Quote Of The Year

Timeless Quotes - Sadly The Late Paul Shetler - "Its not Your Health Record it's a Government Record Of Your Health Information"

or

H. L. Mencken - "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Friday, January 29, 2016

I Wonder Who Was Really Accountable For This Debacle. There Are A Few Possibilities.

I Wonder Who Was Really Accountable For This Debacle. There Are A Few Possibilities.
This little problem got a good deal of mainstream and technical coverage last week.

Royal Melbourne Hospital attacked by damaging computer virus

Date January 18, 2016 - 10:18PM

Julia Medew

Health Editor

The health network's website is not working and says it is "currently under maintenance".
A virus has attacked the computer system of one of Melbourne's largest hospital networks, causing chaos for staff and patients who may face delays as a result.
Staff at Melbourne Health - the network which runs the Royal Melbourne Hospital - are urgently trying to repair damage to its IT system after a virus infected Windows XP computers.
An email sent to staff today said the virus had hit Melbourne Health's pathology department, causing staff to manually process specimens such as blood, tissue and urine samples instead of computers aiding the registration, testing and entry of results.
While the Blood Bank is still operating for the hospital, the email said only urgent pathology specimens would be processed due to delays involved in "manual work-arounds" and that staff needed to send faxes to the pathology department if they required urgent results.
"Critically abnormal" haematology and biochemistry results are being telephoned to staff on wards including the intensive care unit and emergency department.
"Please note that there will be delays in the processing of Microbiology and Anatomical Pathology specimens," said the email sent this afternoon by Associate Professor Denise Heinjus, Executive Director Nursing Services and Allied Health.
The email said the hospital's food service was working with nurses to ensure that the right meals continue to be delivered to the right patients.
"IT is currently implementing a network-wide solution to this virus. This will take some time so staff must not attempt to fix the problem themselves," the email said.
It also warns staff whose computers are on and working not to switch them off. The email said staff should not log in to any password protected sites such as bank, Gmail or Facebook accounts. Staff whose computers are off are being warned not to switch them on.
More here:
Among other coverage we also had this:

Royal Melbourne Hospital hit by Windows XP virus

Work at the pathology department of the Royal Melbourne Hospital has been hit for several days by a virus which has infected computers running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.
The processing of blood, tissue and urine samples has been done manually due to the infection, causing massive delays, according to reports on a number of websites, with The Age leading the way.
These reports were confirmed by the hospital when it issued a terse media release on Tuesday afternoon.
In it, the hospital, one of the largest in Melbourne, said: "Melbourne Health would like to reassure all of our patients and community that there are minimal disruptions to patient services today (Tuesday).
"Elective surgery and our Emergency Department are operating as normal. There have been a very small number of outpatient cancellations.

"Our staff have worked tirelessly over the past couple of days to maintain patient safety and ensure minimal disruption.
More here:
It seems to me there are a few possibilities.
1. The technical people looking after the affected systems not being aware of the risks of running Win XP - very unlikely.
2. An outside provider providing a Win XP based package and not updating it as needed - again not all that likely.
3. Senior IT Management at the hospital not knowing that XP was still being used - possible - but not working to fix the issue - unlikely.
4. Hospital Senior Management - saw the cost of replacement and decided it could wait - ignoring requests from below…not at all unlikely.
Who would you surmise is likely to be the real culprit? I reckon No 4 is looking good! If you work there let us all know the truth! I have to say this recent article leaves the whole thing rather up in the air - but maybe we know a little more!

http://www.itnews.com.au/news/how-the-qbot-malware-downed-melbourne-healths-systems-414041
 
David.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

The Macro View - General And Health News Relevant To E-Health And Health In General.

January 28 Edition
Here is some other of the recent other news and analysis.
Clearly the big news in the last few weeks has been macroeconomic with oil slipping to be worth less than $US30 a barrel, sinking global share markets, Chinese manipulation of the yuan, falling bond yields and a gentle uptick in the price of gold.
On Friday last week, someone seems to have said enough is enough, and things have steadied. By the time you read this we will know if the fix is in - or not!
Here is a summary up until the end of last week:

ASX's bear market likely to be Gummy, not Grizzly: Credit Suisse

Friday, 22 Jan 2016 | 12:18 AM ET
Australia's shares are set to enter a bear market, but there's a two in three chance investors who buy in will emerge with a profit if they hang on for a year, Credit Suisse said.
So far, Australian stocks have avoided bear territory, but just by the skin of their teeth; at Friday's close, the S&P ASX 200 was down around 18 percent from its 52-week high of 5,982.69, set in April 2015, despite posting a 1.07 percent rally for the day.
Credit Suisse expects that could change at any time.
But if it does, it's likely to be a Gummy bear that grips equities, not a Grizzly, the bank said in a note on Thursday, after examining the past 12 bear markets Down Under. That's a nod to a popular sticky, bear-shaped candy.
In a Grizzly bear market, the index falls by a further 20 percent, while under the Gummy scenario, the benchmark would rally by an average 24 percent over the next 12 months, Credit Suisse said.
"Grizzly bears are associated with deeper profits recessions and higher starting valuations. Our forecast of flat EPS (earnings per share) and reasonable starting valuations (as measured by cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratios) suggests the potential upcoming bear market in Australia will be of the Gummy kind," Credit Suisse said.

Thursday Update: Nothing has really improved - most markets and oil still in a funk!
-----

General Budget Issues.

Income growth lowest in 50 years

  • The Australian
  • January 18, 2016 12:00AM

David Uren

Australia faces its slowest income growth in more than 50 years as the downturn in China hits wages and profits while sparking fears of a new global downturn.
With the Australian sharemarket facing the prospect of steep falls today, a new report by Deloitte Access Economics identifies Australia’s poor income growth as a “worry”, even though the latest figures on the national economy, including strong jobs growth, have pointed to reasonable growth.
“Weak incomes today are a risk to growth down the track.” the report says, noting that poor income growth erodes business investment and household spending.
The report comes as world markets face renewed pressure this week amid doubts about the strength of the economies of China and the US.
-----

Economy is OK, budget isn't: economist

AAP – 2 hours 31 minutes ago
Treasurer Scott Morrison faces the tricky task of explaining the budget is in trouble even though the economy is doing okay, economist Chris Richardson warns.
It comes as a Deloitte Access Economics report warns Australia faces its slowest income growth in more than half a century.
"You have a treasurer who has to explain to Australia genuinely, the economy is okay but the budget is not," Mr Richardson told ABC radio on Monday.
-----

Australian economy very sound: Morrison

AAP
January 18, 2016, 8:42 am
Treasurer Scott Morrison has reassured Australians the economy remains "very sound" despite global volatility, with more than 300,000 jobs created in the past year.
Mr Morrison says the government's plan "is exactly as we need it to be" in the face of volatility in financial markets and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
The Chinese slowdown was not unanticipated and the government was focused on boosting business and jobs while reducing expenditure to get the budget back on track.
The treasurer's comments came as a Deloitte Access Economics report warned Australia faces its slowest income growth in more than half a century.
-----

Treasurer Scott Morrison calls cool heads over volatile Chinese economy

Date January 18, 2016 - 9:22AM

Judith Ireland

National political reporter

US stocks take another beating

Equities face relentless selling pressure amid ongoing worries about falling oil prices and weakness in China.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has broken his holiday silence to call on people to keep a "cool head" about the Chinese economy, saying Australia was in a solid position despite recent global turmoil.
In his first major interview for 2016, Mr Morrison said doubts about the Chinese economy - which have seen the Australian stock market plunge to a two-and-a-half-year low -  were "not unanticipated". 
"This is a time for just being, I think, very cautious," he told Sky News on Monday. 
-----

Morrison rejects gloom in face of budget woes

18th Jan 2016 6:55 PM
TREASURER Scott Morrison has rejected doom-and-gloom reports of China's impact on Australia, urging people to have "cool heads" in the face of a two-year low in the stock market.
Mr Morrison told Sky News on Monday that people needed to be "cautious" about reports of global volatility and defended the economy as "very sound".
A Deloitte Access Economics report released on Monday found growth in the United States was countering some effects of China's slowdown.
But Deloitte's Chris Richardson also described the combined effects of low commodity prices and the China slowdown as "a wrecking ball for the tax take".
-----

IMF warns global growth could be 'derailed' over the next two years

Date January 20, 2016 - 5:54AM

Gareth Hutchens

Global growth will disappoint in 2016 and the outlook for the medium-term has deteriorated, the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde announced late last year.
Global growth could be "derailed" over the next two years if key transitions in the world economy are not successfully navigated, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
This coming year is going to be a year of great challenges and policymakers should be thinking about short-term resilience and the ways they can bolster it 
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Queensland taxes: Federal government offers deal to cut state taxes

January 24, 2016 1:00am
Renee Viellaris The Sunday Mail (Qld)
THE Federal Government is expected to offer state treasurers a deal to abolish stamp duty and payroll tax in a bid to get the economy moving.
The deal, which would see Canberra replace the money states take from the two taxes with a bigger slice of income tax receipts, would come at the expense of the Budget bottom line but government sources say they will make it up through extra economic activity.
A spokesman for Treasurer Scott Morrison said “everything is on the table’’.
It comes as Queensland and Victoria continue to publicly dismiss any increase or broadening of the GST.
-----
  • Jan 20 2016 at 4:53 PM

Kelly O'Dwyer says tax changes will be 'clear' before next election

by Joanna Mather
The Turnbull government will clearly spell out its tax changes before the next election, and doesn't feel it is running out of time to hold meaningful consultations about contentious changes such as increasing the GST or curbing superannuation tax breaks, Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer says.
"We're going to take any tax reform package to the election and the election's not until later in the year," she told ABC radio.
"We are going to be very clear with the Australian people where we stand on tax reform."
Before that, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison will face their first major test – the May federal budget. 
-----

Scott Morrison: Too much economic 'volatility' for an early election

Date January 21, 2016 - 8:16PM

Fergus Hunter

Reporter

Treasurer Scott Morrison has linked the timing of this year's federal election to market "volatility", declaring the Turnbull government would go full term as it puts forward its solutions for economic uncertainty.
He also reaffirmed his government's intention to institute tax reform, including cuts to income and company taxes. 
The Treasurer insisted that rumours of an early election are wrong.
"The Prime Minister has said the government will go full term and that's what we'll be doing," Mr Morrison told business channel Bloomberg on Thursday.
"And the reason for that is, right now, certainly there is volatility.
-----

Empty promises and false starts limit budget repair

  • The Australian
  • January 23, 2016 12:00AM
In this election year there is a temptation to think of the Turnbull administration as a new government, preparing to deliver its first budget and outline its taxation and other reform plans before going to the people.
Yet Malcolm Turnbull and his Treasurer, Scott Morrison, have been in cabinet for more than two years and, with that cabinet, have endorsed two budgets. What is more, when it comes to international markets, financiers, investors and creditors there is only one Australian government, a constant no matter whether Labor or Liberal, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott or Mr Turnbull is in charge. The fact is that eight years have passed since the federal budget dipped deep into deficit and despite repeated promises and forecasts, few inroads have been made. Deficits stretch still, as far as we can see.
-----

Coalition fixed the budget in 1996: it can be done again

  • Peter Costello
  • The Australian
  • January 23, 2016 12:00AM
Anyone can spend money they don’t have if someone is prepared to lend it to them. When governments do that the cost of the borrowing becomes a charge against future taxes. Future taxpayers have just that little bit less of their own taxes to pay for services ­because a component must go off to service the cost of previous ­consumption.
Maybe they will decide to send the cost on to the next generation and add in a little bit of their own overconsumption as well. Soon the debt and debt-servicing cost begins to accumulate. Soon future generations have less money to spend on their own needs because they are paying the cost of previous decisions.
Personal debts die with the person who incurred them. Governments do not die, and their debts continue down to successive generations. Their flexibility and their options begin to narrow.
One of the things I am proud of in my time in government is that we bequeathed no debt to future generations. And we cleared the debts of all the governments that went before it. Never had the ­financial position of the federal government been stronger. It was an important time to be strong, given the gyrations in the international financial system in 2008.
-----

How is Scott Morrison performing as Treasurer?

Date January 22, 2016 - 5:50PM

Gareth Hutchens and Fergus Hunter

When Malcolm Turnbull challenged Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party, he said the government desperately needed a different leadership style.
Australia is facing huge economic challenges and needs a new leadership team that can explain those challenges clearly and sensibly, he said.
He replaced Treasurer Joe Hockey with Scott Morrison and set about rebuilding the government's economics team.
But how well is Scott Morrison doing as Treasurer? Is he doing a better job than Hockey? We asked some senior economists and strategists for their views.
-----

Health Budget Issues.

Sussan Ley under fire over pathology comments

Date January 17, 2016 - 6:56PM

Jane Lee

Health Minister Sussan Ley's office has come under fire for saying patients should be "suspicious" of pathologists' estimates of how much patients would have to pay for pap smears and blood tests to recover planned federal cuts.
The Turnbull government plans to cut bulk-billing incentives for pathology and diagnostic imaging services, saving about $650 million over four years. Pathology providers have indicated that they will pass any losses on to patients through a co-payment.
Ms Ley's spokesman has repeatedly said that patients are "rightly suspicious" of pathologists' claims they would charge patients about $30 for pap smears and more than $400 up-front for diabetes monitoring tests, to make up lost funding worth between $1.40 and $3.40.
Lawyer Margaret Faux, who is doing a PhD on Medicare compliance, rejected this, saying it would be illegal to both bulk-bill and charge a fee to cover the loss of the payments.

-----

Bundled hospitals payments plan for maternity and stroke care

  • The Australian
  • January 20, 2016 12:00AM

Sean Parnell

Maternity care, stroke treatment and joint replacements in public hospitals are set for a shake-up as authorities seek new funding mechanisms and different models of care that can deliver savings to the health system.
The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority is consulting interest groups on a landmark shift to bundled pricing, whereby certain conditions would be covered under a package deal rather than payment for each episode of care.
The authority has highlighted the first three conditions because, clinically, they are relatively straightforward and, financially, any changes could deliver impressive returns to governments.
The high costs in stroke treatment would allow for changes to deliver “potentially significant savings” while uncomplicated ­maternity care involves “high-­volume services, meaning that small improvements in service ­delivery can result in significant savings to the health system”.
-----

Pharmacy Issues.

Reconsider Panadol Osteo delisting in light of risks: Painaustralia

The PBS delisting of Panadol Osteo needs to be reconsidered in the light of cost and clinical safety implications, says Painaustralia.

The organisation has highlighted the risk of adverse clinical events resulting from chronic pain sufferers switching from Panadol Osteo following its delisting with Health Minister Sussan Ley.
In a letter to the Minister, Painaustralia CEO Lesley Brydon said the group has concerns that patients currently on Panadol Osteo might seek alternative PBS-subsidised therapies with poorer safety profiles, such as NSAIDS or opioids.
“Such a move by patients would clearly add to the complexity of their condition and negate any potential cost savings to government and the consumer,” Brydon says.
“Painaustralia is also concerned about the increased costs for patients arising from the delisting of Panadol Osteo which is currently the recommended first-line treatment for people suffering pain secondary to osteo-arthritis.”
-----

Minor Ailments Scheme just a drug sales push: GP

The proposed Minor Ailments Scheme based in pharmacy is just “a push by the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacy business to increase drug sales under the guise of health innovation,” according to a prominent GP.

Writing in MJA Insight, Evan Ackermann, a GP at the University Medical Centre, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Queensland, and the chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners National Standing Committee – Quality Care, says that while a formal trial to investigate the feasibility of such a Scheme is necessary, a trial should also examine whether further regulatory measures are needed to protect patients.
“Unless integrity within the pharmacy industry is improved, MAS programs will simply become another mechanism to increase drug use in the community,” Dr Ackermann says.
-----
Health is also clearly still under review as far as its budget is concerned with still a few reviews underway and some changes in key strategic directions. Lots to keep up with here with all the various pre-budget kites being flown! Enjoy.
David.

Just Why Does A Practitioner Registration Organisation Need Metadata Access? Short Answer It Doesn’t Without A Warrant!

These reports appeared last week:

Medical watchdog trawling metadata 'jeopardises patient privacy'

Having power to examine doctors’ phone records without a warrant would pose an excessive use of regulatory powers, consumer advocacy group says
The Consumers Health Forum says it is concerned that Australia’s medical watchdog is on a list of agencies that have applied to the attorney general to be classified as “criminal law-enforcement agencies”.
On Wednesday it was revealed the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency may gain warrantless access to the telecommunications data of health practitioners being investigated for professional misconduct, such as having sex with their patients.
Ahpra had such powers until October, when the government passed its mandatory data retention laws. Agencies were required to reapply for access to the data and the agency was one of 61 organisations to do so. According to its annual report, it used the powers 22 times last year and 23 times in 2014.
But the chief executive of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said allowing Ahpra the power to access the metadata of health practitioners under investigation would jeopardise patient privacy because all patients seen by that doctor would be encompassed by the metadata.
“Ahpra [having] power to examine phone records of doctors thought to have had sex with their patients without a warrant would pose an excessive use of regulatory powers which would be of concern to many patients,” Wells said.
“This would make possible the routine use of unchallenged powers to trawl doctor’s phone records with the potential also for patient privacy to be invaded.”
Wells questioned why Ahpra would not apply to the relevant court for authorisation to access a doctor’s metadata, and why warrantless powers were necessary.
More here:
and some more here:

Metadata sought by agency to investigate doctors who have sex with patients

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency one of 61 agencies seeking warrantless access to telecommunications information
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has used metadata to investigate ‘allegations of boundary violations between patients and practitioners’, according to a spokeswoman. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
The government agency overseeing doctors, dentists and chiropractors has applied to regain warrantless access to Australians’ phone and web metadata to help it investigate whether medical practitioners are sleeping with their patients.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is one of 61 agencies on a list released by the government who have applied to the attorney general, George Brandis, for ongoing access to be classed as enforcement agenciesto gain warrantless access to telecommunications data.
They were removed from a list of agencies that could access the information from telecommunications companies with the advent of the government’s mandatory data retention laws.
While Brandis insisted data retention would only be used to gather evidence on serious crimes, a provision was created to allow other agencies to reapply for access to the information. The provision contains no requirement that these agencies must be investigating serious criminal law offences.
More here:
And then we read this….

AHPRA seeks ruling on access to doctors' metadata

Paul Smith | 20 January, 2016 |  
The Federal Government is to decide whether AHPRA will retain its power to access Australians’ phone and web metadata when investigating doctors.
The watchdog says it had written to the Attorney-General for advice on whether it should continue to access telecommunications data without a warrant under the government’s controversial metadata laws.
The government’s changes to metadata laws last October meant that some 60-plus agencies effectively lost their ability to access the data unless they made a formal application to the Attorney-General.
AHPRA said the information was often needed when investigating “boundary violations between patients and [health] practitioners”.
“While still likely to be professional misconduct, demonstrating that a sexual relationship commenced during the treatment period is an aggravating factor,” an AHPRA spokeswoman said.
She added: “In a current case we are asking the practitioner to explain the significant volume of calls passing between her and the patient during the treatment relationship.
“Her legal counsel has indicated that she is likely to concede that a personal relationship had developed at the time, however did not become sexual until after the treatment relationship ended.
More here:
My take is that APHRA has a boundary issue - and that is that they are not a CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE AGENCY and as such if they want access they should seek a warrant. Remember both parties have not done anything criminal and both are being trolled,
It is bad enough all the snoops can poke around in your life but when registration agencies get involved it has all gone too far. Remember we are talking doctors, nurses, physios etc. etc. so they can sneak around looking at a very large number of people and their contacts.
I am not sure I signed up for a country like this. Fighting terrorism is one thing - this is something totally different!
David.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

The Important People Are Being Lined Up To Get The New Digital Health Agency Going.

This brief letter arrived by carrier pigeon a day or so ago
----- Begin Extract
Dear xxxx,
I am writing to you about the Australian Government's commitment to establish the Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency) and have it fully operational by 1 July 2016. This letter also outlines how the Digital Health Implementation Taskforce Steering Committee (the Committee) hopes to engage, collaborate, and communicate with key stakeholders on the progress of the transition and the new arrangements going forward.
Following the recommendations of the 2013 Review of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record, the Commonwealth Minister for Health established the Committee to oversee the establishment of the new Agency and the associated transition of existing operations, functions and resources to it.
Clinicians, public and private healthcare service providers, consumers, health informatics and analytics specialists, technology innovators and people experienced in delivery of digital health services are all represented on the Committee. The Committee is supported by an Implementation Taskforce which consists of KPMG and Minter Ellison.
Some key high level decisions by Government frame the Committee’s work:
  • the Agency will be funded jointly by the Commonwealth and the States and Territories, and will have responsibility for overseeing the operation and evolution of the national Digital health ecosystems;
  •  the Agency will be the system operator of the My Health Record (previously named the Personally Controlled Electronic Heath Record);
  • appropriate functions of the Commonwealth Departments of Health and Human Services, and the National E-Health Transition Authority Limited (NEHTA) will be transferred, and NEHTA will subsequently be disbanded.
The Committee is working on a particularly tight timeframe and we would appreciate your help to ensure that you understand the transition process, have the opportunity to provide input and are able and prepared to move forward with the new Agency once it is established.
To achieve this, it is critical for the Committee to engage and collaborate with key stakeholders to provide an update on a number of key issues including:
                   our progress;
                   how the Agency is expected to look and function;
                   leadership of the Agency;
                   how key stakeholder groups will be represented; and
                   how stakeholder collaboration will be covered going forward.
Relevant members from the Committee will lead the engagement. We will be in contact shortly to arrange a time to meet and discuss the transition to the new Agency and to understand key issues for your organisation relating to the establishment and operation of the new Agency.
We would also appreciate your guidance on how you can further support our stakeholder engagement and communication activities, including linking into your memberships, networks and peers. This will also help us manage the level of consultation required as we progress through the transition and ensure we are communicating through the best channels.
For your information I have also attached a copy of the advertisement for the Agency CEO, which was recently run in the Australian Financial Review and the Weekend Australian. We will update you on the progress of the Board and CEO selection process as we move forward.
I am excited about the opportunities to drive and enhance the national digital health agenda that will result from the establishment of the Agency, and look forward to our continued collaboration leading up to the its establishment on 1 July 2016.
Yours sincerely,
Signed
Ms Robyn Kruk Independent Chair
Digital Health Implementation Taskforce Steering Committee
----- End Extract
It seems the “silly season” is now passed and action is to begin.
If you were wondering who was steering all this the list is found here:
As I said at the time 11 members and one member actually really versed in e-Health.
With the CEO role advertisement closing on the 31st Jan they are really going to have to get their skates on to actually start operations July 1 this year. Additionally the time-frame seems very short if one hoped to attract quality, and possibly international, candidates.
Remember there is a need not just for a CEO but also for a Board that might actually know what it is doing. We have all seen what happens when you have an entity like NEHTA running free with no knowledgeable oversight.  We got NEHTA ! Would be nice if the Board selection process had a rather transparent flavour with maybe even an opportunity for public review - but I guess I am dreaming again
It is important to note this from the letter “The Committee is working on a particularly tight timeframe”.  Indeed this is so - not only are they in a frenzy of setting up - but the Department is busy rushing about consulting on and planning the trials.
This really is all pretty ominous. It sounds like e-Health is Australia is about to suffer an attack of excessive haste which is going to up to risk of total failure to stratospheric levels.
Haste in implementation can cause all sorts of problems - as the Independent Chair is probably aware.
This might all end very badly…
David.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Weekly Australian Health IT Links – 26th January, 2016.

Here are a few I have come across the last week or so.
Note: Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.

General Comment

Well we have it all this week! PCEHR compulsion kicking off, apparent staff corruption, Govt. agency intrusion and some continuing IT stupidity with ongoing use of Win XP.
I wonder what fiasco we will see next week?
-----

NQPHN kicks off consultation on My Health Record rollout

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) will next week begin the roll-out for the trial of the $485m opt-out My Health Record system set to revolutionise the national health system.
In November last year, NQPHN was selected as one of only two PHNs in Australia to trial the Federal Government’s new “opt-out” My Health Record for around 1 million Australians, as part of the planned future of health.
The new system – changed from opt-in to opt-out – will see Australians get easier access to their medical records and be at less risk under a revamped e-health system.
All people in northern Queensland will be provided with a My Health Record unless they choose to not have one created.
-----

Royal Melbourne Hospital attacked by damaging computer virus

Date January 18, 2016 - 10:18PM

Julia Medew

Health Editor

The health network's website is not working and says it is "currently under maintenance".
A virus has attacked the computer system of one of Melbourne's largest hospital networks, causing chaos for staff and patients who may face delays as a result.
Staff at Melbourne Health - the network which runs the Royal Melbourne Hospital - are urgently trying to repair damage to its IT system after a virus infected Windows XP computers.
An email sent to staff today said the virus had hit Melbourne Health's pathology department, causing staff to manually process specimens such as blood, tissue and urine samples instead of computers aiding the registration, testing and entry of results.
-----

Malware attacks Melbourne Health systems

IT team rushes to implement fix.

One of Victoria's largest health networks is grappling with an unnamed strain of malware that attacked its Windows XP systems yesterday and downed the pathology department's IT services.
Melbourne Health's IT team late yesterday discovered what is understood to be a computer worm had infected Windows XP computers through Royal Melbourne Hospital's pathology department.
Pathology staff were forced to resort to manual workarounds to process blood tissue and urine samples after the malware disrupted automated processes, as first reported by The Age.
-----

Hack attack on a hospital IT system highlights the risk of still running Windows XP

A virus attack on the computer system of one of Melbourne’s largest hospital networks is cause for concern because it affected machines running Microsoft’s Windows XP, an operating system no longer supported by the software giant.
A virus attack on the computer system of one of Melbourne’s largest hospital networks is cause for concern because it affected machines running Microsoft’s Windows XP, an operating system no longer supported by the software giant.
A report this week in The Age said a “computer virus” has affected Windows XP systems across the hospital, interfering with the delivery of meals and pathology results. Staff have resorted to “manual workarounds”, telephones, and fax machines to ensure continued delivery of these services.
A statement from the Royal Melbourne Hospital said IT staff at Melbourne Health, the network that runs the hospital, were doing all they could to “restore the remaining Windows XP computers” as soon as possible.
-----
posted on 17 January 2016

Microsoft Is Pulling The Plug On Windows 8

by Felix Richter, Statista.com
Yesterday, Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 8.
It was the final nail in the coffin of what was arguably the least successful Windows version of all time. After its highly anticipated release in October 2012, Windows 8 failed to make an impression with users as many found its radically new user interface confusing and counter-intuitive. Microsoft quickly backpedaled and rolled out Windows 8.1 which reversed many of the UI changes just one year after Windows 8's initial release. Windows 10, released in July 2015, went one step further in returning to a more traditional desktop feel while building on some of the features introduced with Windows 8. It was received much more positively than its predecessor and quickly overtook Windows 8 in terms of market share.
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Corruption watchdog to investigate eHealth Qld recruitment

CCC agrees to look into alleged nepotism.

By Paris Cowan
Jan 20 2016 1:26PM
Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission will launch a formal investigation into allegations of nepotism within the state’s eHealth agency which recently forced its CIO to step aside.
On New Years’ Day, Queensland Health confirmed it had stood down two senior executives following a complaint about internal recruitment processes.
The Courier Mail named one of the executives as Colin McCririck, CEO of eHealth Queensland and the health department’s CIO.
-----
  • Jan 18 2016 at 4:35 PM

Health industry needs to go mobile, entrepreneur Geoff Rohrsheim says

Imagine a health system where hospitals could liaise with each other to maximise space, patients could receive their results on the go and long wait times would be a thing of the past. There's every chance this is what the sector will look like thanks to mobile devices, and Australian company Chamonix is helping hospitals make the transition.
This shift towards mobility has been kickstarted by new legislation which digitises Australians' health records.
IT consulting company Chamonix, the brain child of serial entrepreneur Geoff Rohrsheim, has connected more than a hundred Australian hospitals to the My Health Record system, formerly the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record, since it was proposed in 2010.
Under the PCEHR, Australians had to opt-in to digitise their medical data, but in November the e-health bill was passed which made it so that an online record would be created by default, and people would have to opt-out if they didn't want their data online.
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90% of industries have patient data breaches: Verizon Health Information Data Breach Report

January 17, 2016
Stolen medical information is a much more widespread issue than previously thought, affecting 18 out of 20 industries examined, according to the just released Verizon 2015 Protected Health Information Data Breach Report. Yet, most organizations outside of the healthcare sector do not realize they even hold this type of data. Common sources of protected health information are employee records (including workers’ compensation claims) or information for wellness programs and are generally not well protected.
These findings are part of a first-time report from Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) team that provides a detailed analysis of confirmed PHI* breaches involving more than 392 million records and 1,931 incidents across 25 countries.
“Many organizations are not doing enough to protect this highly sensitive and confidential data”, said Suzanne Widup, senior analyst and lead author for the Verizon Enterprise Solutions report. “This can lead to significant consequences impacting an individual and their family and increasing healthcare costs for governments, organizations and individuals. Protected health information is highly coveted by today’s cybercriminals”.
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Next eHealth software developer webinar announced

The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) has announced the second webinar in its series designed to help software developers connect health information systems to the national eHealth record system and Healthcare Identifiers service.
NEHTA is running a series of webinars for organisations developing software to support the national eHealth programme, the first was held in mid-December and provided developers with the information they needed before they began planning an implementation.
It has also recently set up the My Health Record system Developer Community and is inviting people who attended or registered for the webinars to become a member and stay up to date support services and future programs.
The next webinar on 3 February will outline the steps for software developers to connect their system to the My Health Record system as well as cover the resources available to support an implementation.
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Medical watchdog trawling metadata 'jeopardises patient privacy'

Having power to examine doctors’ phone records without a warrant would pose an excessive use of regulatory powers, consumer advocacy group says
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency is seeking warrantless access to the telecommunications data of health practitioners including doctors. Photograph: Ariel Skelley/Getty Images/Blend Images
The Consumers Health Forum says it is concerned that Australia’s medical watchdog is on a list of agencies that have applied to the attorney general to be classified as “criminal law-enforcement agencies”.
On Wednesday it was revealed the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency may gain warrantless access to the telecommunications data of health practitioners being investigated for professional misconduct, such as having sex with their patients.
Ahpra had such powers until October, when the government passed its mandatory data retention laws. Agencies were required to reapply for access to the data and the agency was one of 61 organisations to do so. According to its annual report, it used the powers 22 times last year and 23 times in 2014.
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Metadata sought by agency to investigate doctors who have sex with patients

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency one of 61 agencies seeking warrantless access to telecommunications information
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has used metadata to investigate ‘allegations of boundary violations between patients and practitioners’, according to a spokeswoman. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
The government agency overseeing doctors, dentists and chiropractors has applied to regain warrantless access to Australians’ phone and web metadata to help it investigate whether medical practitioners are sleeping with their patients.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is one of 61 agencies on a list released by the government who have applied to the attorney general, George Brandis, for ongoing access to be classed as enforcement agenciesto gain warrantless access to telecommunications data.
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AHPRA seeks ruling on access to doctors' metadata

Paul Smith | 20 January, 2016 | 
The Federal Government is to decide whether AHPRA will retain its power to access Australians’ phone and web metadata when investigating doctors.
The watchdog says it had written to the Attorney-General for advice on whether it should continue to access telecommunications data without a warrant under the government’s controversial metadata laws.
The government’s changes to metadata laws last October meant that some 60-plus agencies effectively lost their ability to access the data unless they made a formal application to the Attorney-General.

App guides cannabis users to quit

22 January 2016
ACCORDING to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2014 report, 10.2% of Australians aged 14 years and older have used cannabis in the past 12 months.
Given this data, there is clearly a place for an app which can support users through an attempt to quit or cut down, and Joint Effort fits the bill. 
On first using the app, the user is prompted to register and then complete a profile. This aims to give an overall picture of the extent of cannabis use including when the user started, their age and how much cannabis (cones and joints) is being consumed per day.
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Digital diagnosis: intelligent machines do a better job than humans

January 18, 2016 6.17am AEDT
It takes time for a human to become good at diagnosing ailments, but that learning is lost when they retire. Shutterstock/Poprotskiy Alexey

Authors

  1. Ross Crawford
Professor of Orthopaedic Research, Queensland University of Technology
  1. Anjali Jaiprakash
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Medical Robotics, Queensland University of Technology
  1. Jonathan Roberts
Professor in Robotics, Queensland University of Technology
Until now, medicine has been a prestigious and often extremely lucrative career choice. But in the near future, will we need as many doctors as we have now? Are we going to see significant medical unemployment in the coming decade?
Dr Saxon Smith, president of the Australian Medical Association NSW branch, said in a report late last year that the most common concerns he hears from doctors-in-training and medical students are, “what is the future of medicine?” and “will I have a job?”. The answers, he said, continue to elude him.
As Australian, British and American universities continue to graduate increasing numbers of medical students, the obvious question is where will these new doctors work in the future?
Will there be an expanded role for medical professionals due to our ageing populations? Or is pressure to reduce costs while improving outcomes likely to force the adoption of new technology, which will then likely erode the number of roles currently performed by doctors?
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Owner prints 3D wheelchair for cat injured in fall from sixth-floor balcony

Date January 17, 2016 - 7:26PM

Kim Arlington

Reporter

Cat gets 3D printed wheelchair

After surviving a frightening fall out of a Bondi apartment building, Mozart the cat is given the very best in treatment for his recovery.
They say a cat always lands on its feet. When Mozart the Birman fell from a sixth-floor balcony in North Bondi, it seems he did just that.
He was lucky to survive with nothing more than six broken bones in his back feet. Thinking about how to keep his injured feet immobilised while he recovered, Mozart's owners Martin and Elodie Orliac hit on an innovative solution - a 3D-printed cat wheelchair.
The 3D printing process creates solid objects from a computer-designed blueprint. It adds layer on layer of material, usually plastic or metal, to create anything from medical models to high heels and coffee cups. 
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Analytica Limited www.analyticamedical.com/
Analytica's (ASX: ALT) lead product is the PeriCoach System - an e-health treatment system for women who suffer stress urinary incontinence.

Analytica receives R&D funding

Monday, January 18, 2016
Analytica (ASX:ALT) has received $1.9 million from an R&D Tax Incentive Receipt from its continuing investment in the research and development of its e-health treatment for women who suffer stress urinary incontinence.
The market for the product is a sizeable one in the U.S. with spending on incontinence pads as high as $5 billion per annum.
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CohortIQ hospital data play takes DataStart prize

  • The Australian
  • January 20, 2016 12:00AM

David Swan

A start-up using government and private data to maximise hospital and public health service ­efficiency has been chosen for support from government-backed incubator program DataStart.
CohortIQ was awarded $200,000 in seed capital on Monday night and will now enter a nine-month incubation program. Its use of the data helps tackle the 235,000 avoidable admissions each year. The company was one of four chosen from 200 entries to receive backing fromDataStart.
DataStart was begun late last year by the Turnbull government and start-up incubator Pollenizer to support data-driven innovation, including finding and funding start-ups that would leverage government data to develop new solutions. Right Click Capital, Google, Optus, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, Rozetta, CSIRO Data61 and the Australian Information Association Industry also came on board.
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PowerHealth looks to Canada for export growth

Australian healthcare administration software vendor PowerHealth Solutions has broadened its horizons by establishing a partnership with change capability and management consultants Canadian Healthcare Management.
PowerHealth's PowerPerformance Manager (PPM) is used by the majority of Australian state health departments and the by the largest district health boards in New Zealand.
The company is looking to expand globally, and has entered the Canadian market though a deal with Canadian Healthcare Management (CHM), which specialises in improving healthcare services while increasing efficiency by applying its process management expertise along with emerging technologies and process.
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Telstra acquires APAC cloud services company Kloud

Telstra has announced the acquisition of Kloud for an undisclosed amount to bolster its cloud services and managed network applications.
By Corinne Reichert | January 21, 2016 -- 04:56 GMT (15:56 AEDT) | Topic: Telcos
Telstra has signalled its continuing interest in expanding its cloud and managed network application services with the acquisition of Australian company Kloud.
A Microsoft partner, Kloud provides professional and managed services to enterprises for more than 80 corporate and government customers across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as supplying solutions for productivity, identity, security, application development, and cloud infrastructure for enterprise cloud applications.
According to Kloud managing director Nicki Bowers, the acquisition will make the long-standing partnership between Kloud and Telstra more official.
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HCF buys 15 percent stake in telehealth startup GP2U

HCF plans to improve the convenience and accessibility of healthcare for members by running an initial pilot program using GP2U's technology platform, before rolling it out to the wider HCF membership.
By Aimee Chanthadavong | January 22, 2016 -- 05:23 GMT (16:23 AEDT) | Topic: Networking
Australian health fund company HCF has bought a 15 percent stake in telehealth startup GP2U to further improve healthcare support for its customers.
As part of the investment, HCF said it will run an initial pilot program using GP2U's technology platform to improve the convenience and accessibility of healthcare for its members, before it is rolled out to the wider HCF membership.
Specifically, this will mean greater pharmacy services for members, as GP2U has agreements in place with Terry White Chemists and Priceline. According to HCF, once a general practitioner approves a prescription it can be sent directly to the pharmacy for collection.
HCF chief strategy officer Sheena Jack said HCF is constantly looking for new ways to support members in caring for their health, and was impressed with GP2U's end-to-end technology platform.
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Astronomers in seventh heaven over discovery of Planet Nine

  • The Australian
  • January 22, 2016 12:00AM

John Ross

A new ninth planet?

The astronomer who demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status has made amends, helping to discover a massive new cosmic body that restores the solar system to its full complement of nine planets.
Dubbed “Planet Nine”, it dominates a larger tract of space than giants such as Jupiter and Saturn, making it “the most planety of planets in the whole solar system”, the California Institute of Technology’s Mike Brown says.
Astronomers are yet to directly observe the new planet, even though they believe it has the mass of 10 Earths or 5000 Plutos. The planet’s existence was inferred from its gravitational effect on six cosmic bodies in the Kuiper Belt, a massive band of icy chunks beyond the orbit of Neptune.
Swinburne University astronomer Alan Duffy, who was not involved in the study, said the claims needed to be backed up with sightings. “We would all love this result to be true, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. What we’re seeing are hints of something that could explain why there are some very strange orbits in the Kuiper Belt.
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Enjoy!
David.