Artificial Intelligence

The revolution changing the face of healthcare delivery

AAPM NSW calls for Practice Manager of Year nominations

29 April 2013

The NSW branch of the Australian Association of Practice Managers (AAPM) has called for nominations for its Practice Manager of the Year Award. The award provides the opportunity to recognise and reward a practice manager for their special contributions to medical, dental or allied health practice management in NSW. In addition to providing some background […]

Video outlines benefits of telehealth for GPs and specialists

29 April 2013

Inner East Melbourne Medicare Local (IEMML) has released a new video resource aimed at encouraging general and specialist practitioners to consider telehealth for patients in aged care settings. The video features interviews with medical practitioners, aged care staff and a resident who discuss their telehealth experience. “We’re excited about being able to share this video […]

PCEHR-enabled Best Practice now available

25 April 2013

Best Practice Software has released its new version, 1.8.3.595, which will allow users to access and upload documents to the PCEHR. The latest version is available for download from the Best Practice website, along with instructions and tutorials to help with installation and setting up for PCEHR requirements. Once installed, users will now notice a […]

Easier, faster app development for all devices

24 April 2013

US-based app and database development software provider Embarcadero has released an app development suite that promises to allow developers to build apps that can run on most devices and desktops as a native app. Called RAD Studio XE4, the software will allow developers to use one code base for all devices, including the iPhone, iPod […]

Stat to release PCEHR version, integrate DocAppointments

24 April 2013

Stat Health Systems has passed its testing for PCEHR integration and will be releasing its PCEHR-enabled version before the May 1 deadline for the eHealth Practice Incentives Program (ePIP), with which the Stat product is now fully compliant. Stat Health CEO Carla Doolan said the upgrades will begin on Monday, April 29, and the product […]

Restorative approach a vital link between aged and acute care

24 April 2013

A landmark collaboration between aged care provider ACH Group, Flinders University and SA Health will deliver restorative care to 120 patients and residents – and on-site training to students – from mid-2014. In the process, it aims to get rid of the silos that exist between aged care and the acute and primary sectors. The […]

Case study: St Vincent’s Hospital electronic discharge summaries

22 April 2013

This article first appeared in the April 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. Sydney’s St Vincent’s & Mater Health introduced electronic discharge summaries in January last year. Nothing new, you might say, but the difference with St Vincent’s is that it is the testing ground for delivering high quality discharge information in a standardised format that […]

ComCare to develop mobile PCEHR assisted registration

22 April 2013

Despite a backlog in HPI-O applications that has now delayed ComCare’s PCEHR-ready version going live by three weeks, aged care software vendor EOS Technologies has embarked on a project with NEHTA to develop assisted registration functionality. EOS Technologies, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Silver Chain community nursing group and a member of NEHTA’s aged care […]

Privacy framework could help harness the power of big data

19 April 2013

Privacy considerations don’t necessarily need to be a barrier to the use of big data in healthcare and can be respected as long as a transparent framework is established and the onus for remedying data breaches is put on the collector rather than the subject, a privacy expert said. Emma Hossack, CEO of shared electronic […]

Potential for big data through the PCEHR

18 April 2013

“This is the end of the beginning,” Department of Health and Ageing deputy secretary Paul Madden told the Big Data 2013 conference in Melbourne during an update on the implementation of the PCEHR. Mr Madden, also DoHA’s chief information and knowledge officer, was in a buoyant mood and excited about the possibilities of large amounts […]

Big data and the public compact

18 April 2013

Former minister Kim Carr has opened the Health Informatics Society of Australia’s inaugural Big Data conference with an impassioned speech about freeing up public data, urging the nation not to “squander” the “great compact between government and researchers”. “I have taken the view that this should be an area in which there should be no […]

RDNS wins innovation award for virtual nurse telehealth project

18 April 2013

The Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) has won the Outstanding ICT Innovation award in the Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards 2013 for its Healthy, Happy and at Home telehealth project. The project involves nurse-led video conferencing with RDNS clients in their own home, using the Intel Home Guide remote monitoring device, which includes an in-built […]

Monash prepares to scale up TLC Diabetes program

17 April 2013

Monash University and its partners in the Telephone-Linked Care (TLC) Diabetes program are looking at ways the technology can be offered to the broader community following the publication of successful results from a randomised controlled trial. The TLC system is an interactive computer-assisted telephone system that has proven successful in several trials, particularly for improving […]

Health Metrics to look to third-party gateway for PCEHR

16 April 2013

Aged and community care software vendor Health Metrics recently launched a medications management module incorporating MIMS Integrated, and is considering a third-party gateway approach to integrating with the PCEHR. Health Metrics, which was established more than four years ago, offers both cloud-based as well as locally installed versions of its eCase software for residential aged […]

Healthy competition for apps for the home

16 April 2013

The Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation (ACBI) has announced prizes of up to $20,000 in a new competition aimed at developers of applications for broadband-connected homes. The ACBI – a partnership between the CSIRO, National ICT Australia (NICTA), NBN Co and the NSW and Tasmanian governments – is hoping to stimulate the business environment for […]

Best Practice to roll out PCEHR-enabled beta version

15 April 2013

Clinical software vendor Best Practice is set to roll out its PCEHR-enabled version over the next two weeks, in time for the eHealth Practice Incentives Program (ePIP) deadline of May 1. The software has already passed all of its conformance tests for the PCEHR and has been listed on NEHTA’s ePIP product register. Under the […]

Pitfalls and problems of PCEHR go-live

15 April 2013

The Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal health service that went live a fortnight ago with the PCEHR found the experience extremely complex, with a lack of information and a number of technical difficulties to overcome. Pangula Mannamurna, a not-for-profit Aboriginal community-controlled health service that provides free healthcare to the lower south-east region of South Australia, acted as […]

Practice nurses as the telehealth change agent

15 April 2013

The Australian Practice Nurses Association (APNA) has released the first three of nine online learning modules to assist nurses and midwives to understand and establish telehealth services in their practice setting. The online education package has been designed by the Nursing and Midwifery Telehealth Consortia, a Commonwealth-funded group comprising of APNA, the Australian Nursing Federation, […]

Comprehensive health services app for ACT residents

11 April 2013

The ACT government has launched a free Find a Health Service app for consumers to search for healthcare services, practitioners and after-hours information on their mobile devices. An extension of the ACT’s Find a Health Service website, the app is available from Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPad and from Google Play for […]

Cystic fibrosis project to trial WebRTC and shared EHR

11 April 2013

The Victorian government is funding a new project to improve access to care for people with cystic fibrosis living in regional areas, using a combination of technologies including WebRTC-enabled telehealth, remote monitoring devices and a shared electronic health record. The Regional Cystic Fibrosis e-Health & Telemonitoring Program is being funded by the Victorian government’s Broadband […]

Unchartered waters for telepsychology

10 April 2013

Telepsychology has been around for a number of years, but privacy and confidentiality issues are still a hurdle to overcome. How can psychologists add value to their practices with telehealth? Is innovation being suffocated by existing services? And will an unregulated industry dissuade practitioners from adopting telehealth? These were some of the topics fleshed out […]

Portable device for 3D movement analysis in the home

10 April 2013

From the time stroke patients are admitted to hospital and during the rehabilitation process, nurses and physiotherapists conduct observation and note-taking using subjective analysis to gauge each patient’s condition. Now a National ICT Australia (NICTA) invention stands to revolutionise stroke treatment, taking it from pencil-and-paper to 3D reconstruction of motion analysis, accessed in the cloud. […]

Trialling telehealth – an aged care view

10 April 2013

Macedon Ranges and North Western Melbourne Medicare Local (MRNWM-ML) set up a telehealth program last year to link the area’s 40-odd residential aged care facilities and 130 general practices with out of area specialists. MRNWM-ML has been working with a number of general practices and RACFs who have since taken their first steps into telehealth, […]

Aged care and eHealth: the state of play

9 April 2013

Pulse+IT spoke to aged care consultant Jennifer Dunne about where the industry is currently positioned with eHealth capability, and where it needs to go. Ms Dunne’s background is in project management in health, social services and banking. Before she started her consultancy, she worked at iCareHealth as the program manager for eHealth. Pulse+IT: What’s the […]

Argus and Medical-Objects demonstrate connectivity

9 April 2013

Secure messaging service companies Argus and Medical-Objects have announced what they claim is the first live demonstration of inter-connectivity under the NEHTA SMD Proof of Inter-connectivity Demonstration (POD) project. Part of the project requires vendors to demonstrate inter-connectivity of their messaging products between two or more sites, ensuring they connect with a minimum of two […]

Emerging Systems to co-develop PAS with St Vincent’s

8 April 2013

Sydney-based IT company Emerging Systems has announced it is co-developing a new patient administration system (PAS) with long-time client St Vincent’s & Mater Health, Sydney (SV&MHS). Emerging Systems’ CEO Russel Duncan said the new PAS will integrate with its EHS clinical information system and will be built with a clinical rather than an administrative focus. […]

BloodNet keeps track of precious supplies

5 April 2013

It’s not every day that a new IT system receives a 100 per cent approval rating from end-users, but this is exactly the score that the National Blood Authority’s BloodNet system received when it was trialled in public hospitals in late 2010. Two years later and now in use by all hospitals in the country, […]

SA prepares to go live with PCEHR in Aboriginal communities

5 April 2013

The Pangula Mannamurna Health Service in Mt Gambier last week went live with the national eHealth record system, allowing healthcare practitioners to upload shared health summaries to their clients’ PCEHRs. Pangula is one of 10 Aboriginal community controlled health services and two Aboriginal community controlled substance misuse services in SA and is a member of […]

Broadband helps older people Kinect for exercise

4 April 2013

Testing the potential for the NBN to provide older Australians with in-home health and fitness options shows that there’s a gamer in all of us. The Ageing Well at Home with Broadband project is seeking to test the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a virtual exercise program using Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360. The goal […]

Photo-ageing in pharmacy may help young smokers to quit

4 April 2013

A study using internet-based photo-ageing software to show young smokers what they might look like after a lifetime of the habit has found the technology can be useful as a deterrent as well as being cost-effective. The study, conducted in eight community pharmacies in Perth, used the APRIL face ageing software to show young smokers […]

Social robots on the agenda at ITAC

3 April 2013

The value to people with dementia of robotic assistants such as Matilda the social robot, Paro the robotic seal and Gerry the video-casting giraffe will be discussed at the upcoming Information Technology in Aged Care (ITAC) conference, being held in Melbourne from May 1 to 2. Matilda’s caretaker Rajiv Khosla and Gerry’s researcher Wendy Moyle […]

Creating a tapestry to connect seniors to family

2 April 2013

The makers of a social-networking app that can help reduce social isolation in older Australians will travel to Silicon Valley later this month thanks to a government grant to promote innovation. Tapestry gives seniors a simple interface for browsing the web and sharing photos and messages with their families. “Research has shown that even just […]

App to save the date to vaccinate

2 April 2013

NSW Health has launched an app for the iPhone and Android devices to help parents remember their child’s vaccination schedule and book a GP appointment straight from the app. As part of NSW Health’s new ‘Save the Date to Vaccinate’ campaign, the new app allows parents to enter their child’s name and birth date, as […]

IPTV a viable health literacy channel

28 March 2013

Australia is sitting on a diabetic time-bomb: every day, 280 Australians become diabetic, and the cost to our health system is at least $12.4 billion a year. One of the ways to lower the rate of diabetes – and the cost of treating and managing it – is by increasing health literacy in the community. […]

Teamwork drives triage by telehealth

28 March 2013

A consultant physician from Tasmania is using telehealth to in effect triage patients during video consultations with their general practitioners, having conducted well over 80 such video consults since he began using the technology. Jorge do Campo, an acute medicine specialist at Launceston General Hospital, first discussed using telehealth with a GP at the Devonport […]

eTG complete optimised for mobile devices

28 March 2013

Independent publisher Therapeutic Guidelines Ltd (TGL) has launched a mobile-optimised version of its eTG complete online product for smartphones and tablet devices. The new browser-based feature is available to current online subscribers at no extra cost and requires no additional downloads. Users with a full digital subscription can access their eTG complete account anywhere by […]

Preventative health mobile platform planned for aged care

27 March 2013

Saving Australia $1.2 billion a year in hospital admissions is an ambitious task, but that’s the ultimate goal for StayWell Health Solutions, a Sydney app development company that has recently emerged following the apps4NSW competition. While still in its infancy, StayWell has some big plans for the future, including rolling out a preventative health mobile […]

PicSafe Medi app for secure clinical photos goes live

25 March 2013

Melbourne-based app development and brand-building company ProjectProject has officially released its PicSafe Medi mobile photography app, which has been designed in conjunction with clinicians to comply with electronic health record and patient privacy legislation. PicSafe Medi allows a registered user to quickly take a consented medical photo on a smartphone and share the image with […]

Tele-dentistry could (video-) feed mouths in need

25 March 2013

If you think it’s difficult trying to get a home visit from a GP, imagine how hard it is to have a mobile dental surgery come to your house. The small number and reach of these services has led to recent trials into tele-dentistry by the University of Melbourne’s Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society (IBES). […]

Changing landscape of the laboratory information systems market

25 March 2013

This article first appeared in the February 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. Big changes are underway in the laboratory information systems (LIS) market in Australia, particularly due to regional consolidation of laboratories in several states. Consolidation is just one of the trends that are affecting what funders and users are looking for in an LIS. […]

Evolution not revolution the key to TestSafe

21 March 2013

This article first appeared in the February 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. The TestSafe system first pioneered in Auckland has gradually expanded over the last decade to become a clinical data repository for lab results, diagnostic images and medications, and is now moving on to include clinical documents and electronic orders. Patient access is on […]

Cyber insurance package aimed at general practice

21 March 2013

The recent increase in sophisticated hacks aimed at capturing personal data such as those that targeted medical practices in Queensland last year, along with the expectation that a mandatory data breach notification law will be introduced shortly, has led to the development of a cyber insurance package aimed at medical and allied health practices. Last […]

myPractice goes elephant hunting for allied health

21 March 2013

You could say that software developer Glen Germaine is an accidental standard-bearer for the temperance movement. Spurred on by requests for help from his dietitian and nutritionist friends, eight years ago he left his job as systems development manager at Liquorland to establish the allied health software company myPractice. “They were looking for a practice […]

Physiotherapists gear up for eHealth

20 March 2013

Inner East Melbourne Medicare Local (IEMML) recently launched a pilot project to support 20 physiotherapy practices to trial electronic clinical software and other eHealth functionality. Working in partnership with the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), the trial forms part of IEMML’s new eHealth-focused engagement with the allied health sector. “We’re working with two key groups: those […]

iCare rebrands as iCareHealth

20 March 2013

Aged care software vendor iCare Solutions has rebranded as iCareHealth to reflect its move into the broader aged care sector, encompassing community care. iCareHealth acquired UK community care software company h.e.t software in August last year and is developing a product suite for its aged care provider customers, many of whom provide community care services […]

Edisse falls-detection device raises investor interest

20 March 2013

The recent design launch of Sydney start-up Edisse’s falls-detecting wristwatch has garnered interest from potential backers, with two-phase technical trials slated to begin next month. “We had some really good feedback and a couple of investors are interested,” Edisse’s Nick Tong said of the February 27 launch at the University of Sydney. Edisse’s watch – […]

Pathology and radiology in Pulse+IT

19 March 2013

The digital version of the February issue of Pulse+IT Magazine is now online, with a theme of how the pathology and radiology sectors are using eHealth and health IT. Pathology and radiology were two of the first disciplines to begin using IT to help improve both workflow and the reporting of results more than two […]

Not too late to apply for the ePIP

18 March 2013

General practices that did not meet the new requirements of the eHealth Practice Incentives Program (ePIP) by the February 1 deadline can still apply for future payments if they become compliant, the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has confirmed. The new ePIP requires that practices install and begin using a number of eHealth initiatives, […]

Smart software to automate analysis of pathology reports

18 March 2013

This article first appeared in the February 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. Reading and processing narrative-based clinical reports is a time-consuming process. To ease the workload of clinical staff and aid the computer processing of these reports, CSIRO is developing smart clinical decision support software called Medtex. The software is aimed at extracting free text […]

Bringing you the digital health revolution in 2013

14 March 2013

This article first appeared in the February 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. The consumer, big data, personalised medicine and the convergence of science, technology and much-needed funds are set to be the big issues of 2013, and the Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) is set to play its part in this digital health revolution. […]

Prescription and dispense repository to link to the PCEHR

14 March 2013

The Department of Health and Ageing has confirmed that the new National Prescription and Dispense Repository (NPDR) will go live on May 6 in Geelong, allowing consumers to have information on their prescribed and dispensed medications uploaded to their PCEHR. Part of the PCEHR national infrastructure, the NPDR has been designed and built for the […]

DocAppointments fully integrated with Zedmed

14 March 2013

Online appointments service DocAppointments is now fully integrated with Zedmed’s practice management software solution, in addition to Best Practice and PracSoft. DocAppointments has also received the Best Practice Solution Integrate imprimatur, meaning there is a standing agreement to ensure the software is compatible each time there is an update. DocAppointments founder and CEO Calin Pava […]

Kestral acquires LRS Health

13 March 2013

Radiology and pathology information systems provider Kestral has acquired LRS Health, the Victorian-based laboratory information management system vendor. LRS Health was established in Victoria in 1988 by Andrew Edgley and produces the MediPATH LIMS, a hospital billing solution called MediBILL and the AllTALK SMD-compliant secure messaging service. Kestral has a large footprint in Australia and […]

Plan to roll out advance care repository for aged care

13 March 2013

Funding to extend the deployment of electronic advance care directives being piloted in four aged care facilities in Tasmania will begin to flow from July, with development of an implementation plan to upload the documents to the PCEHR currently underway. Advance care planning functionality has been developed by the Cradle Coast eHealth site, one of […]

Grants still being decided for NBN-enabled telehealth program

13 March 2013

Several contracts for the winning bids under the federal government’s $20.6 million NBN-enabled Telehealth Pilots Program are still being negotiated, more than a year after the initiative was announced. A joint initiative between the departments of communications and health, the program was announced in January 2012, with funding expected to flow from July 1. The […]

RACGP prefers opt-in model for dispense notifications

12 March 2013

The RACGP has clarified the reasons why it asked the two electronic prescription exchange vendors to disable automatic notifications that medications have been dispensed, arguing that the receipt of dispense notifications changes the current model of prescribing and has implications for doctors’ duty of care. Last week, the college met with the two electronic prescription […]

RACP would like a piece of the ePIP pie

11 March 2013

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is calling on the federal government to extend the eHealth Practice Incentives Program (ePIP) to medical specialists, saying it would encourage the use of eHealth technologies by physicians both in rural and metro settings. In its 2013-2014 federal budget submission to the Department of Health and Ageing, the […]

NPS looks for insight into medicines use

11 March 2013

NPS MedicineWise has launched a four-year program that will collect de-identified patient data from GP clinical software to examine how medicines are prescribed and used. The program, named MedicineInsight, will eventually involve 500 general practices and will gather data from approximately two million patients. The program’s national manager, Nancy Huang, said it will be the […]

MediSecure disables dispense notifications over duty of care fears

11 March 2013

UPDATED: Electronic prescription exchange vendor MediSecure has disabled the function that allows doctors to receive automatic notifications that a prescription has been dispensed, following concerns raised over duty of care by the RACGP. Both MediSecure and competitor eRx attended a meeting last week with RACGP officials in which they were both requested to disable the […]

National medications repository to roll out in May

8 March 2013

A new National Prescription and Dispense Repository (NPDR) will begin to roll out in early May, based on the technology developed during the MedView project. MedView, one of the Wave 2 projects developed to test the implementation of the PCEHR, was completed last year and involved the creation of a shared repository that allowed general […]

Good HIT, bad HIT and why eHealth is so hard

8 March 2013

Three papers in this week’s Medical Journal of Australia have highlighted the ongoing complexities of integrating large health IT systems with clinical practice, particularly in the acute care sector. In a retrospective study of the introduction of Cerner’s FirstNet emergency department electronic medical record system at the Nepean Hospital ED in Sydney in 2009, researchers […]

PCEHR-compatible Best Practice in pre-release

7 March 2013

Best Practice is planning to begin the roll-out of its PCEHR-compatible version, which is currently being installed in beta sites for field testing, in the next few weeks. Best Practice passed all of its conformance testing for the PCEHR with NEHTA in late January but it is still testing the new version before a general […]

Houston prepares for PCEHR, NZ palliative care standards

6 March 2013

New Zealand-headquartered clinical information system vendor Houston Medical is completing functionality to its VIP.net product to allow Australian users to access the PCEHR. Houston Medical CEO Derek Gower said that while mostly used by specialists in Australia, Houston Medical also has a small following in general practice. The company is now actively engaged in integrating […]

IDNT Online to transition into full CMS for dietitians

6 March 2013

Start-up Tasmanian software developer FC Dietetic Software Solutions is working to transform its IDNT Online documentation system into a full clinical management solution for dietitians. Established in May last year by clinical dietitian Claire Nichols and software engineer Felix Jorkowski, FC Dietetic Software Solutions launched a beta version of IDNT Online last September, and has […]

Home-Doctor device allows a true medical clinic in the home

5 March 2013

NSW-based distributor of telemedicine solutions TeleMedicine Australia (TMA) has released what it says is the world’s first VoIP-based touch screen home-care device to the Australian market. Originally developed in Korea, the Home-Doctor device has built-in video conferencing technology along with the ability to connect to any wireless, USB or Bluetooth-enabled medical device, including glucometers, otoscopes […]

Telehealth from acute care to aged care

5 March 2013

Inner East Melbourne Medicare Local’s (IEMML) telehealth team is trialling an expansion of its aged care telehealth program to set up consultations with specialists from the Department of Geriatric Medicine at Eastern Health. While video consultations with private specialists are becoming increasingly common in aged care, providing telehealth to aged care residents from public hospitals […]

Satellites to bring more telehealth to the bush: NBN Co

4 March 2013

The two long-term broadband satellites to be launched in 2015 will enable people living in rural and remote areas to access more video-based health services, NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said. In a statement announcing the signing of a $300 million contract for the launch of the promised long-term satellites in 2015 with European satellite […]

PCEHR deployment the WentWest way

4 March 2013

Amidst all of the debate, the criticism and the acronym soup that is the government’s national eHealth system, one Medicare Local in western Sydney is quietly putting some runs on the board and showing how the roll-out of the system may work in practice. If the PCEHR is indeed ever going to work at all, […]

St Vincent’s registering patients for PCEHR at the bedside

1 March 2013

St Vincent’s & Mater Health Sydney has been using assisted registration tools to sign up both inpatients and outpatients to the PCEHR since December, with an estimated 2000 patients registered so far. St Vincent’s Public Hospital has been trialling the Department of Health and Ageing’s assisted registration tool (ART), developed by Accenture and recently released […]

Data modelling of patient flow for NEAT purposes

1 March 2013

The CSIRO has released a whitepaper outlining how evidence-based analytical and decision-support tools can help hospitals understand barriers to reducing emergency department waiting times and help them reach the four-hour target by 2015. The whitepaper, “Evidence driven strategies for meeting hospital performance targets”, covers a number of tools and techniques that CSIRO has developed that […]

Spintech wins $1.5m to expand automated ultrasound reporting

28 February 2013

Melbourne company Spintech Oceania has won a Commercialisation Australia grant worth $1.5 million to further develop its MIDAS software, which automates written diagnostic ultrasound reports and is customisable for individual medical specialists. The patented software provides automated interpretive written report generation from the measurements and observations taken by sonographers during an ultrasound study and can […]

PPMP integrates with 1stAvailable

27 February 2013

Practice management software vendor Professional Practice Management Program (PPMP) has signed an agreement to integrate the 1stAvailable appointment booking site into its product, used predominantly by physiotherapists, allied health practitioners and medical specialists. The integration means that both new and existing patients can search for and book available appointments with their preferred clinician at 1stAvailable.com.au. […]

Bra app aims to support good exercise habits

27 February 2013

The University of Wollongong has launched a new app to help women choose the correct fitting sports bra, with the aim of encouraging healthier lifestyles, avoiding neck and back pain and reducing the need for breast reduction surgery. It might not be something that clinicians often bring up with their patients, but the developers of […]

Telehealth services go west to the Darling Downs

26 February 2013

The University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health (COH) has received funding from natural gas company QGC to develop and implement whole-of-community telehealth services in several towns in the Darling Downs region of southern Queensland. Three nursing homes in the region will have access to telehealth services, as will the public hospitals in Toowoomba and […]

Social robots head home for mild dementia

26 February 2013

La Trobe University’s famous aged care robots are heading out of the residential sector and into the homes of people living with mild dementia. Part of La Trobe’s Research Centre for Computers, Communication and Social Innovation (RECCSI) research into social robots, a trial got underway this month in Melbourne to study how interaction with the […]

Quick access through accreditation app

26 February 2013

The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency has released a free app to give aged care facilities access to the guidelines that assessors use to check the performance of aged care homes against the accreditation standards. The app, available for iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones, contains the same results and processes guide used by assessors. […]

Serving up the PCEHR at Eastern Health

26 February 2013

Inner East Melbourne Medicare Local (IEMML) and Eastern Health will shortly begin a trial at Box Hill Hospital to provide a bedside registration option for patients wanting a PCEHR. For the duration of the month-long trial, all lunch trays for patients will include a tray liner with information about the national eHealth record system, Adam […]

HCN’s Catalyst goes mobile

25 February 2013

Health Communication Network (HCN) has released a mobile-optimised version of its Catalyst medicines information product. Catalyst is a web browser-based drugs data resource aimed at clinicians at the point of care, particularly in the acute sector. Launched last year, it has now been optimised for the iPhone, iPad and Android mobile devices. HCN said Catalyst […]

Microsoft delves under the Surface for the healthcare enterprise

21 February 2013

Apple may have started the mobile healthcare revolution when it launched the iPad, and its devices still remain the product of choice for doctors in particular, but Microsoft is now snapping at its heels with the recent launch of the Surface tablet, which Microsoft is promoting as an enterprise-level device for healthcare users. Microsoft’s senior […]

Try before you buy for telehealth

21 February 2013

Managed services specialist Huon IT has set up fully equipped video conferencing demonstration rooms to allow clients to try out its LifeSize system and weigh up its benefits before investing. Huon IT is a partner for LifeSize, the video conferencing division of Logitech, and is one of the many groups now offering telehealth solutions in […]

HISA and ACHI collaborate for members

21 February 2013

The Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) and the Australasian College of Health Informatics (ACHI) have signed an agreement to offer combined membership of both groups to the health informatics community. Fellows and members of ACHI will receive membership of HISA as part of the agreement, with HISA membership alone still offered to anyone with […]

App for prostate cancer patients undergoing hormone therapy

20 February 2013

Australian Prostate Cancer Research has released a free iPhone app to help men better manage the difficult process of undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for advanced prostate cancer. Developed by a team led by urologist Jim Duthie, the adt app is designed to provide timely information and reminders about health checks and blood tests throughout […]

eHealth and allied health: the midwives’ tale

20 February 2013

Allied health is often the forgotten sector in the eHealth industry, so as part of Pulse+IT’s new allied health eNewsletter service we are taking a snapshot of the different disciplines, looking at their use of health IT and explaining their role in the eHealth system. Sarah Stewart, professional development officer for the Australian College of […]

PCEHR registrations: the facts and figures

19 February 2013

The Department of Health and Ageing has clarified the exact number of healthcare organisations that have registered for the PCEHR, emphasising that healthcare practitioners do not have to sign up individually to the system. A DoHA spokeswoman said that as of midnight on February 17, 1233 healthcare organisations had registered for the PCEHR. The department […]

Pathology, radiology and the PCEHR

18 February 2013

This article first appeared in the February 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. The integration of pathology and radiology results and reports into the PCEHR has long been heralded as one of the most important drivers for wider clinician acceptance of the system, but while much work has been done on designing a safe way of […]

Stat partners up as mobile specialists head to the cloud

18 February 2013

Stat Health Systems has partnered with managed IT services provider Precision IT and virtual practice administration service Virtual Medical Office (VMO) to offer a complete clinical and practice management solution hosted in the cloud. The solution is aimed particularly at specialists who value mobility and want to be able to access their systems from any […]

HL7 file import, RemoteApp capability for eClaims

18 February 2013

Advanced Computer Software Supplies (ACSS) has released a major update for its eClaims practice management software, which now allows users to import patient demographic information in HL7 format directly from third-party clinical information systems. ACSS is also shortly to deploy Microsoft’s RemoteApp functionality for clients using eClaims in the cloud, and will then begin work […]

Wearable falls detector offers global range

16 February 2013

Start-up IT company Edisse is about to launch its first product, an automated panic alert system to detect falls in elderly residents and people in the community. Rather than a pendant-based alarm, this wearable technology comes in the form of a wristwatch. By using mobile technology, the Edisse watch is not limited in the range […]

Regional telehealth program links GPs, specialists and aged care

16 February 2013

Macedon Ranges and North Western Melbourne Medicare Local (MRNWM-ML) is hoping to prove that telehealth works to bridge the gap between residential aged care facilities and GPs in rural and regional communities with specialists who might be many kilometres away. MRNWM-ML supports the primary healthcare sector over a large regional area of north-west Victoria from […]

VeHN holding pitch panel for commercialisation

15 February 2013

The Victorian eHealth Network (VeHN) is holding a breakfast meeting later this month with Commercialisation Australia specifically for companies working in the local health IT industry, followed by a members-only pitch panel to pitch their commercialisation proposal to a panel of case managers. Commercialisation Australia is a government agency that provides a competitive assistance program […]

Half a million PCEHR registrations still achievable: DoHA

14 February 2013

Over 56,000 individuals have registered for a PCEHR since its launch last July, along with 1171 healthcare organisations and 1325 individual practitioners who are authorised to access the system, according to the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA). DoHA and National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) representatives told a Senate Estimates committee hearing in Canberra yesterday […]

Snapper software available for adoption of SNOMED CT

14 February 2013

This article first appeared in the February 2013 edition of Pulse+IT Magazine. The CSIRO’s award-winning software tool, Snapper, is currently available as a free download to aid in the transition from legacy health terminologies to SNOMED CT. The transition from legacy health terminologies to SNOMED CT is necessary since Australia is standardising on SNOMED CT […]

PCEHR, patent infringement and a bowl of gumbo

14 February 2013

The Australian licensee for US company MMRGlobal, which is investigating whether the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) has infringed its patents by building the PCEHR, has rejected NEHTA’s assertion that it had never heard from the company. NEHTA CEO Peter Fleming told a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra yesterday that the first NEHTA had heard […]

Pulse+IT Readership Survey Results – 2012

12 February 2013

The Pulse+IT Readership for 2012 was launched in the November 2012 edition, with readers invited to complete an online survey. The survey was additionally promoted via the Pulse+IT eNewsletter service, with a 1 in 100 chance of winning an iPad mini (rrp $369) afforded to survey respondents. The survey achieved 408 responses, with the key […]

Easy app for FODMAPs

12 February 2013

Monash University has launched an app for the iPad and iPhone that helps patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to accurately judge foods that are high in certain nutrients known to be poorly absorbed by the digestive tract. Monash University’s Department of Gastroenterology has led the world in research into a family of carbohydrates called […]

Practices can sign known customers up to PCEHR

11 February 2013

General practices can now assist patients to register for a PCEHR at the point of care, following the release of software that allows “known customers” of the practice to bypass the requirement for the patient to register online or by phone. An explanation of the assisted registration process and a downloadable Assisted Registration Tool, which […]

PCEHR patent infringement claim has Perth link

11 February 2013

A US company that is investigating a supposed infringement of its personal health record patents by the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) has a licensing deal with a Perth-based company called VisiInc, which markets a multi-file format viewer technology to a range of industries, including healthcare. MMRGlobal announced in a press release last week that […]

Secure messaging services to trial interoperability

11 February 2013

The three members of the Secure Message eXchange (SMX) consortium are planning to begin trialling their interoperable capability in pilot sites in the next few weeks. The consortium, which includes Global Health, HealthLink and DCA, has been actively involved in testing message interoperability based on the Australian Secure Message Delivery (SMD) standard since last year. […]

Tunstall to increase battery support for NBN-connected alarms

8 February 2013

Medical alarm supplier Tunstall Healthcare is working with the NBN Co to extend the life of battery support for its range of alarms in the event of a power failure. Medical alarms supplied by Tunstall have been tested and work when correctly connected to the NBN, via the UNI-V (voice) port or via an analogue […]

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