And You Think Your Private Health Information Is Well Looked After? Think Again!

This appeared last week:

Healthcare suffers almost a quarter of data breaches, as reports skyrocket under mandatory notification scheme

Lynne Minion | 11 Apr 2018

Data breaches have affected 63 Australian organisations since 22 February, with 24 per cent of them in healthcare, according to the Office of the Information Commissioner’s first report since the mandatory data breach reporting legislation came into effect.

Of the total breaches, health information was involved in 33 per cent of cases, the report released today said.

The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, which came into force on 22 February, requires entities with obligations to secure personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 to notify individuals when their personal information is involved in a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm and notify the OAIC.

In the six week since its introduction, the scheme has unearthed breaches that may otherwise have remained secreted away within organisations, with the total 63 breaches more than half of the 114 data breach notifications disclosed voluntarily in the 2016–17 financial year.

The OAIC’s acting Australian Information Commissioner and acting Privacy Commissioner, Angelene Falk, said a data breach notification gives people the chance to take steps that can reduce their risk of experiencing harm, such as changing passwords for online accounts. It also encourages a higher standard of security from government agencies and eligible businesses.

More here:

http://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/healthcare-suffers-almost-quarter-data-breaches-reports-skyrocket-under-mandatory

So in six weeks we have had over 20 breaches that involved health information – about a rate of about 170 breaches a year!

There are also reports on the same sad story here:

Health sector dominates in first report on data breach notification scheme

63 data breaches reported in first six weeks of scheme’s operation

Rohan Pearce (Computerworld) 11 April, 2018 10:04

Health service providers accounted for almost a quarter of the breaches reported in the first six weeks of operation of the government’s Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) scheme.

The scheme came into force on 22 February.

The rules require organisations to report data breaches to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and notify affected individuals when there is a risk of “serious harm”.

Businesses with annual turnover greater than $3 million are covered by the scheme, as are organisations that handle certain sensitive categories of data, such as health-care providers, and Commonwealth entities.

The OAIC today issued its first quarterly report on the scheme (the report covers the period since the scheme’s start in February), revealing that it received 63 reports of data breaches during its first six weeks of operation.

By way of comparison, in the 2016-17 financial year the OAIC received 114 voluntary notifications of data breaches.

More here:

https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/635994/health-sector-dominates-first-report-data-breach-notification-scheme/

and here:

OAIC sees 63 data breach notifications in first six weeks

By Ry Crozier on Apr 11, 2018 9:18AM

Majority the result of "human error".

Australian organisations reported 63 data breaches in the first six weeks of mandatory notification rules coming into effect, with human error listed as the most common cause.

By contrast, when organisations only had to voluntarily reveal breaches, they only self-reported 114 instances for the entire 2016–17 financial year.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) today released the first quarterly report since the mandatory data breach notification scheme came into effect on February 22. [pdf]

The report notes that eight breach notifications were received in the six days in which the scheme operated in its launch month.

More here with link:

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/oaic-sees-63-data-breach-notifications-in-first-six-weeks-488720

What is going to be very interesting, going forward, is more detailed information on the hows, who and whys of these breaches.

Oddly NSW want to not be involved – see here:

NSW govt opposes mandatory data breach reporting

By Justin Hendry on Apr 13, 2018 11:08AM

But will review voluntary scheme.

The NSW government will oppose a bill that would force state government agencies to report data breaches, arguing more consideration is needed before such a scheme is introduced.

The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Amendment (Notification of Serious Violations of Privacy by Public Sector Agencies) Bill was introduced by NSW Labor last November to bring about model similar to the federal mandatory data breach notification scheme.

The bill would require state agencies to notify affected individuals and the NSW Privacy Commissioner.

Such action was first called for by former privacy commissioner Elizabeth Coombs in 2015.

More here and I wonder what that is about?

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nsw-govt-opposes-mandatory-data-breach-reporting-488895

From what has happened at the Federal level it is clear the system is needed!

David.

This Appeared With Great Fanfare Last Week! Is It Important? You Bet If You Care About Your Health Information Privacy.

This release appeared last week:

Media release - New My Health Record guidelines launched for pharmacists

11 April, 2018

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) launched new guidelines today for pharmacists to promote meaningful clinical use of the My Health Record system to enhance patient-centred care.

The new guidelines will help increase the number of pharmacists using My Health Record, a digital system that enables healthcare providers to share secure health data and improve the safety and quality of patient care.

My Health Record enables important health information including allergies, medical conditions, treatments, medicines, and scan reports to be accessed through one system. The benefits include reduced hospital admissions, reduced duplication of tests, better coordination of care for people with chronic and complex conditions, and better informed treatment decisions.

PSA National President Dr Shane Jackson said that the guidelines will further enable the digital capability of pharmacists is a game changer for pharmacists’ contribution to enhancing medication safety and ensuring quality use of medicines.

“Having access to information will allow pharmacists to deliver more effective and efficient care,” said Dr Jackson, who is the Chair of the Project Advisory Group.

“Pharmacists have a professional responsibility to review their practice and where necessary, build on their digital health competency, to integrate use of the My Health Record system into patient care.

“PSA is delighted to offer these professional guidelines for pharmacy practice as well as implementation tools for digital health.”

Queensland pharmacist, and Chair of the Project Working Group, Chris Campbell said the ease of access to information by using My Health Record was going to make the biggest difference for pharmacists to providing care.

“The My Health Record integration helps to make key clinical decisions possible at the point of professional interaction such as dispensing and medication review.

“Until now, pharmacists have been dispensing, counselling, providing advice, and conducting medication reconciliation partially blindfolded,” Mr Campbell said.

“My Health Record helps to lift the veil and our contributions will further cement pharmacists as an integral member of the primary health care team.”

Australian Digital Health Agency CEO Tim Kelsey said the guidelines were an essential support for pharmacists in the transition to embedding My Health Record as a normal part of daily pharmacy practice.

“PSA, and in particular Dr Shane Jackson’s strong leadership for My Health Record is much appreciated by the Agency as it gears up for the expansion of My Health Record to every Australian unless they choose not to have one, later this year,” Mr Kelsey said.

“The ability for pharmacists to contribute patient health information to My Health Record is an integral part of the My Health Record system. In My Health Record, pharmacists have a platform to enhance the provision of patient-centred care though access to key patient health information and by contributing valuable information related to care they have provided.”

All Australians will be provided with a My Health Record by the end of 2018, unless they choose not to have one.

ENDS

The release is found here:

Heather Saxena of Pharmacy News thoughtfully summarised the key points:

“Here are eight key points from the guidelines:

• Ideally, pharmacies should display a sign advising patients whether or not the pharmacy uses MyHealth Record (MHR).
• By signing up for a MHR, patients are giving consent for their clinical information to be uploaded to the record. But it’s a good idea to let patients know. For example, display a sign that states all prescriptions are uploaded to a patient’s MHR.
• It’s okay to access the MHR without a patient’s permission in an emergency situation, such as a patient falling unconscious or having a seizure in the pharmacy.
• Children aged over 14 can control and manage their own MHR.
• It’s up to pharmacies to provide adequate security to prevent misuse of a MHR. Examples include automatic activation of a screensaver after a page has been inactive for a minute, and regularly changing passwords.
• All pharmacy staff must be trained before they use MHR for the first time. This includes being able to document clinical incidents and near-misses in the system.
• Pharmacists need to contact the Australian Digital Health Agency to obtain a USB key or smartcard so they can access the provider portal.
• Patients can request certain information not be uploaded to their MHR. Uploading of sensitive information, such a diagnosis of HIV, may require written patient consent.”

What struck me about this summary was how ‘laid back” or non-prescriptive it was. Surely having signage making it clear the myHR is used and your information will be uploaded is hardly optional?

Surely the use if words like ‘ideally’ were just really incorrect. Sadly not. If you read the full guidelines there is a great deal of optionality in all sorts of areas like informing patients of data upload, how security is achieved, who a pharmacist can authorise to access the myHR and so on.

BTW, the guidelines reveal once opt-out comes every dispense record will be uploaded where a myHR exists.

Here is the direct link:

http://www.psa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/My-Health-Record-Guidelines-for-Pharmacists.pdf

To me this is another reason to stay a long way away from the myHR and to opt-out. The PSA is just way to “Californian” for my likes about protecting my health information!

David.

Report Of The COAG Health Council Meeting - 13 February, 2018.

Here is the Communiqué. Note Items 2 and 3

Communique 13 April 2018

The federal, state and territory Health Ministers met in Sydney today at the COAG Health Council to discuss a range of national health issues. The meeting was chaired by the Ms Meegan Fitzharris MLA, ACT Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

Major items discussed by Health Ministers today included:

Review of the organ donation, retrieval and transplant system

Ministers agreed that the Commonwealth undertake a review of the organ donation, retrieval and transplantation sector in collaboration with states and territories. The review will examine (pre and post) transplantation services and identify barriers to equity of access to transplant waiting lists and transplantation services.

The review will inform the development of a long-term strategy for organ retrieval and transplantation which will build on the Government’s national reform agenda on organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

It is anticipated that a progress update, including any early findings from the review, will be provided to Ministers in August 2018.

Digital Health Update

Ministers agreed in principle to a new Intergovernmental Agreement on National Digital Health (IGA) for the period 2018-2022. This will replace the existing IGA which is due to expire on 30 June 2018. The IGA provides funding to the Australian Digital Health Agency to operate effective national digital health capability, including national digital health systems, supporting foundations, standards and infrastructure.

Real time prescription monitoring

The Ministers agreed to progress national real time prescription monitoring as a federated model with jurisdictions committed to progressing development and adaptation of systems to connect to and interface with Commonwealth systems to achieve a national solution.

Increasing the minimum legal age of tobacco purchase to 21 years

Health Ministers discussed a proposal to increase the minimum legal age of tobacco purchase to 21 years, and agreed to refer that proposal to Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council with input from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for advice.

Mandatory reporting requirements under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law

Today Ministers agreed unanimously to take steps to protect patients and strengthen the law to remove barriers for registered health professionals to seek appropriate treatment for impairments including mental health.

Ministers agreed to a nationally consistent approach to mandatory reporting which will be drafted and proposes exemptions from the reporting of notifiable conduct by treating practitioners (noting Western Australia’s current arrangements are retained) and subject to other jurisdictional formal approval in certain circumstances.

The legislation will include strong protection for patients and will remove barriers for registered health professionals to seek appropriate treatment. The legislation will specifically include a requirement to report past, present and the risk of future sexual misconduct and a requirement to report current and the risk of future instances of intoxication at work and practice outside of accepted standards.

Western Australia endorsed continuance of its current approach that has been operational in WA since 2010 for treating health practitioners. Health practitioners in a treating relationship based on the reasonable belief can make a voluntary notification as part of their ethical obligations in relation to any type of misconduct.

Progress Update on National Health Agreement

The Commonwealth Minister for Health re-iterated the Government’s hospital funding offer as outlined to COAG on 9 February 2018. Work on the implementation of the Hospital Innovation Fund with WA and NSW has commenced.

Streamlining the application and approval process for unregistered medical cannabis products

Ministers agreed today to support the Commonwealth in collaboration with the states and territories to progress the development of a single national online application pathway to access unregistered medicinal cannabis products.

The proposal is to streamline access to medicinal cannabis by developing a single entry point that covers both the Commonwealth and state and territory application and approval processes for unregistered medicinal cannabis products. This process would avoid duplication of decisions regarding clinical appropriateness while maintaining separate approvals by the states and territories necessary in managing appropriate access to Schedule 8 products.

Overseas medical professionals

Health Ministers supported the importance of trained and experienced medical personnel in all areas of Australia subject to and consistent with priority longstanding principles of employment first going to Australian citizens and consistent with First Minister’s agreement on intern places.

They agree to work collaboratively with the Commonwealth to ensure that there are streamlined and simple visa arrangements to support pathways for overseas students graduating in Australia and senior international medical graduates.

The Commonwealth committed to providing relevant information on medical places across Australia by the end of May 2018.

Improving the primary care response to family violence

Health Ministers confirmed their commitment to improving the primary care response to people experiencing family violence. In consultation with other jurisdictions, Victoria has undertaken extensive work to identify barriers to primary care practitioners identifying and responding to those people experiencing family violence.

To progress this important issue, Ministers agreed that relevant stakeholders would be consulted on the role and scope of primary care in responding to family violence, asked to identify barriers that may impact on primary care providers performing this role and recommend options to address this issue. This consultation was recommended to occur at the previously announced Commonwealth Family Violence Roundtable. Following the Roundtable, the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council will report back to Health Ministers on a preferred option to improve primary care responses to family violence and outline how this should be progressed.

In addition Ministers agreed to develop further training materials and resources with Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and to scope the implementation of a trial on family violence training in two jurisdictions via the Primary Health Networks.

Annual national funding determination

Ministers agreed that the finalisation of annual funding determinations in a timely manner is important to ensure funding certainty for all jurisdictions and will prioritise work to complete all steps including data clean-up to finalise the data reconciliation process.

The Commonwealth has agreed to develop a time bound process for current and future determinations including a dispute resolution mechanism.

Victoria maintained its concerns regarding the 2015-16 determination.

Impact of the National Bowel Cancer Screening expansion on colonoscopy demand and waiting times

Today Ministers discussed the importance of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and its expansion to offer biennial screening for all eligible Australians aged 50-74 by 2020.

However, a key impact of the Program and its expansion is the increased volume of people requiring diagnostic assessment through colonoscopy.

Health Ministers agreed that the Commonwealth and states and territories should work together to ensure that future infrastructure and workforce capacity and development are better matched to the expected increase in demand.

Endometriosis Action Plan for Australia

Ministers noted that an action plan is being developed by the Commonwealth to ensure practicable and achievable outcomes for the women of Australia, in acknowledgment of the significant impact on thousands of women and families.

The Commonwealth will provide the draft action plan to jurisdictions to identify further key areas of research, awareness and education, and clinical management and care that may contribute to the action plan under development

Next meeting

Health Ministers have agreed that they will next meet in Alice Springs, Northern Territory and will include a significant focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues.

---- End Document.

David.

So Digital Health Really Makes A Difference - Or Does It? Details Matter Interpreting Evidence!

This really encouraging article appeared last week.

EHR-Integrated Tools Help Improve Chronic Kidney Disease Care

Treatment involving EHR-integrated tools and patient engagement strategies are effective in improving areas of chronic kidney disease care.

By Kate Monica

April 05, 2018 - A quality improvement program combining EHR-integrated tools and patient engagement strategies can significantly improve quality of care for patients with chronic kidney disease, according to new research published in the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC).

Over a one-year period, Sequist et al. observed 153 primary care physicians treating 3,947 high-risk patients and 3,744 low-risk patients with stage III chronic kidney disease across 13 ambulatory health centers at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Massachusetts. 

As part of the study, participating physicians received a set of EHR-integrated alerts through the practice’s Epic EHR system during office visits. These EHR alerts provided physicians with recommendations for risk-appropriate chronic kidney disease care.

When treating high-risk patients, physicians received EHR alerts recommending a referral to a nephrologist if the patient had not visited the specialist in the past 12 months.

Physicians treating high-risk patients also received an EHR alert recommending specific prescriptions if the patient had a diagnosis of hypertension or albuminuria and had not been prescribed the medications in the last year.

For low-risk patients, physicians received prescription recommendation alerts as well as alerts suggesting certain overdue lab tests.

Meanwhile, participating patients received educational materials by mail providing treatment recommendations based on information gleaned from their EHRs. Mailings ranged from reminders to request overdue lab tests and follow-ups to educational materials about current medications.

Ultimately, researchers found low-risk patients who had participated in the quality improvement program were about 25 percent more likely to have received urine microalbumin testing than patients not enrolled in the program.

Additionally, participating high-risk patients were over 10 percent more likely to have seen a nephrologist in the past 12 months than those not enrolled in the program. Furthermore, both high and low-risk patients enrolled in the program showed higher rates of annual testing for vitamin D, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone than those who did not participate.

“In a large randomized controlled trial of patients with stage III CKD, we demonstrated that a quality improvement program consisting of electronic decision support combined with mailed patient self-management support tools significantly improved quality of care, including use of nephrology referrals and laboratory testing,” stated researchers in the report.

Researchers emphasized the effectiveness of patient engagement among patients with chronic kidney disease. The team noted a substantial portion of study participants had not been informed of their disease prior to the study, and stressed the importance of ensuring patients are aware of their diagnoses.

More here:

https://ehrintelligence.com/news/ehr-integrated-tools-help-improve-chronic-kidney-disease-care

Whoopee do I thought reading the headline. Yes the use of an EHR (with disease specific interactive clinical decision support) – along with a personalised  interactive patient education and interaction – did make a difference as you might expect.

The problem for us here in OZ is the majority of Digital Health Funds are being spent on a system that is incomplete, seemingly inaccurate and does not support interactive clinical decision support for anything.

Maybe if even a tenth of the funds being spent on an incomplete health data vacuum cleaner was spent where the evidence says you can make a difference – at the point of clinical care – digital health might get somewhere. Right now it is heading into the headlight of an oncoming train trying to see what to do next!

David.

Weekly Australian Health IT Links – 16th April, 2018.

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

A really big when I look back – this lot will keep you browsing for a while. The first article is a ripper and ought be read if you have a moment.

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https://wolandscat.net/2018/04/08/will-the-tech-giants-ever-succeed-at-e-health/

Will the tech giants ever succeed at e-Health?

Posted on 08/04/2018 by wolandscat

Amazon, Apple, and Google are all having another go at e-Health. But we have been here before: remember Microsoft HealthVault? It’s still around, and still hasn’t taken off. Google Health went live in 2008, but was retired at end of 2011, due to ‘lack of adoption’.

Fast forward to 2018, and we see Apple, Amazon, Google and Uber making new e-Health plays. Initially each corporation will probably work from its strengths – retail delivery for Amazon, booking for Uber, data for Google, and devices for Apple. In the US at least, some of them will build their own healthcare providers for the workforce, and use the environment as a place to work on next-generation health IT solutions. Some challenges, particularly in the devices area, will undoubtedly see progress – there is no doubt that the tech giants do some things really well.

But I remain sceptical about overall success.

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https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/636114/digital-health-crc-launches-targets-care-system-savings-1-8-billion/

Digital Health CRC launches, targets care system savings of $1.8 billion

Comes at crunch time for national health system

George Nott (Computerworld) 13 April, 2018 10:00

The government is backing a Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) which will invest more than $200 million to develop and test digital health solutions.

The CRC, which launched today, brings together 40 commercial and government organisations operating across the health, aged care and disability sectors, 24 established and start-up technology, advisory and investment companies, and 16 Australian universities.

Together they will work on a number of research priorities including tackling adverse drug reactions, mining knowledge from health data, improving the value of care and empowering consumers.

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https://www.smh.com.au/politics/act/canberra-mother-questions-delays-to-prescription-monitoring-laws-20180412-p4z99f.html

Canberra mother questions delays to prescription monitoring laws

By Daniel Burdon

12 April 2018 — 4:55pm

A Canberra mother who lost her son to mental health and prescription drugs has questioned delays to real-time prescription monitoring in the ACT, and called for it to be mandatory for all doctors.

Ann Finlay lost her son, Paul Fennessy, in January 2010 to a prescription drug overdose, leading to a seven-year battle for an coronial inquest into his death, which was completed in August last year.

In the three years before his death, Mr Fennessy accessed 150 prescriptions from 18 different Canberra doctors, a period chronicled in The Canberra Times' investigative podcast Losing Paul.

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https://ajp.com.au/news/ministers-agree-national-real-time-monitoring-solution/

Ministers agree to national real time monitoring solution

Megan Haggan — 13/04/2018

All state and territory Health Ministers have committed to achieving a national solution on real time prescription monitoring

Today’s communique from the COAG Health Council said: “The Ministers agreed to progress national real time prescription monitoring as a federated model with jurisdictions committed to progressing development and adaptation of systems to connect to and interface with Commonwealth systems to achieve a national solution.”

The move was welcomed by the Pharmacy Guild.

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https://www.pharmacynews.com.au/news/8-things-pharmacists-must-know-about-myhealth-record

8 things pharmacists must know about MyHealth Record

The PSA has issued new guidelines to help navigate the legal minefield

Heather Saxena

11th April 2018

The PSA has launched guidelines to help pharmacists navigate the MyHealth Record system as it changes from opt-in to opt-out for all Australians.

Here are eight key points from the guidelines:

• Ideally, pharmacies should display a sign advising patients whether or not the pharmacy uses MyHealth Record (MHR).
• By signing up for a MHR, patients are giving consent for their clinical information to be uploaded to the record. But it’s a good idea to let patients know. For example, display a sign that states all prescriptions are uploaded to a patient’s MHR.
• It’s okay to access the MHR without a patient’s permission in an emergency situation, such as a patient falling unconscious or having a seizure in the pharmacy.

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https://ajp.com.au/news/lifting-the-veil/

Lifting the veil

Sheshtyn Paola — 11/04/2018

New My Health Record guidelines have been launched to help pharmacists understand and navigate the digital system

The PSA has launched new guidelines to support pharmacists in using the My Health Record system.

My Health Record is currently at a crucial stage of rolling out across pharmacies, and will be providing all Australians with a record by the end of the year unless they opt out.

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https://www.opengovasia.com/articles/pharmaceutical-society-of-australia-launches-new-guidelines-for-my-health-record-system

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia launches new guidelines for My Health Record system

By: Nicky Lung

11 Apr 2018

The new guidelines will increase the number of pharmacists using My Health Record and improve the health of Australians through better pharmacist care.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has announced the launch of new guidelines for pharmacists to promote meaningful clinical use of the My Health Record system to enhance patient-centred care.

My Health Record is a digital system that enables healthcare providers to share secure health data and improve the safety and quality of patient care. The system enables important health information including allergies, medical conditions, treatments, medicines, and scan reports to be accessed through one system.

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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/news-and-events/news/media-release-new-my-health-record-guidelines-launched-for-pharmacists

Media release - New My Health Record guidelines launched for pharmacists

11 April, 2018

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) launched new guidelines today for pharmacists to promote meaningful clinical use of the My Health Record system to enhance patient-centred care.

The new guidelines will help increase the number of pharmacists using My Health Record, a digital system that enables healthcare providers to share secure health data and improve the safety and quality of patient care.

My Health Record enables important health information including allergies, medical conditions, treatments, medicines, and scan reports to be accessed through one system. The benefits include reduced hospital admissions, reduced duplication of tests, better coordination of care for people with chronic and complex conditions, and better informed treatment decisions.

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http://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/medadvisor-prescription-app-hits-one-million-patient-mark-it-eyes-hospitalisation-market

MedAdvisor prescription app hits one million patient mark as it eyes up hospitalisation market

Lynne Minion | 10 Apr 2018

Australian digital health startup MedAdvisor has hit a milestone, announcing one million patients have connected with its prescription management app, doubling the number of those signed up in the last year.

The growth spurt by the ASX-listed company, which integrates tools including dose reminders, script renewals, a carer incarnation, refill ordering and medication training, has been fuelled by customer demand, according to MedAdvisor CEO Robert Read.

“Customers expect the same convenience they get in other environments. Patients are people and they have been frustrated by perceived inefficiencies in the healthcare system, so where new tools arrive that make it easier it is not surprising people love it,” Read told Healthcare IT News Australia.

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https://ajp.com.au/news/e-health-minimising-script-harms/

E-health and minimising script harms

Megan Haggan — 10/04/2018

A group of experts are calling for clear legal principles around how a duty of care looks in the age of electronic records

Dr Jennifer Stevens, Anaesthetist at St Vincent’s Hospital, and Matthew McCrone, Director of Real Time Prescription Monitoring Implementation at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, recently attended an event on reducing harms hosted by MinterEllison and ScriptWise.

The event aimed to examine effective ways that hospitals, health services and primary health care services can reduce growing harms from prescription medicines.

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http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/tenders-for-the-review-into-sa-healths-epas-system-due-soon/news-story/fd8ec0dc7f1a1260b7b3476da2eaefb9

Tenders for the review into SA Health’s EPAS system due soon

TENDERS for the review into SA Health’s troubled electronic records system EPAS go out soon after Health Minister Stephen Wade put the rollout on hold.

Brad Crouch

The Advertiser April 10, 201811:29pm

SA Health is finalising the final process for its review into the much-maligned electronic patient record system EPAS.

Health Minister Stephen Wade put the rollout on hold — including at the Royal Adelaide Hospital — amid grave concerns over the $421 million system’s performance.

EPAS was rushed into the RAH in time for the opening, but is only partly functional.

A government spokesman said sites using EPAS now will continue its operation during the review.

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https://www.doctorportal.com.au/mjainsight/2018/13/telemedicine-in-rural-eds-more-questions-than-answers/

Telemedicine in rural EDs: more questions than answers

Authored by Aniello Iannuzzi

Issue 13 / 9 April 2018

IMAGINE this scenario: you are a young rural doctor working in a rural hospital’s emergency department (ED). Over each acute bed is a camera and microphone, and in a bigger centre 1000 km away is an emergency physician monitoring the patients’ vital signs and your actions.

A situation arises and you are required to take action. You’re in the middle of a procedure on another patient when the monitoring doctor, kilometres away, intervenes without your input.

Who is legally responsible for the patient now? Did the patient give permission to be so monitored? What does the rural doctor learn from being sidelined?

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https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/635911/breach-report-confirms-people-suck/

Breach report confirms: People suck

Some muppet will probably click on that phishing email, report finds

Rohan Pearce (Computerworld) 10 April, 2018 14:01

Even in the wake of high-profile malware campaigns such as the WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware, businesses are still failing to get the security basics right when it comes to employee awareness training and patching vulnerabilities.

“People’s security maturity hasn’t really moved on in the past couple of years,” said Chris Tappin, principal consultant at Verizon.

In some cases, organisations have been worn down by the “constant doom and gloom” around security, he said. On top of that businesses are often confronted by vendors that are “trying to sell you the latest security appliances saying ‘Post WannaCry, you’ve got to have this; after Stuxnet our software is now critical to your business.’”

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/oaic-sees-63-data-breach-notifications-in-first-six-weeks-488720

OAIC sees 63 data breach notifications in first six weeks

By Ry Crozier on Apr 11, 2018 9:18AM

Majority the result of "human error".

Australian organisations reported 63 data breaches in the first six weeks of mandatory notification rules coming into effect, with human error listed as the most common cause.

By contrast, when organisations only had to voluntarily reveal breaches, they only self-reported 114 instances for the entire 2016–17 financial year.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) today released the first quarterly report since the mandatory data breach notification scheme came into effect on February 22. [pdf]

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https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/635994/health-sector-dominates-first-report-data-breach-notification-scheme/

Health sector dominates in first report on data breach notification scheme

63 data breaches reported in first six weeks of scheme’s operation

Rohan Pearce (Computerworld) 11 April, 2018 10:04

Health service providers accounted for almost a quarter of the breaches reported in the first six weeks of operation of the government’s Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) scheme.

The scheme came into force on 22 February.

The rules require organisations to report data breaches to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and notify affected individuals when there is a risk of “serious harm”.

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https://www.itwire.com/government-tech-policy/82414-greens-call-for-gdpr-to-serve-as-model-for-privacy-protection.html

Greens call for GDPR to serve as model for privacy protection

• 13 April 2018
• Written by  Sam Varghese

The Australian Greens have called on the Coalition Government to update privacy protections to stay in line with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation that is scheduled to take effect on 25 May.

In a statement, the part's digital rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said the government should look to the GDPR as a model for privacy protection, especially in the wake of the ongoing revelations regarding Facebook's data collection.

Senator Steele-John has in the recent past spoken out condemning Cambridge Analytica, which has been at the centre of the Facebook scandal, and seeking the removal of absolute exemptions in the privacy act for politicians and political parties. The privacy exemptions are backed by both the government and the opposition.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nsw-govt-opposes-mandatory-data-breach-reporting-488895

NSW govt opposes mandatory data breach reporting

By Justin Hendry on Apr 13, 2018 11:08AM

But will review voluntary scheme.

The NSW government will oppose a bill that would force state government agencies to report data breaches, arguing more consideration is needed before such a scheme is introduced.

The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Amendment (Notification of Serious Violations of Privacy by Public Sector Agencies) Bill was introduced by NSW Labor last November to bring about model similar to the federal mandatory data breach notification scheme.

The bill would require state agencies to notify affected individuals and the NSW Privacy Commissioner.

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/if-facebook-wont-fix-itself-will-regulation-do/news-story/fd2e5a220876abf8fb06ab86959829e0

Facebook hearings: Don’t count on regulation to protect data privacy

Investors may be betting that the worst of “Facegate” could be over, but it is too soon to count on it.

• The Australian / Economist
• 12:00AM April 14, 2018

 “They ‘trust me’ ... dumb f--ks,” Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook, wrote in an instant message to a friend in 2004, after boasting that he had personal data, including photos, emails and addresses, of some 4000 of his social network’s users.

He offered to share whatever information his friend wanted to see.

Zuckerberg may use less profane language today, but many feel he has not yet outgrown his wilful disregard for users’ privacy.

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http://medicalrepublic.com.au/slow-adopting-telehealth/13909

11 April 2018

Why are we so slow in adopting telehealth?

Posted by Julie Lambert

Digital health leaders are arguing for financial incentives and other support to speed doctors’ uptake of digital health technology.

Australian Digital Health Agency CEO Tim Kelsey said his agency was looking for solutions to the country’s slow progress on telehealth and bringing specialists into the computer age.

“Telehealth is a crucial tool. I’ve been surprised by the low uptake of services in Australia; where I’ve seen them in action they worked well,” he said.

“This is really nothing to do with technologies. It’s to do with culture, financial incentives and broader policies,” Mr Kelsey told the Australian Telehealth Conference in Sydney on Wednesday.

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https://www.medicalobserver.com.au/professional-news/when-it-comes-to-measuring-clinical-performance-doctors-must-be-central

When it comes to measuring clinical performance, doctors must be central

Professor Stephen Leeder

12 April 2018

GUEST EDITORIAL

When it comes to measuring performance in clinical settings, doctors need to be involved, writes Professor Stephen Leeder.

At secondary school, I was only moderately accomplished at mathematics despite my dad being a maths teacher. When, a few years later, I became interested in epidemiology, I had to contend with statistics. 

There is, of course, a whole lot more to epi than stats, but it is central. My mathematical mediocrity conferred one advantage: each basic stats course was a new experience.

I forgot, from one course to the next, how to calculate p-values. Fortunately, when I began using statistical skills, it stuck — more or less.

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https://hinz.site-ym.com/news/news.asp?id=392962

Electronic Patient Report Form system live across New Zealand ambulance services

12 April, 2018

 eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

With ambulance staff nationwide now using the same ePRF, paramedics can access patient information from previous call-outs, no matter where in the country they occurred.

All New Zealand ambulance staff are using a single electronic patient report form to record patient information after Wellington Free Ambulance went live with ePRF last month.

The ePRF allows frontline staff to enter patient details into a structured electronic form using a tablet device, rather than having to handwrite notes.

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https://hinz.site-ym.com/news/395866/NZHIT-Thoughts-on-clinical-leadership.htm

NZHIT: Thoughts on clinical leadership

12 April, 2018

Guest column for NZHIT: Dr Will Reedy muses on the crucial role of clinical leadership in the digital age.

The role of the CCIO

The role of the chief clinical information officer has evolved over the past 20 years. It was initially established to support CIOs with clinical engagement for electronic medical record and electronic health record programmes.  

Traditionally the CCIO has been a doctor, but increasingly nurses and allied health professionals are being appointed to CCIO roles.

In recognition of the potential impact of digital health technologies on healthcare teams and emerging models of care, larger healthcare organisations are appointing chief nursing information officers and chief allied health information officers in addition to the CCIO.

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https://www.medicalobserver.com.au/professional-news/why-dont-the-various-pieces-of-gp-software-talk-to-one-another

Why don't the various pieces of GP software talk to one another?

Dr Oliver Frank

9 April 2018

IMPROVING PRACTICE SOFTWARE

GPs need seamless integration for all the software they use, writes Dr Oliver Frank.

THE ISSUE

There are some features and functions that GPs need in their clinical and administrative software packages that are not being provided well enough, if at all. 

Clinical and administrative software packages marketed for use in general practice in Australia are large and complex because they are trying to satisfy the needs of all their users. 

Furthermore, the lack of standards for much clinical and administrative software has resulted in an inability of most packages to interact with each other.

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http://medicalrepublic.com.au/gps-healthcare-distributions-game-thrones/13839

4 April 2018

GPs and healthcare’s distribution Game of Thrones

Posted by Jeremy Knibbs

GPs are at the epicentre of our evolving digital health landscape. But will they be gatekeepers or pawns in an evolving Game of Thrones around control of information and data distribution in the sector?

In April 1995 in Darlinghurst in Sydney, a presentation was taking place in the boardroom of one of the most successful medical healthcare ad agencies of the day, CWFS. 

It was a plan to build an information network in the Australian healthcare system that would serve all points of the system. Present was one of the two largest global business publishing houses at that time. Both the publisher and CWFS had in mind a series of acquisitions that would put together pieces of a distribution puzzle that would build this network. 

Magazine Australian Doctor, the number one medical newspaper, was one of those acquisitions. Another, was an emerging consumer information company, doing things not dissimilar to what Tonic Health Media and Healthshare do today, which is supply key pieces of health information for GPs to pass on to their patients.

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https://www.itwire.com/health/82371-research-finds-consumers-trust-ai-in-healthcare-more-than-banking-or-retail.html

Research finds consumers trust AI in healthcare more than banking or retail

• 10 April 2018
• Written by  David M Williams

An online survey of 500 consumers across the US, representing an age range of 18-70+, indicates 47% of people are comfortable with artificial intelligence in the operating room, while consumers were least comfortable with the idea of AI in retail.

The research was conducted by global analytics software company SAS and announced today at the SAS Global Forum 2018 in Denver, Colorado.

AI is becoming a major topic for software companies around the world. The survey posed a variety of real-world AI scenarios, and requested respondents advise their degree of comfort.

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http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/5332228/seniors-urged-to-join-digital-health-information-service/?cs=122

April 9 2018 - 4:49PM

My Health Record enables healthcare providers to support people

·         Daily Liberal

Older Australians are being urged to consider the benefits of having a My Health Record during NSW Seniors Festival.

My Health Record is an individual’s safe and secure digital health information, easily accessible by healthcare providers involved in their care including GPs, pharmacists and hospitals. All Australians will have a My Health Record by the end of 2018 unless they choose not to.

Australian Digital Health Agency chief executive Tim Kelsey said on Monday the expansion of My Health Record nationally will deliver a system that provides universal functionality, clear and concise content and, critically, a safe and secure clinical health service for all Australians.

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https://www.medicalobserver.com.au/professional-news/hawkings-legacy-better-access-to-assisted-voice-tech

Hawking's legacy? Better access to assisted voice tech

Professor Bronwyn Hemsley

10 April 2018

OPINION

It’s time everyone who needs augmentative and alternative communication technology — like Hawking’s — has access to it.

Stephen Hawking was one of the most prominent people in history to use a high-tech communication aid known as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

His death comes in the year of the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. 

Over the course of his adult life, Hawking came to represent the epitome of what effective communication with AAC systems really means: gaining access to the human right of communication enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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https://www.pharmacynews.com.au/news/teleconsults-abortion-successful-face-face-review-claims

Teleconsults for abortion as successful as face-to-face, review claims

Australian provider releases review of its first 18 months

9th April 2018

Medical abortions arranged over the phone are just as successful as those involving a face-to-face consult, an Australian provider is claiming after evaluating its first 18 months of operation.

The Tabbot Foundation, which posts mifepristone and misoprostol to women screened on the phone, says that of 754 women with documented outcomes, only 26 (3%) required surgical uterine evacuation and one remained pregnant.

Dr Paul Hyland, the foundation’s medical director, says the complication rate was consistent with those from medical abortions involving in-person consults.

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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/how-much-it-contractors-are-costing-the-commonwealth-488218

How much IT contractors are costing the Commonwealth

By Justin Hendry on Apr 9, 2018 6:45AM

Agencies reveal spending.

A handful of the federal government’s largest agencies have shed light on their appetite for IT contractors, giving new clarity to the state of IT outsourcing in the Australian public sector.

Spending on IT contractors and labour hire by agencies – both procured directly and those engaged through third parties – has been disclosed in submissions to an ongoing parliamentary probe into contract reporting.

The data is not however uniform - a number of agencies have detailed their IT contractor costs where they fall into the top three categories of spending, while others have provided a limited breakdown or none at all.

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https://www.themandarin.com.au/90851-giant-federal-data-integration-project-accepts-14-ways-to-improve-privacy-and-security/

Giant federal data integration project accepts 14 ways to improve privacy and security

By Stephen Easton • 05/04/2018

The federal government’s Multi-Agency Data Integration Project has gone through an independent privacy impact assessment, and the six big agencies involved have agreed to 14 recommendations for improvement.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has been combining data from the Tax Office, Human Services, Social Services, Education and Health for several years already, as consulting firm Galexia notes in the new PIA, under the banner of testing the system:

“Since 2015 MADIP has been operating as an evaluation – testing the technical capability of the Partner Agencies to share data in a way that delivers useful outputs, whilst preserving privacy. The evaluation phase is expected to draw to a close in 2018.”

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/personal-technology/jordan-nguyens-psykinetic-offers-amazing-technology-for-disability-sufferers/news-story/ce1a0fadc913014dc8caf438dfb70a62

Jordan Nguyen’s Psykinetic offers amazing technology for disability sufferers

• The Australian
• 12:00AM April 12, 2018

Chris Griffith

It’s heartening to see sophisticated technology that helps paralysed and immobile people communicate with the world.

Previously we reported Control Bionics’ technology which lets totally paralysed people suffering motor neurons disease and congenital illnesses communicate by rapidly moving a single muscle they still can control. Stephen Hawking was an early user.

One high profile sufferer, Michael Phillips of Tampa, Florida, cannot move. Yet he tweets, emails and writes movie and book reviews. Without technology, he would be locked out of all communication in life.

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https://ajp.com.au/news/healthy-digital-healthcare-system/

How ‘healthy’ is our digital healthcare system?

Guest Author — 13/04/2018

Protecting patient privacy, data and health information to meet industry requirements

By Sara Jost, Global Healthcare Industry Lead, BlackBerry

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has just reported that the healthcare sector suffered the most data breaches in its first Quarterly Statistics Report since the Australian Mandatory Breach Notifications scheme came into effect (February 22, 2018). With digitisation already transforming the entire healthcare sector at an accelerating pace, untreated cybersecurity vulnerabilities pose an acute threat to patient outcomes.

Paramount to the success of the digital healthcare age – and to building a sustainable healthcare system in a more mobile world – is opening the doors to increased information sharing among healthcare professionals and organisations. However, as workforces mobilise and new technologies are adopted, how secure are those digital healthcare systems that are sharing and holding valuable personal data and intellectual property?

Last year, the Australian government released the National Digital Health Strategy, which is an important step towards delivering better care for citizens. Initiatives such as My Health Record and the pharmacy profession’s intention to improve data sharing schemes are also positive steps towards deriving meaningful health benefits and operational efficiency from the massive amount of health data generated every day.

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https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/news-analysis/healthcare-startup-tyde-raises-3-million-prepares-20-million-potential-customers/

Healthcare startup Tyde raises $3 million in preparation for 20 million potential customers later this year

Dominic Powell / Thursday, April 12, 2018

Digital healthcare startup Tyde has secured $3 million in Series A funding from an array of high net-worth and institutional investors to prepare the company’s app for an influx of Australians using it to monitor their health records, after the government launches its opt-out version of the My Health Record system later this year.

Founded in 2016 by Romain Bonjean, Shamus Cooper, and Sudeep Gohil, Tyde offers the 5 million Australians currently signed up to the government’s My Health Record program a way to connect with and access all their medical records via an app. They can then share the records with relevant medical professionals.

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https://www.fnarena.com/index.php/2018/04/10/g-medical-launches-mobile-health-monitoring/

G Medical Launches Mobile Health Monitoring

Small Caps | 1:09 PM

G Medical Innovations is a small medical device company with two key products it intends to distribute globally. TMT Analytics initiates coverage.

-Products to become available commercially in approved markets late in the June quarter
-Obtaining approval for Chinese manufacturing facilities crucial to tap into global market
-Should be able to generate strong gross margins over the medium term
 By Eva Brocklehurst

G Medical Innovations ((GMV)) is commercialising a range of mobile monitoring systems for vital signs that should provide major cost savings for the health system. These monitoring systems allow patients to remain mobile in hospitals and at home.

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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/smart-pill-bottle-a-boost-for-blackmores/news-story/5599ea5c2d4d623f2583dd605e600509

Smart pill bottle a boost for Blackmores

• The Australian
• 12:00AM April 11, 2018

Supratim Adhikari

Natural health company Blackmores is working on a ‘smart’ pill bottle that the company says will help it get better insight on how consumers relate to its products.

The solution being tested applies NFC tags to Blackmores products. The data from these tags can be read using hand held devices or smartphone apps and can be made available to Blackmores, the retailers or the customers via dashboards. Meanwhile, Blackmores can also use the data collected to get a clearer picture of sales and the supply chain.

Blackmores is working with Microsoft on its smart bottle pilot and the company’s chief information officer, Brett Winn, said that forging a closer relationship with customers was a big reason for it to pursue the project.

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https://www.smh.com.au/technology/nbn-shifts-another-440-000-premises-to-fibre-to-the-curb-20180410-p4z8nw.html

NBN shifts another 440,000 premises to fibre to the curb

By Adam Turner

10 April 2018 — 9:30am

Almost half a million Australian premises are getting faster broadband as NBN Co dramatically extends its fibre to the curb (FttC) network and prepares to resume the troubled HFC cable rollout.

An additional 440,000 homes and businesses around the country will now benefit from fibre running to the end of their driveway, only relying on copper phone lines to cover the last few metres into the building. This offers a significant speed boost compared to fibre to the node (FttN) which can rely on copper for the last few hundred metres.

Most of these premises had been destined to connect to NBN Co's HFC cable network acquired from Telstra. The rest were previously relegated to FttN connections over long copper lines which would have made it impossible for them to access the NBN's high speed tiers.

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https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/635885/comms-minister-still-confident-about-hfc-role-nbn/

Comms minister still confident about HFC role in NBN

“Foot will be back on the accelerator” when HFC sales pause ends, Fifield says

Rohan Pearce (Computerworld) 09 April, 2018 15:50

Communications minister Senator Mitch Fifield has indicated he still supports the use of hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) in the rollout of the National Broadband Network.

NBN in November halted HFC sales while it worked to address performance problems.

“In order to meet a higher level of service quality, NBN Co will be performing advanced network testing and remediation where needed, wholesale connector replacements, signal amplification calibration, and lead-in work as required,” NBN said in its announcement.

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https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/635882/government-predicts-5g-driven-economic-productivity-boost/

Government predicts 5G-driven economic productivity boost

Releases new research on impact of emerging wireless standard

Rohan Pearce (Computerworld) 09 April, 2018 14:48

Government-backed research predicts that the rollout of 5G mobile technology will deliver a boost to multifactor productivity (MFP) across Australia’s economy.

A new working paper (PDF) produced by the Department of Communications and the Arts’ Bureau of Communications Research forecasts that 5G could “add an additional $1,300 to $2,000 in gross domestic product per person” after the first decade of the rollout of the new wireless standard.

Telstra and Optus are expected to launch their first 5G-based services in 2019.

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https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/635857/nbn-launches-fibre-curb-two-suburbs

NBN launches fibre to the curb in two suburbs

Limited launch while company fine-tunes technology

Rohan Pearce (Computerworld) 08 April, 2018 16:49

N has announced the commercial availability of fibre to the curb (FTTC). More than 1000 homes and businesses in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg and the southern Sydney suburb of Miranda can now order FTTC services, NBN said.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates that NBN Co is an adopter of new and innovative technologies to provide Australians with access to fast broadband,” NBN’s chief customer officer — residential, Brad Whitcomb, said in a statement.

“Over the past few months, we have been working closely with service providers to test our systems and processes, the performance of the NBN FTTC access technology, as well as the new self-installation experience.”

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https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/82352-split-up-nbn-co-before-rollout-ends-accc.html

Split up NBN Co before rollout ends: ACCC

• 09 April 2018
• Written by  Sam Varghese

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has recommended that the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, be split into two entities before it is privatised after the rollout ends.

The suggestion was one of eight recommendations made by the competition watchdog in its final report on the communication sector which was released on Thursday.

It said that while the government should begin to plan for future NBN Co privatisation, it should ensure that measures were in place to enable a split that would facilitate greater competition based on infrastructure.

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Enjoy!

David.