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
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The big news of the week is the release from the ADHA that all is pretty much solved in the Secure Clinical Messaging space and that nirvana is just around the corner. Can I suggest that claim seems to be total rubbish and that the 15+ year journey we have all been on has a way to run. I suggest you read closely and make up your own mind after a little research.
Here would be a good place to start:
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Premier promises investigation into troubled hospital software
September 12, 2019 — 6.05pm
Queensland’s Premier has promised an investigation into the latest crash of the state’s troubled $1.2 billion electronic medical record software.
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More trouble for Queensland hospital software after statewide issues
September 11, 2019 — 9.42am
Queensland Health’s troubled electronic medical record software crashed across the state on Tuesday, forcing staff to go to pen and paper records in some cases.
In an emergency email sent on Tuesday afternoon, seen by Brisbane Times, hospital staff were warned that the $1.2 billion ieMR system was experiencing “system degradation” from around 4pm.
All hospitals with the ieMR software in place were affected by the outage, which Queensland Health said was caused by a "routine software patch" scheduled by the software’s manufacturer, Cerner.
"Intermittent login issues were experienced when the patch was deployed," a Queensland Health spokeswoman said in a statement.
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Telehealth still failing to connect Medicare with regional GPs as technology elsewhere keeps advancing
10 September, 2019
Regional general practitioners in Western Australia are calling for changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) which currently denies GPs a connection with patients via telehealth, despite advances in technology.
Key points:
- Telehealth services can provide good primary healthcare without the need to travel long distances, WA's Health Minister says
- WA has a significantly lower proportion of GPs per head of population than any other state
- Canberra plans to extend Medicare benefits to allow GP telehealth in remote, but relatively large population areas known as MMM 6 and 7
Telehealth is a method of health delivery that uses video conferencing as a simple way to connect regional and remote patients with health services.
Its main use is connecting regional patients with specialists based in metropolitan areas, but it has potential to change the way people also access general practitioners.
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NSW Health to trial body-worn cameras on paramedics
To deter violence against personnel.
NSW Health is planning a limited trial of body-worn video (BWV) cameras on the state’s paramedics to help reduce incidents of violence on the job.
Deputy secretary for people, culture and governance Phil Minns revealed the planned trial during budget estimates last week, which he said would “commence before the end of this year”.
“I think the aim would be in the range of 50 to 100 and the trial would run for 12 months and be fully evaluated,” he said.
The trial, which will be “weighted trial across metro and regional” areas, will be used to test if [the devices] will operate as an “effective deterrent”.
It follows a six-month trial of 150 BWV cameras with Victorian paramedics during 2017 also aimed at combating rising rates of violence on the job.
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Media release - Helping healthcare providers to share information
Created on Monday, 9 September 2019
9 September 2019: Collaboration to develop enhanced secure messaging functionality will ensure healthcare providers can communicate quickly, easily and securely to provide safer and more efficient care.
Eliminating paper-based messaging in healthcare is a priority of the National Digital Health Strategy.
The Agency has been working with the software industry and healthcare providers to develop standards to improve the secure exchange of healthcare information. Following the successful trialling of the co-designed standards in 2018, the Agency today confirmed that it is partnering with 42 organisations to ensure they are able to easily share information when using different secure messaging platforms across 56 separate software products.
Patient and consumer advocate, Harry Iles-Mann, says that finding ways to reduce frustration and have better, safer, and more effective care is important to him. “Two of the most frustrating things about being a patient are having to repeat yourself in multiple care environments and bringing bundles of paper with you to appointments,” Mr Iles-Mann said.
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Could doctors use machine learning to detect heart attacks faster?
September 14, 2019 — 10.12pm
Researchers hope new machine learning techniques can speed up the detection of heart attacks, a vital factor in patient survival.
An international research team including doctors from Queensland has been doing early testing on artificial intelligence to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack sooner.
Currently doctors look at a range of physical symptoms such as chest pains and shortness of breath but there is no guarantee a patient will have specific symptoms when they arrive at hospital.
Doctors can also order a blood test to look for a protein called troponin in, which is produced in greater levels during a heart attack.
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ADHA partners with 42 organisations to develop secure message functionality across software products
A priority of Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy is to eliminate paper-based messaging in healthcare.
September 09, 2019 12:04 AM
WHY IT MATTERS
Most clinicians can only correspond electronically with healthcare providers who use the same secure messaging software. These enhancements will allow clinicians to more easily address messages to healthcare providers who are on other secure messaging platforms and will ensure messages and acknowledgements are sent in standard formats. Breaking down these silos will allow clinicians to achieve the full potential of secure messaging and will support the move to axe both the fax and the scanner.
General Manager of eHealth Solutions at Telstra Health, Tania Oldaker, said this is a great example of collaboration between software organisations and the Agency to support the work of general practitioners, specialists, allied health practitioners and other providers across Australia.
“We’ve worked closely with the Agency and our colleagues in the software industry to develop these new secure messaging standards and test them in a proof-of-concept implementation,” Ms Oldaker said.
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Telcos ordered to block eight websites under new Christchurch attack rules
September 9, 2019 — 5.00am
Australia's major telecommunications companies have been ordered to block eight websites that are hosting videos of the Christchurch terrorist attacks or the alleged gunman's manifesto in the first move from the eSafety Commissioner to use new rules.
While the sites have already been blocked voluntarily by the telcos for five months, the violent material hasn't been removed leading the eSafety Commissioner to formally order an additional six months' block.
The massacre was livestreamed on Facebook and the video was uploaded millions of times across the internet. At the time, there were no guidelines informing the providers what sites to block and when to remove restrictions and this left the telcos in a difficult legal position.
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Friday, 06 September 2019 17:10
Govt hints it wants bigger role in cyber security, invites input
Peter Dutton: "The government's 2016 Cyber Security Strategy has strengthened Australia's national cyber security footing, deepened our engagement with industry, and positioned Australia as a prominent regional leader in cyber security."
The Federal Government has indicated that it would like to play a much bigger role in managing cyber security incidents in Australia, releasing a discussion paper and inviting views from all and sundry towards drafting a cyber security strategy for 2020.
The paper, released by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Friday, says the 2020 strategy will build on the 2016 strategy that was put in place by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Dutton said the new strategy would be developed in close collaboration with industry, research partners and community groups.
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Tuesday, 10 September 2019 10:39
Deakin Uni researches ‘smart’ materials for home care systems for elderly
Deakin University is exploring how ‘smart’ materials can be used in home care systems to help elderly people stay safer in their homes.
Under the research program, researchers in Deakin’s Mediated Intelligence in Design (MInD) Lab are working with Imagine - a Geelong-based provider of intelligent materials - to investigate the application of graphene sensing surfaces on walls and floors inside buildings.
MInD Lab Director Professor Tuba Kocaturk, from Deakin’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, said graphene coatings with ultra-thin sensors could report on events like changes in temperature, pressure and humidity, just like human skin.
“With these coatings, the surface becomes ‘smart’ and information captured through these surfaces is then delivered into an Internet of Things (IoT) connected world through cloud computing,” Professor Kocaturk said.
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Australian Department of Health wants to reduce paperwork with SaaS solution
A request for tender has been launched to help facilitate electronic meeting papers and support a minimum of 200 end users.
The Department of Health is seeking a provider to help it build a digital agenda board Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that can help facilitate electronic meeting papers and support a minimum of 200 end users.
According to the department, the solution will help reduce manual processes of meeting papers; reduce workloads involved in the creation, clearance, distribution, and coordination of meeting papers; support more timely decision-making in meetings; and streamline associated work with the production of meeting papers.
In tender documents, the Department of Health said the solution would need to give end users the ability to access meeting papers from portable devices, such as laptops and iPads, without requiring access to the internet.
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An end to paper
Eliminating paper-based messaging in healthcare is now a step closer, says the Australian Digital Health Agency
Following a successful trial in 2018, the Agency has now confirmed that it is partnering with 42 organisations to ensure healthcare providers are able to easily share information when using different secure messaging platforms across 56 separate software products.
The Agency says that eliminating paper-based messaging in healthcare is a priority for the National Digital Health Strategy.
The Agency has been working with the software industry and healthcare providers to develop standards to improve the secure exchange of healthcare information, it said.
Most clinicians can only correspond electronically with healthcare providers who use the same secure messaging software. However these enhancements will allow clinicians to more easily address messages to healthcare providers who are on other secure messaging platforms and are aimed at ensuring messages and acknowledgements are sent in standard formats.
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A GP’s journey in technology development
A shock diagnosis and a move across the world inspired Dr Naomi Zeraati to create a service she hopes will help GPs, specialists and patients.
It was two years ago Dr Naomi Zeraati heard the news that spurred her to create Zeferral, an online tool designed to help GPs make timely referrals to the most appropriate specialist for their patients.
‘It was around November 2017, that was when my brother was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer,’ Dr Naomi Zeraati told newsGP.
‘He was only 24.’
‘It was quite a horrible, scary time, and it was the first time I’ve been in the patient’s perspective, feeling helpless and anxious and just wanting to find the best specialist for him.
‘And so that was my main driver.’
The second big driver came from Dr Zeraati’s experience in moving to Australia from the UK, being asked for referrals in a country with which she was not yet completely familiar.
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GPs sceptical of pain apps for older patients
Chief among their concerns was patients' ability to use the software
13th September 2019
Australian GPs, doctors and allied health professionals have reservations about the suitability of pain management apps for older patients with arthritic pain, a small study shows.
Seventeen clinicians involved in treating arthritic pain in the over-65s were interviewed about the potential for patients to use smartphone apps to help manage their pain.
Interviewees included four GPs, an emergency doctor, a specialist pain physician, eight physiotherapists, two clinical psychologists and an osteopath.
Their common view was that the idea of using pain-management apps in older patients was idealistic and would be challenging to put into practice.
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Get data breach leaves 50,000 students vulnerable
Sep 10, 2019 — 2.05pm
Over 50,000 university students have had their private data breached as part of a significant incident at payment and ticketing platform Get.
Get, which services student clubs running events throughout the country, had left the names and contact details of customers visible through its interfaces for an unknown period before a user discovered the error on Saturday.
While the company has since blocked off access to this information, the user, who wished to remain nameless for fears of retaliation from Get, said there was evidence others had accessed the data thousands of times before.
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AI prescribed to boost population health and support clinicians
Tuesday, 03 September, 2019
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming all sectors of the economy, and promising enormous human impact — nowhere more than in health care. McKinsey & Co research suggests that harnessing AI could deliver 44% greater value to health care than more traditional analytics techniques — and that globally the impact of AI on health care is approaching US$400 billion.
In November this year AIMed will hold its first summit in Australia — only the fourth such event anywhere in the world — bringing together 400 delegates and 30 speakers, alongside important opportunities to network, take part in workshops, hear from leading-edge practitioners and attend a special ‘Shark Tank’ session to learn about groundbreaking local innovation.
Speaking ahead of the summit at an AIMed briefing in Sydney, AIMed chairman and founder Dr Anthony Chang stressed the need for AI-enhanced medicine. He said that the best results would arise when machine intelligence combined with clinical human intelligence into a new brand of medical intelligence that would in the future be embedded in all manner of medical services.
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Are healthcare providers ready to embrace a digital future?
Mobile technology could be the cure for futureproofing doctor–patient relationships.
In his opening comments at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) AsiaPac18 conference in Brisbane last year, eHealth Queensland CEO and CIO Dr Richard Ashby spoke of the changing dynamic between healthcare providers and patients and how we can expect to see patients taking charge of the management of their own healthcare within the next 10 to 15 years, largely enabled by their mobile devices.1
At the same event, a global panel of experts discussed the changes that need to come to ensure healthcare systems are sustainable in the future by utilising technology to reduce pressure on resources. Australian Digital Health Agency CEO Tim Kelsey advised that empowering patients to manage their own health care was an important step and one that is being encouraged by governments around the world — certainly in Australia and the UK. He also indicated that, much like the digitalisation of the travel industry, there will be a turning point where consumers move rapidly from an initially cautious approach to this new way of health management to a much higher demand for it.2
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Perth startup challenges global tech giant
MEDIA RELEASE, September 12: A Perth startup that recently claimed the Microsoft Global Social Impact Partner award has successfully called on the tech giant to review the licensing pricing of its software for nonprofit and social impact customers.
Illuminance Solutions has been working with Microsoft to help facilitate greater access to its technology designed for Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers.
AvantCare is an integrated NDIS client and services information management program, built off the Microsoft 365 Dynamics platform.
“We built our AvantCare software on the Microsoft platform to help NDIS service providers manage their processes more effectively,” Illuminance Soltions CEO Nilesh Makwana said.
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nHIP approved by Cabinet
13 September, 2019
eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
The high-level business case for the national Health Information Platform has been approved by Cabinet.
The Ministry of Health is now developing a detailed business case that is due to go back to Cabinet early next year.
The nHIP is founded on the notion of interoperability and replaces the idea of developing a single Electronic Health Record.
“It will have the ability to assemble a virtual electronic record on an “as required” basis from multiple trusted sources, and provide access to data and services,” Ministry group manager digital strategy and investment Darren Douglass previously told eHealthNews.nz.
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NBN not worth the money it cost to build it, Vocus chief executive says
Telco CEO decries NBN Co’s approach to wholesale pricing
Consumers are paying the price for government rules designed to protect NBN Co’s monopoly and help ensure it recovers the cost of building its network, Vocus Group chief executive Kevin Russell has argued.
“The real market value of the NBN is far, far less than what it cost to build,” the CEO said today. NBN Co’s decision-making “is driven as a monopoly targeting financial returns, rather than consumer needs and market reality.”
In remarks prepared for the ACCANect conference of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, the Vocus CEO said that because NBN Co’s financial targets are based on recovering the network’s build cost, “prices are far higher than would be achievable in a market-led environment.”
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The NBN predictions made in a 2013 report that did not happen
Remember when we were told we’d save $3800 a year by 2020 thanks to the NBN? Things didn’t quite work out the way a 2013 report expected.
Back in 2013 when Australians were grappling with whether to support the huge investment in the National Broadband Network, the deal was sweetened by the promise of $3800 a year in benefits.
A Deloitte Access Economics report, commissioned by the government and released ahead of the federal election, estimated Australian households would benefit to the tune of $3800 a year by 2020.
The report looked at six areas including communications, e-commerce, online services, employment, travel savings and quality and price changes.
Some of the savings would be financial but others were linked to time savings thanks to the ability to work from home and access to online government services.
So with the NBN due to be completed next year, did the mega project deliver on its promises?
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Telstra blocks 2.9m scam calls in one month
But says telcos alone can’t solve the scourge.
Telstra blocked 2.9 million “scam calls” in July this year alone, highlighting the need for industry and government to come together on the issue.
But CEO Andy Penn said consumers also needed to play a part in the way they dealt with receiving such calls.
Penn said there had been an “exponential increase in the number of scams targeting Australian consumers.”
“In many ways they are like whack-a-mole – you thwart one scam and another one pops up,” he said.
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Tuesday, 10 September 2019 09:53
NBN Co deploys Infinera SDN solution across broadband network
Australia's broadband builder NBN Co has deployed Infinera’s transcend software-defined networking (SDN) solution across its network.
Infinera says the “self-healing capabilities” of its solution allow network operators to restore customer services by automatically rerouting traffic when faults occur – and will allow NBN Co to increase its network resiliency and reliability by introducing automatic service restoration capabilities across its network.
“The Transcend SDN solution was deployed and integrated with our systems, giving us the capability to increase service availability to some of the most remote locations across Australia,” said NBN Co's Chief Network Deployment Officer, Kathrine Dyer.
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NBN Co is building a user-facing technical field force
To work "predominantly inside the customer’s premises."
NBN Co is building a new nationwide field team of technicians and specialists to perform installation, repair and maintenance on cabling and customer premises equipment.
The company is presently hiring for what it is calling “brand new positions” in all major capital cities.
The roles on offer include ‘customer field technician’ and ‘customer field specialist’; both will be “speaking to our customers and be the face of our organisation,” NBN Co said.
NBN Co appeared to be referring to internet end users as “customers” instead of retail service providers in the wording of its advertisements.
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Monday, 09 September 2019 07:15
Merge NBN Co with separated InfraCo, says telco guru
Telstra’s infrastructure division, known as InfraCo, should be completely separated from Telstra and become a new public company with minimal Telstra shareholding.
That would then enable it to be merged with NBN Co to form a major new telecommunication wholesale infrastructure company that would be better able to satisfy the original aims of the NBN and enable Australia to compete in a digital world.
That’s the view of Peter Gerrand, one of Australia’s leading telecommunications gurus. He certainly knows what he’s talking about – he formerly led Telstra’s network strategy division, and was subsequently Professor of Telecommunications at RMIT University and then the University of Melbourne. He is a recipient of the industry’s Charles Todd Medal, and was also the founding chief executive of Melbourne IT.
Gerrand has set out his views in the Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, in an issue devoted to NBN Futures. His paper can be downloaded here.
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Enjoy!
David.
