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."

Thursday, September 28, 2023

How Can Something Called Splunk Be Worth $US28 Billion?

This popped up last week.

Cisco is buying Splunk for $44b. Here’s what Splunk does

Katrina Manson

Washington | If the deluge of data in the modern world is increasingly overwhelming, cybersecurity company Splunk claims to have been ready for it for 20 years.

The company’s name reflects the act of burrowing deep down into the Earth to explore caves – the adventure of data spelunking.

Splunk was started by three friends in 2003, as co-founder and ex-chief executive Michael Baum drew on his past building search engines at Yahoo. The conundrum was to figure out how to make sense of mass collection of real-time data. Splunk aimed to search it instantly, surpassing cumbersome old ways of filing through logs. The idea was to have machines label and index data themselves.

On Thursday, more than 1100 patents later, Splunk’s early fascination with the unknown depths of data paid off. It was acquired by Cisco Systems for $US28 billion ($44 billion), after an earlier courtship was rekindled. Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Woo Jin Ho described it as “the Moby Dick” of deals.

It marks a victory for Splunk chief executive Gary Steele, who joined last year from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, which he founded and served as CEO. The union would combine the power of data and AI to “transform the industry”, he said in a statement. Splunk’s share price surged on the news, up 21 per cent just after noon in New York. He will report to Cisco chief executive Chuck Robbins.

Splunk excels in two areas that Cisco believes will fit with products it already offers. Cisco’s existing security products detect and respond, monitoring how devices connected to a network are behaving, deciding whether something fishy is going on and then alerting a company’s IT department. Splunk does incident and event management, meaning it is logging and tracking every action on a network. It looks at where requests originated and what service or software initiated them, compiling huge amounts of data in the process.

That means customers will be able to go from detecting and responding to what is occurring inside a computer network to predicting and preventing, according to Cisco chief financial officer Scott Herren.

What it offers besides data collection

Splunk’s other offering is so-called observability, meaning it uses technology to help customers see and understand whether their applications are secure and performing as they should be. For instance, someone searching a retail site will be connected to a web server that provides them with the product page. Another computer in the background might check on internal inventory and another might calculate the shipping time. Once the consumer commits to a purchase, it’s quite likely that a third-party payment service will get involved.

Any of these steps might be a problem. Splunk adds to Cisco’s existing application diagnostic offerings by being able to look deeper into computer networks and check on each step in the complex chain to make sure everything is working in concert.

Splunk went public in 2012, doubling its market valuation to more than $US3 billion on its first day of trading amid a new-found frenzy for big data investing. It now has about 8000 employees and 230,000 users around the world. More than 90 of the Fortune 100 companies use Splunk, according to its website.

More here:

https://www.afr.com/technology/cisco-is-buying-splunk-for-44b-here-s-what-splunk-does-20230922-p5e6pz

Now you know!

David.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Do You Agree With What Is Said Here? I Reckon It Is Rubbish!

This popped up a few days ago:

Sacking staff who click on malicious links does more harm than good, says security boss

By Joseph Lam

12:01AM September 20, 2023

Harsh penalties including sacking staff who have clicked on a malicious link will do more harm than good for cyber security, says a former ADF intelligence officer who now handles security for a major multinational IT company.

Accenture security lead for Australia and New Zealand Jacqui Kernot said she was “vehemently opposed” to the idea, which has been a talking point across the nation for the past two days.

Cyber security awareness teams should wanted staff to fall for internal campaigns so they could be taught what a successful phishing email looked like and be educated on how to avoid them, she said.

“On people being sacked for cyber awareness campaigns and clicking on too many links, I’m vehemently opposed to that,” she told The Australian.

The comments came after it was revealed this week that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission would target directors and executives who failed to secure their companies and prepare for cyber attacks.

On the back of ASIC’s warning to business leaders, many have come forward with their own ideas on how to improve security and prevent breaches, including sacking staff or limiting their internet access.

Ms Kernot, who has held security roles at IBM, Telstra and EY, said that such penalties would only discourage staff from clicking links altogether and could have some impact on business. 

“Where there are big penalties for failure around cyber awareness campaigns or clicking on links, what happens is you don’t get people to engage with it because they’re scared of getting the wrong answer,” she said. “And you don’t want to start disabling the business.”

Tying metric-based goals to internal cyber security campaigns might also limit the effectiveness of those campaigns, Ms Kernot said. “If the metrics for the cyber awareness team are to get fewer people to click on links, they’re going to design campaigns that make phishing tests obvious,” she said.

Some of the more innovative cyber security teams had turned to the gamification of internal campaigns and testing.

More here:

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/sacking-staff-who-click-on-malicious-links-does-more-harm-than-good-says-security-boss/news-story/e12cb1dde45368f747dafc780a5b561d

I have to say I reckon this is rubbish! My view is that you are allowed one ‘learning experience’ and after that clicking dangerous links should have serious consequences!

What do others think?

David.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

A New Portal To Assist Those With Mental Health And Addiction Problems.

I noticed this a week or two ago.

11 September 2023

Online portal for mental health and addiction

Mental Health Technology

By Harriet Grayson

The eCLiPSE tool promises free 24-hour access to evidence-based clinical resources and services.


University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute have launched a new digital health tool offering real-time treatment for mental health and addiction treatment across NSW.

The eCLiPSE online portal promises free, round-the-clock access to online screening, telehealth treatment, resources and clinical support services to address co-occurring substance use issues and mental health conditions such as depression, trauma and anxiety.

The portal also includes access to a moderated social media network where individuals can share their experiences with health professionals and other users, as well as resources and services for families and friends supporting loved ones experiencing mental health and substance use problems.

Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin, eCLiPSE co-founder and CEO of Hunter Medical Research Institute, said the team would be closely collaborating with clinicians in mental health and alchohol and other drug services across public and private health sectors to assist individuals with accessing to the portal.

While not a standalone replacement for traditional mental health and AOD services, the portal had the potential to change mental health and addiction treatment nationwide, Professor Kay-Lambkin said.

More here:

https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/online-portal-for-mental-health-and-addiction/98455

You can visit the portal here:

https://eclipse.org.au/

I have to say I like the site’s role in continuing development and improvement of new treatments and I would also expect evaluation of what is being done. They certainly have some well-credentialed leaders running the service. It will be good to see some proof of effectiveness over time! We all have to hope these efforts do really make a positive difference, with the epidemic we face in mental health and addiction issues!

Does anyone have a reference or two on the value and utility of such services? This one is very encouraging!

What Is Online Therapy & Does It Work?

Jan 06, 2023

Written by: Hillary Eames

Medically Reviewed by: Haley Stricker, LPC

Reviewed by: Kathleen Cameron,

BSPharm, MPH, Senior Director, NCOA Center for Healthy Aging

Fact Checked

Online Therapy: Key Takeaways

  • Online therapy can be an effective way to manage your mental health in the comfort of your home.
  • There are several affordable online therapy platforms to choose from that offer video, phone, and messaging therapy.
  • Some online therapy providers will take private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Others will offer financial aid or discounts, even if they don’t take insurance.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, online therapy has become more common. The American Psychological Association conducted surveys in 2020 and 2021 to understand how COVID-19 impacted mental health treatment. In 2021, psychologists reported a 10% increase in demand for the treatment of anxiety from the previous year and an 8% increase in demand for treating depression. Other diagnoses with increases in demand for treatment included stress-related disorders, sleep disorders, substance-related and addictive disorders, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.1 According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), telehealth visits by Medicare recipients increased from 5 million between April and December 2019 to more than 53 million during the same months of 2020.2

If you’re considering online therapy, there are some important facts to consider, including its pros and cons, cost and payment options, effectiveness, and more.

Lots more here:

https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/online-therapy/what-is-online-therapy/

Let us all know what you have found!

David.

 

AusHealthIT Poll Number 715 – Results – 24 September, 2023.

Here are the results of the poll.

Do You Believe The myHR Will Be Modified To Support A Fully Decentralized Data Model?

Yes                                                                            1 (2%)

No                                                                           43 (96%)

I Have No Idea                                                         1 (2%)

Total No. Of Votes: 45

A very clear outcome! A vast majority think there will not be an upgrade to improve the myHR data model! This is rather sad as the present centralised data-model is pretty ancient - but then so is the idea of a national centralised patient data-base!

Does anyone know just what level of actual clinical myHR usage is currently being achieved?

Any insights on the poll are welcome, as a comment, as usual!

A very good number of votes. And also a very clear outcome. 

1 of 45 who answered the poll admitted to not being sure about the answer to the question!

Again, many, many thanks to all those who voted! 

David.

 

Thursday, September 21, 2023

2023 Blogging Has Been A Bit Interrupted – Have I Missed Much?

What with spells in hospital and encounters with all sorts of amazing technology it seems I may not have been alert to Digital Health advances as would usually be the case.

For that reason I thought it would be worth asking what readers have seen that has caught their attention while I may not have been paying full attention.

As you all know I have been really impressed with some technology I had hoped I would never need but such is life, and grateful I am for it afterall!

Let me know what you have seen making most difference in the last year of two! I have certainly been impressed with level of ward automation at Royal North Shore Hospital with the associated drop off in paper use. The trend is truly locked in now I have to say and paper is a clear looser!

The one issue I noticed was the seeming lack of formatting and clarity of paper output – as well as rather too much repetition – in pretty much the paper work that was produced for GP and patient use. Some smart AI could help there!

What have you noticed in the places you have visited or been treated at and what have you seen in GP and specialty IT use? Much change yet?

David.

 

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

One View Of the Most-Important Digital Health Innovations Of 2023. They Look Pretty Interesting!

This appeared last week:

InnovationAus Award finalists: Health Tech category

Nicole Bittar
Contributor

14 September 2023

With global challenges mounting for an ageing population, worrying child mortality rates, pandemics and the effects of poverty and racial discrimination in accessing healthcare, the need for an interconnected and resilient healthcare system is greater than ever.

It is not surprising that the broad Health Tech category in the 2023 InnovationAus Awards for Excellence has attracted interest from a range of digital health platforms, as well as related technology innovations such as devices, diagnostic and therapeutics, plus MedTech, pharmaceuticals and biotech innovation.

In celebrating entrants that demonstrate commercialisation for strong research capabilities, the finalists in the InnovationAus 2023 Awards for Excellence are: Annalise Enterprise CXR; Tessara RealBrain platform; and Oli PPH.

Our finalists for the Heath Tech Category are:

Annalise Enterprises CXR – Encompasses artificial intelligence (AI) that empowers chest X-ray clinicians with a second pair of eyes. In doing so, the system detects and improves efficiencies on up to 124 different findings on chest X-rays. The Annalise Enterprises CXR is a comprehensive decision-support tool developed by clinicians for clinicians.

Tessara Therapeutics’ RealBrain platform – Developed by Melbourne-based Tessara Therapeutics, RealBrain are microscopic 3D models of healthy and diseased brain tissues that can be used to study and discover superior and more sustainable drugs to treat neurological diseases.

Oli PPH is Sydney-based Baymatob’s first AI-guided medical product based on the Oli maternity sensor, monitoring and diagnostic platform. Its distinct claim to fame is that Oli PPH is the only product to have ever demonstrated the ability to identify women who are at higher risk of developing postpartum haemorrhage, well before they give birth and allowing for clinical actions that prevent complications.

Lots more here:

https://www.innovationaus.com/innovationaus-award-finalists-health-tech-category/

I have to say these finalists look really interesting and clinically worthwhile, making it useful to browse in some detail what these finalists are up to.

Its well worth clicking the links to see how some useful innovations are being pursued!

David.

 

Sunday, September 17, 2023

This Sounds Like A Really Dramatic Change Of Direction For The myHR.

It has taken me a little while to notice what a biggie this is:

My Health Record on a path to decentralisation
Justin Hendry
Innovation Aus
20 June 2023

My Health Record could adopt a new model where health data is primarily stored in its original clinical system of record from as early as next year, potentially reducing the appeal of the system as a honeypot.

The Australian Digital Health Agency has begun working with industry, healthcare providers and governments to design the plan, which relates to a new National Health Information Exchange, but is yet to receive sign-off.

ADHA Chief digital officer Peter O’Halloran, who joined the agency from ACT Health in February, told the Digital Transformation Live conference that My Health Record was moving to become the national repository for core clinical information without storing all the data.

The centralised record currently includes information about an individual’s health from a range of sources, including from the Australian Immunisation Register, and Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

“We’re… talking about My Health Record moving away from being the be all and end all to being the core national repository for core clinical information about healthcare consumers, but not all data being stored in there,” he said earlier this month.

“The concept we’re moving towards is that in many cases, data will be stored in original system of record. The My Health Record system will be a core system to move forward that gives a summary of what’s happening for a patient but doesn’t do everything.”

The comments come just weeks after $429.7 million was set aside in the federal Budget for a two-year modernisation of the My Health Record, which the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce in February found was a barrier to health information sharing.

Health minister has acknowledged that the “clunky, pdf format system” that underpins My Health Record is outdated, with its future design expected to be capable of supporting a “real-time, fully-integrated digital health system”.

Mr O’Halloran said around $38 million of that funding will be used for a data platform to transition My Health Record from a pdf-based clinical document system to a structured data system. A further $13 million will got to implementing a “share by default” setting for health providers.

Lots more here:

https://www.innovationaus.com/my-health-record-on-a-path-to-decentralisation/

Reading this one really does have a sense of coming full cycle with the apparent recognition that it may not be a wonderful idea to cram  the totality of clinical information held in the myHR in one huge database and that some distributed alternatives may make more sense!

There are pros and cons for each approach but I have to say that when dealing with sensitive private data there is some value in using a distributed approach to minimise the adverse consequences of data leakage.

Of course, there can be some real technical complexity in making the distributed approach work from a diverse range of sources and a good deal of planning and discipline is needed to have it all have together!

I have to say I would not expect any transition to be quick or pain-free!

David.