gedda (Techworld Australia)
• 25 May, 2011 11:35

The Red Hat-backed Fedora project has released version 15 today and is the first major Linux distribution to include GNOME 3 as the default desktop environment.

GNOME 3 was released last month, however, Ubuntu 11.04 shipped with its own Unity interface, not the default, like Fedora 15.

GNOME 3 includes the new “GNOME Shell” user interface which requires 3D video acceleration, which Fedora provides with open source drivers for Nvidia, AMD (ATI) and Intel, including support for “Sandybridge” GPUs.

With Fedora 15, 3D support in Nouveau, the open source Nvidia driver, is now available by default, and the mesa-dri-drivers-experimental package does not need to be installed.

KDE users also get the latest version with KDE 4.6 available for installation. And, not to be outdone, the smaller Xfce desktop environment is bumped up to version 4.8.

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Enjoy!

David.

NEHTA To Be Discussed At Senate Estimates on Monday Afternoon. First Time Ever and About Time!

Here is the relevant part program for Monday May 30, 2011.

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/estimates/budget1112/ca_ctte.pdf

3:45pm

Outcome 4 Aged Care and Population Ageing

Output 4.1 Aged care assessment

Output 4.2 Aged care workforce

Output 4.3 Ageing information and support

Output 4.4 Community care

Output 4.5 Culturally appropriate aged care

Output 4.6 Dementia

Output 4.7 Flexible aged care

Output 4.8 Residential care

Outcome 10 Health System Capacity and Quality

Output 10.1 Chronic disease – treatment

Output 10.2 e-Health implementation

Output 10.3 Health information

Output 10:4 International policy engagement

Output 10.5 Palliative care and community assistance

Output 10.6 Research capacity

Output 10.7 Health infrastructure

Organisation – National e-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA)

Outcome 10 Health System Capacity and Quality

Agency - Cancer Australia

Agency – National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre

6:45pm – 7:45pm Dinner

There is a live video and audio stream. This can be accessed via this link.

http://www.aph.gov.au/live

Enjoy Monday afternoon! It will be very interesting to see who turns up from NEHTA.

David.