----- NT Pathology to link MHR results to Lab Tests Online
June 12, 2019 02:49 AM
All those in the NT receiving their results report on their MHR will now have a direct link to the opening page of the Lab Tests Online website.
The Northern Territory (NT) Department of Health in Australia will soon become the first pathology provider to link the online tests results it is sharing via My Health Record (MHR) with Lab Tests Online, a not-for-profit website funded by the Australian Government under the Quality Use of Pathology Program (QUPP). MHR is an online, electronic summary of one’s key health information. The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) announced in February this year that 9 out of 10 Australians have a MHR following the conclusion of the opt-out period. -----
How a Brisbane startup is using AI to tackle prostate cancer
Maxwell Plus uses Google’s machine learning services to help augment the work of clinicians
Every year around 3500 Australian men die of prostate cancer, according to the Prostate Cancer foundation of Australia. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, and by the age of 75 one in seven men will develop prostate cancer; by the age of 85, that increases to one in five, according to PCFA. The good news is that the survival rate is relatively high and improving, research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals: Around nine out of 10 men diagnosed with the cancer will survive five years from diagnosis. The five-year relative survival for men diagnosed with prostate cancer increased from 59 per cent in 1986 to 90 per cent in 2007, according to a 2013 report from the AIHW.
However, early detection can have a significant impact on the chances of survival. Brisbane-based startup Maxwell Plus is using artificial intelligence (AI) in an effort to increase early diagnosis of the cancer.
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MGC Pharma taps RMIT to build 'Google of medicinal cannabis'
For dispensing doctors.
ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals has partnered with RMIT to develop a digital platform to help doctors wade through the mountain of conflicting evidence on medical marijuana to find the best solution for their patients.
The International Library of Cannabinoids (ILC), dubbed the “Google of medicinal cannabis” by MGC Pharma’s co-founder Roby Zomer, will provide doctors with a portal to clinical research and information on different cannabinoid sequences and their potential treatments.
Associate professor in biotechnology at RMIT, Nitin Mantri, said the ILC database collects “comprehensive information about strains (including genetics, grow conditions and chemical profile) and clinical trials (including details of diseases and follow up treatments”.
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Qld budget sinks $85 million into digital services, cyber security
Under 'responsive government' initiative.
The Queensland government has earmarked more than $85 million in its 2019-20 state budget to improve digital services and safeguard government systems over the next four years.
The funding pool, revealed in the budget on Tuesday, will be used by the Department of Housing and Public Works for a series of 'responsive government' initiatives.
It is the first major investment in front-facing digital services and cyber security since the establishment of a dedicated infosec capability within government back in 2016. The funding largely falls to digital services improvements, with $65.5 million allocated to “enhance digital technology and service design capabilities to make services better” over four years.
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Qld opposition claims govt IT blowouts nearing $450m
Wants CIOs charged with investigating overspend.
The Queensland opposition has accused the state Labor government of almost $450 million in blowouts on technology projects.
Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington revealed the figure this week while unveiling a plan to prevent overspend on projects if elected in next year’s state election.
She used the public IT dashboard, which was recently updated to include additional information fields following an adverse audit last year, to compare planned expenditure against present approved expenditure for the 150 active digital and IT enabled initiatives across government. Frecklington said the difference put the state’s IT projects at $447 million over their original budgets, with more than half of this occurring at Queensland Health ($291.5 million).
It is almost twice as much as was revealed during a similar exercise by the opposition leader last year. -----
NSW Health partners with academia and research group to deliver Massive Open Online Course
June 06, 2019 04:40 AM
The MOOC is being launched as international reports predict that clinical staff will need the skills to navigate an increasingly data-rich healthcare environment.
Screenshot from The University of Sydney's YouTube page. Dr Tim Shaw is the Professor of eHealth at the University of Sydney and Director of Capacity Building at the Digital Health CRC, as well as the instructor for the MOOC. NSW Health, the University of Sydney and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) have partnered to deliver a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) which shows how clinical health data can be harnessed for better patient care.
Members of the existing and future health workforce can now access this new foundational curriculum, which the state’s digital health agency eHealth NSW developed in collaboration with the University of Sydney and NSW Health’s Health Education and Training Institute (HETI).
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University of Sydney develops breath analyser for diabetes
Nathan Eddy | 11 Jun 2019
The University of Sydney is working with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission on the development of a breath ketone analyser for people living with type 1 diabetes.
The device, which measures blood ketone levels in the breath, could represent a less invasive way – replacing pin prick testing – for those affected with diabetes to monitor their health, as well as being more accurate.
Monitoring for ketones is important in people with diabetes when they are sick and at risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis, the latter of which requires emergency treatment and can be life threatening
“The process will be as simple as roadside breath testing – just by measuring the concentration of acetone in a patient’s breath, blood ketone levels can be calculated,” Professor Xiaoke Yi from the School of Electrical and Information Engineering said.
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Greg Hunt promises MBS money for GP consults via phone calls and emails
Details sparse but it's part of a 10-year plan for primary care, he says
11th June 2019
The Federal Government says it will offer Medicare funding for GP consults conducted by phone, text, email and online under a new, 10-year plan for primary care.
Greg Hunt, newly reappointed as health minister last month, says he has already started work on the reform plan, which will be developed alongside the AMA and the RACGP, but a key element will be telehealth.
“At the moment, you have to see your doctor face-to-face. Yet in every other area of our life, face-to-face is important, but we use technology,” he says.
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Queensland: Claiming eHealth leadership
Stuart Corner | 14 Jun 2019
Bruce Linaker is the acting CIO of Queensland Health and the acting CEO of eHealth Queensland, a unit created to provide technology solutions across Queensland Health.
With a staff of some 1,500 people and an operational budget of $440 million, he’s in charge of delivering more than $1 billion of ICT enabling programs and projects for Queensland Health. And, he says, Queensland’s focus on digital health is putting it ahead of the rest of Australia.
“We’re working on some the biggest and some of the most exciting projects, certainly in Brisbane and possibly even in Australia. We’re leading on a number of these initiatives where we are the envy of some of our southern states in terms of how rapidly we’re adopting and incorporating these new technologies.”
He says some of the innovations and some of the technology becoming available will be transformational.
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Health data: Why it’s good to share
Stuart Corner | 14 Jun 2019
Andrew Morris, director of Health Data Research UK, closed his keynote speech at this month’s eHealth Expo Queensland with a headline from the Wall Street Journal.
The new Einsteins will be the scientists who share: from cancer to cosmology. Researchers could race ahead by working together online and in the open.
It well-illustrated the thrust of his presentation, and the goals of the organisation he heads: The gathering and sharing, as widely as possible, of data on the health of individuals – suitably protected — will bring enormous benefits and efficiencies in healthcare.
Morris illustrated his presentation with compelling examples, the first from Scotland, with a population of around five million, similar in size to that of Queensland.
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Test yourself for flu on the blower
Aussies could test themselves for the flu at home thanks to a world-first smartphone diagnosis kit invented by a Brisbane doctor.
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Landmark White considers 'whole or part' sale as cash runs low
Jun 14, 2019 — 5.22pm
Landmark White is running out of cash following its second suspension by the majority of its lender clients, and the troubled valuation firm has told staff it is considering a sale of "the whole or parts" of the business.
Reinstatement by its major lenders was not likely "immediately" and, having used up a significant portion of its cash reserve during its first suspension, which led to a near three-month halt in trading of its shares, the second suspension was having "a major impact on the business and its viability", acting chief executive Tim Rabbitt told staff in an email on Thursday.
"Without an immediate reinstatement from our clients, the business is likely to be in trouble in the very near term," Mr Rabbitt said in the email seen by AFR Weekend.
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Australian National University hackers shine light on IP theft
- By Sam Duncan
- 12:00AM June 11, 2019
The recent cyber attack on the Australian National University, in which 19 years’ worth of staff and student data was compromised, has ignited fears not only in the public sector but in the corporate community that intellectual property is perhaps more vulnerable to hackers now than ever before.
Company boards have become increasingly aware of the problem, but the prevalence of large-scale network breaches shows more needs to be done, says Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“Cyber risks are now so large that it goes to the heart of their ability as a business to operate,” he says. “It should be discussed as a regular recurring item on every board’s agenda.
“The fact that we see these sorts of incidents repeated, again and again, suggests there’s quite a bit of work to be done, and not everyone is taking it as seriously as they should.”
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Australian lawyer dubbed ‘human rights hero’
Digital Rights Watch’s Lizzie O'Shea recognised for campaign against ‘encryption’ bill
Human rights lawyer Lizzie O'Shea has received an international award recognising her efforts to oppose Australia’s controversial encryption legislation.
Parliament last year passed, with bipartisan support, the somewhat innocuously named Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 in the face of widespread opposition from both human rights groups and the tech and telecommunications sectors.
The legislation creates a framework for police and national security agencies to issue directions to communications services providers to cooperate with investigations. However, much of the controversy surrounding the bill was based on the perception that it could weaken the security of online services: The legislation allows the government to issue an instruction to a service provider to implement a new capability in order to facilitate the work of law enforcement agencies. The government has said that it will not enable the creation of backdoors or undermine security, but critics of the law are not convinced. -----
AI-powered mobile app can listen to coughs, make diagnoses
Nathan Eddy | 11 Jun 2019
A mobile application developed by researchers at the Joondalup Health Campus and Princess Margaret Hospitals in Australia has used artificial intelligence to accurately diagnose common respiratory disorders in children.
According to a research paper published in Respiratory Research, cough sounds were recorded by a smartphone, then an analysis was performed using cough data and up to a five-symptom input derived from patient and parent-reported history – ailments included asthma, croup and pneumonia.
Cough audio streams were recorded on iPhone 6 smartphones in realistic hospital environments, where background noises included talking, running medical equipment, crying, footsteps and closing doors.
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Government cools talk of intervention to cut NBN prices
June 12, 2019 — 12.00am
The Morrison government has rejected calls for a drastic intervention to cut wholesale prices on the national broadband network as the $51 billion project faces claims it is charging too much to maximise its profits.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher insisted the company running the vast project would make its own decisions on prices, dismissing the idea that the government would use its powers to force a cut that could be passed on to consumers.
In an interview upon his appointment to the key ministry, Mr Fletcher also rejected talk of writing down the value of the network - a commercial decision that would acknowledge that the rollout had failed to meet early projections.
"Pricing decisions are a matter for the NBN board and management," he said.
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Comms minister says NBN privatisation ‘some way away’
Fletcher says his focus is on realising social and economic benefits from NBN
With the roll out of the National Broadband Network due to be completed next year, Australia’s new communications minister says that there will not be an immediate push to privatise NBN Co.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s post-election ministerial shakeup saw Paul Fletcher appointed minister for communications, cyber safety and the arts. In his first major interview since being given the role — formerly held by Senator Mitch Fifield, who will be leaving parliament to become Australia’s ambassador to the UN — Fletcher told ABC News that the roll out of the NBN was on schedule to be completed in 2020. Questioned on the issue of privatisation, the minister said that “it’s always been envisaged that at some point, at some point, NBN would pass from government ownership into other ownership.”
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Optus rethinks how telco customer problems get solved
Tries to avoid customers being on hold or re-explaining issue.
Optus is testing new ways to solve customers’ problems that avoids putting the customer on hold or having to repeatedly explain the problem every time their call is passed between support areas.
The telco has spent the past year trialling a digital case management system co-created with robotic process automation vendor Pega.
Digital case management product owner Penny Willcock told the PegaWorld 2019 conference in Las Vegas that the past year of tests had helped Optus to prove a series of hypotheses.
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Enjoy!
David.
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