Artificial Intelligence

The revolution changing the face of healthcare delivery

Healthdirect piloting after hours GP support in aged care

13 November 2024

Western NSW Primary Health Network is taking part in a new Healthdirect pilot of an enhanced after hours general practitioner (AHGP) support service for aged care facilities. 50 residential aged care homes (RACH) in the Far West and Western NSW regions are included in the pilot, which is available for use by registered and enrolled […]

Plan to test drive TEx for new patient registration at medical centres

12 November 2024

Registering as a new patient at a medical centre will be one of the test cases for the Australian government’s proposed Trust Exchange (TEx) digital identity and credentialing initiative. First announced in August by Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten, the concept of the national Trust Exchange is to allow individuals to use a credential […]

Northern Health opens ‘Reggie’ portal for VVED

12 November 2024

Melbourne’s Northern Health has built a new patient registration portal for its Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED), including a user-friendly interface for patients and a dashboard for clerical staff to register patients into the iPM patient administration system and the FirstNet emergency department EMR. The portal, nicknamed ‘Reggie’, has been developed and built internally by […]

Medibank to partner with League for improved CX and health journeys

12 November 2024

Private health insurer Medibank says its new partnership with Canadian healthcare customer experience platform developer League will enable better, more personalised healthcare journeys for customers using the My Medibank app. The three-year strategic partnership with League was announced last month, with Medibank saying the collaboration would enable a more personalised and engaging healthcare experience for […]

Peninsula Health goes live with Charm Evolution oncology solution

11 November 2024

Peninsula Health has gone live with the region’s first end-to-end oncology solution, rolling out the Charm Evolution oncology information management system from Magentus. Peninsula Health, which covers the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region of Victoria, has implemented Charm in its cancer care facilities at Frankston and Rosebud hospitals. About 250 users are utilising Charm Evolution […]

Spark Health partners with Celo for secure healthcare messaging

10 November 2024

The health IT services and consulting arm of Spark has signed an agreement with messaging app Celo to offer its technology to healthcare customers, offering secure team and patient collaboration services and an alternative to insecure tools like WhatsApp. Spark Health says the agreement will allow healthcare providers to seamlessly switch between their preferred communication […]

Blog: No guardrails – Trump’s election is a disaster for global healthcare

8 November 2024

No matter where your political beliefs may lie, there is no doubt that the next four years will see massive changes to US health and technology policy that will have global implications, most of them seriously concerning and in some areas like vaccine policy, potentially disastrous on a global scale. Whether hallowed institutions like the […]

Galway to trial dynamic appointment scheduling for diabetes patients

8 November 2024

The University of Galway is planning a project to examine the use of AI-based dynamic appointment scheduling in the delivery of care to patients with diabetes. The initiative follows a successful proof-of-concept study as part of the Home Health project, which used remote sensors and AI software to deliver chronic disease management to residents of […]

Hospital consultants back investment in digital health

8 November 2024

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) says it supports the call for electronic health records to be rolled out across the health service, including using funding from the €14 billion Apple ruling to invest in digital health. The IHCA has also backed the substance of the Health Information Bill 2024, which is unlikely to be […]

Balancing “greed and need” in data collection and use

8 November 2024

As the use of artificial intelligence grows in the healthcare arena, delegates at the 2024 Digital Health Society Summit held earlier this week were told that there is a critical need to prioritise need over greed. Organised by the ECHAlliance, the conference heard from chair emeritus at the Centre for Health, Innovation, Policy & Digital […]

Data Commissioner “engaging” with CHI on remote access app complaints

8 November 2024

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) says it is engaging with Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) in relation to complaints it received relating to the security of patient data. The Irish Independent reported last week that two whistleblowers had contacted the DPC claiming that staff at CHI were using personal phones and laptops to access confidential patient […]

St John of God Berwick rolls out self-funded care telehealth model

8 November 2024

St John of God Berwick Hospital is offering access to an emergency telehealth service on a reimbursable basis to help overcome issues for private patients seeking easier access to private healthcare services without a GP or public emergency department referral. The move comes as the telehealth provider, My Emergency Doctor, loses several primary health network […]

Challenges of virtual reality in aged care have SilVR linings

6 November 2024

Enthusiasm towards virtual reality among staff and residents at aged care facilities remains high despite a number of technological challenges, a recent study has found. The study into introducing virtual reality to older adults, published in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics recently, was a collaboration between a group of researchers and Melbourne virtual reality […]

SiSU mini health station installed for preventive health services

6 November 2024

The Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC PHN) has backed the installation of what it says is Australia’s first Gen 2 SiSU Mini Health Station at Timbs Pharmacy in rural Glen Innes. The SiSU Mini is a joint project between SiSU Health Group and Swinburne University’s Centre for Design Innovation and […]

ADHA to restructure My Health Record national infrastructure operator contract

5 November 2024

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) plans to release a request for tender next year for new application support and maintenance (ASM) services that will replace the current contract for the National Infrastructure Operator (NIO), which operates the My Health Record. Accenture has held the contract since the MyHR, then known as the PCEHR, was […]

PenCS adds operations and financial module to Practice Cloud

5 November 2024

Health informatics platform developer PenCS has released a new operations and financial module in its Practice Cloud digital health intelligence platform that integrates clinical and financial data to help equip practice owners and managers with insights into revenue optimisation, billing efficiency, and practitioner performance. According to PenCS, the module allows practice teams to access past […]

Car-mounted satellite unit takes healthcare off-grid

4 November 2024

A Starlink satellite receiver mounted atop a Toyota RAV4 has eliminated troublesome mobile internet black-spots for some of New Zealand’s most remote healthcare workers. In the Hawkes Bay area of Wairoa, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora staff such as district nurses, midwives, and physios are required to travel long distances across remote areas […]

Ryman Healthcare piloting PillDrop through myRyman app

4 November 2024

Aged care and retirement living provider Ryman is running a pilot of the PillDrop online prescription medication delivery service at its New Zealand retirement villages, allowing residents to order directly through the company’s myRyman app. Residents can also access online services for medication deliveries and home care assessments, with intuitive onboarding and input options provided […]

International health IT week in review: November 3

3 November 2024

AI-powered transcription tools and hallucinations, generative AI phone agents for medical practices, £2bn for NHS tech and digital, Oracle Health will offer next-gen EHR in 2025 embedded with AI, tiger teams return for NHS England, direct sharing of health information under TEFCA, “a crater” in the remote monitoring industry Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool […]

Blog: Vendors eager to get going but HIE still high level

1 November 2024

Another big week in digital health including with the biggest, and from all accounts the best, Health Information Management Association of Australia conference in Melbourne, which covered all things health information management (natch) and clinical coding. A new clinical coding practice framework was launched at the conference, and we ran a couple of stories on […]

Future of Health Information Bill uncertain as election looms

1 November 2024

With a general election expected to be called for the end of November, it appears unlikely that the Health Information Bill will be presented to the Dáil before the government is dissolved. Earlier this week, Taoiseach Simon Harris conceded that the Mental Health Act will not pass before the dissolution of the Dáil and the […]

Calls for strategic action on digital skills gap in healthcare workforce

1 November 2024

A new report from the UCD Professional Academy is calling for strategic action to address a critical digital skills gap in the healthcare workforce. The industry insights report, Tackling Digital Transformation in Healthcare, says a “critical gap currently exists in digital skills”. “Organisations have invested in digital infrastructure but in many cases the ability to […]

Oracle Health promises brand new platform, not a “refurbished Cerner EHR”

1 November 2024

Oracle Health, formerly known as Cerner, is promising a new electronic medical record “built from the ground up” to be released in 2025 and embedding AI across the entire clinical workflow. Announced at the Oracle Health Summit in the US this week, there is no word yet on when it will be available in markets […]

Telehealth-driven Healthy Islands project gets underway

31 October 2024

After almost a year-long delay, the Healthy Islands project is finally underway, aiming to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare to three islands off the west coast of Ireland using telemedicine. Led by the University of Galway, the project is a collaborative effort involving the HSE Digital Transformation team and local and regional authorities. It aims […]

Oracle Health promises brand new platform, not a “refurbished Cerner EHR”

31 October 2024

Royal Adelaide Hospital now live with iQemo chemotherapy solution

31 October 2024

South Australia’s flagship Royal Adelaide Hospital has gone live with the electronic chemotherapy prescribing solution iQemo, representing a significant milestone in the statewide roll-out of SA Health’s Enterprise Chemotherapy Prescribing System (ECPS). The implementation follows similar go-lives at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide, as well as throughout regional local health […]

Synapse and MasterCare combine at Matilda Nepean and Arcadia Pittwater hospitals

31 October 2024

The 85-bed sub-acute Arcadia Pittwater Private Hospital has joined fellow Sydney private hospital Matilda Nepean in implementing a combined digital health platform consisting of Global Health’s MasterCare’s patient administration system and electronic medical record with Synapse Medical’s billing software. The partnership sees the Synapse billing platform integrated into the hospitals’ existing MasterCare PAS and MasterCare+ […]

Real-time notifications of medications changes to enhance safety

30 October 2024

Medications management technology vendor Bestmed has released a new Bestmed Connect module that provides a live medication profile for families of people living in aged care facilities. The tool has been co-designed by researchers and consumers as part of a Medical Research Future Fund project that aims to provide evidence for how user-friendly IT systems […]

Remote monitoring platform harnessed for First Nations people with diabetes

30 October 2024

First Nations people in northern NSW living with type 2 diabetes are being asked to join a new program that uses CareMonitor’s remote monitoring platform to help them self-manage their condition using innovative technology. The Diabetes Using Our Strengths Service (DUOSS) project aims to deliver culturally appropriate and personalised care tailored to participants. The project […]

HIMAA24: Clinical coding practice framework for high-quality health data released

29 October 2024

An up-to-date guide for health services looking to establish appropriate supports for their workforce in achieving high quality clinical coded data has been released, promising to provide a consistent approach to supporting the clinical coding process. The Clinical Coding Practice Framework, developed by the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) in partnership with the […]

HIMAA24: Piloting the journey to computer-assisted coding and automation

29 October 2024

Harnessing computer-assisted automation to ease clinical and administrative burden is the aim of a series of Beamtree-led pilot programs discussed at the Health Information Management Conference in Melbourne today. Cheryl McCullagh is chief product officer at health data analytics company Beamtree and spoke on day two of the HIMAA24 conference, covering Beamtree’s experiences in pilots […]

Gender pay gap persists in Australian digital health sector: report

29 October 2024

More women are choosing to continue their careers in digital health but there are areas that need further industry focus, including addressing gender pay equity, a new report has found. The Gender Diversity in Australia’s Digital Health Workforce 2024 report, released last week at the Digital Health CRC (DHCRC) inaugural digital health expo series event […]

Clinical Labs adopts interoperable eRequests solution from Magentus

28 October 2024

Australian Clinical Labs has joined fellow pathology giants Sonic Healthcare and Healius in adopting the interoperable eRequests solution by Magentus, which will expand its national coverage to about 90 per cent of Australia’s pathology labs. The Open FHIR API standards-based solution was initially developed by Magentus’ specialist practice management division in 2023 in association with […]

WA opens statewide command centre to co-ordinate virtual care

28 October 2024

Western Australia has officially opened its State Health Operations Centre (SHOC) in Perth, which is housing a number of emergency and virtual services to better co-ordinate hospital and emergency care across the state. The SHOC has been funded as part of the WA government’s $827 million investment in emergency care access, including $47.2 million for […]

HIMAA24: Evolving nature of patient information and the impact of EMRs

28 October 2024

The near-ubiquitous uptake of electronic medical records has elevated the importance of challenging health information management processes in order to facilitate evolution through the digital era. That’s the view of Catherine Garvey, president of the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA), who spoke at today’s HIMAA24 conference in Melbourne on what she called the […]

ARIIA moves into stage two of strategy, with added focus on home care

28 October 2024

Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA) has moved into stage two of its strategy to encourage the development of new care and service models using technology and evidence-based practices, with a new focus on home care. The organisation, funded initially by a $34 million grant from the Australian government, was set up as […]

International health IT week in review: October 27

27 October 2024

NHS data sharing bill, Zoom to add Suki gen AI for healthcare providers, tele-monitoring technology, half of Canadians delay seeking medical advice, NICE recommends use of AI on X-rays, the UK’s 10-year plan for digital transformation, GE Healthcare unveils gen AI platform, UpToDate integrated with AI medical scribe New data laws will allow patient data […]

Blog: NHS doctors recommend against firing health secretary from a cannon

26 October 2024

In what was a relatively quiet week in Australian digital health, New Zealand stepped up again with its data and digital dramas, but we also cast our eye on the new government in the UK, which has decided in its wisdom to attempt another digital revolution in the NHS. Following the recent Darzi report, the […]

St James’s goes live with Wellola’s Portasana platform

25 October 2024

St James’s Hospital, Dublin has gone live with Wellola’s patient-facing digital care pathways platform, Portasana. In a pilot project funded by the Smart D8 programme, the platform is initially being deployed in the hospital’s endocrinology department to provide remote care and monitoring to patients with diabetes, while also providing patients with tools to self-manage their […]

How the AI revolution will transform community-based care delivery

25 October 2024

How AI might be able to transform community care is the topic of a new conference being held in Brisbane next month, organised by Global Community Resourcing and the Community Care SmartAT Collaborative. The inaugural national conference at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will cover AI in the community aged care, disability, palliative care and […]

UCC using self-care app to study Parkinson’s disease symptoms in women

25 October 2024

University College Cork (UCC) has partnered with the Parkinson’s disease self-care app, My Moves Matter, to study fluctuations in Parkinson’s symptoms across a woman’s menstrual cycle. There are recognised differences in the manifestation and progression of Parkinson’s disease in men and women. The incidence and prevalence of the disease is slightly higher in men, and […]

St Luke’s Kilkenny launches mobile medication safety initiative

24 October 2024

St Luke’s General Hospital Carlow/Kilkenny has introduced mobile tablet devices in clinical rooms to promote medicine information and medication safety. Samsung Galaxy devices have been placed in clinical rooms on each ward with the aim of reducing the reliance on paper-based documents and to provide access to important prescribing information at the point of medicine […]

Opinion: MedTech and the power of data and AI

24 October 2024

Every autumn, global healthcare leaders and the heads of trade associations and MedTech companies congregate at the MedTech Conference in the US, organised by AdvaMed. This year, MTC24 was held in Toronto, Canada, with a theme of ‘Tech in Motion, the power of Data and AI’. It was the biggest conference yet with a packed […]

Expand virtual hospitals and save $1 billion: KPMG report

24 October 2024

The expansion of hospital in the home and other virtual hospital models could save $1 billion in healthcare costs in 2030, with potential savings of $6.4 billion by avoiding capital expenditure on new physical hospital infrastructure. A new report written by KPMG and commissioned by Medibank – which provides hospital in the home care to […]

Patient data “is safe” amid “ongoing vigilance”: NZ Health digital director

24 October 2024

Significant enhancements to Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand’s cybersecurity over the past few years has the health agency “confident” in its current level of data safety. The assurance comes in response to Pulse+IT’s questions in light of a letter to Health Minister Shane Reti, released under the Official Information Act, which details a […]

HSE appoints Neal Mullen as chief information security officer

24 October 2024

The Health Service Executive has appointed cyber security and resilience specialist Neal Mullen as its new chief information security officer (CISO) to lead the charge in safeguarding Ireland’s healthcare infrastructure. Mr Mullen will report to HSE deputy CEO and chief technology and transformation officer Damien McCallion and will develop and implement robust cybersecurity strategies to […]

Opinion: Think AI and clinical coding is easy? Not so fast

23 October 2024

I’d like to challenge the assumption that clinical coding is an ‘easy picking’ for AI. As I argue, it will be a long time before AI enables all care providers to write, type and speak their clinical notes in a consistent matter in the hospital setting. The sentiment of digital health leaders at the recent […]

Health Minister warned of major risks from funding cuts before budget

22 October 2024

New Zealand’s Minister of Health Shane Reti was warned about potential cyber security risks and project shut downs stemming from massive funding cuts to Data and Digital at Health NZ just two days before this year’s budget announcement in May. The warnings included that the national terminology service (NZHTS) could be shut down from next […]

Dedalus and LynxCare partner for AI-driven, real-world clinical trial platform

22 October 2024

Healthcare software giant Dedalus has partnered with European AI and natural language processing specialist LynxCare to expand Dedalus’ Trials4Care (T4C) platform from trial recruitment to encompass real-world evidence studies. T4C, which was recently launched in Australia in addition to its existing markets in the US and Europe, is a FHIR-based, data-as-a-service gateway solution that provides […]

OAIC provides guidance on commercially available AI products and privacy

22 October 2024

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has released two pieces of guidance on building and using AI tools in a manner that is compliant with their obligations under the Privacy Act. This includes guidance on the use of commercially available AI products – mainly off-the-shelf chatbots, productivity tools and image generators – as well […]

CareRight integrates Microsoft Teams for extra telehealth option

21 October 2024

EMR and patient administration software vendor CareRight has integrated Microsoft Teams into its platform, aiming to streamline telehealth services for private hospitals. CareRight has an existing integration with Coviu’s telehealth system, announced in March, that allows users to set up telehealth consultation appointment types. The new integration allows healthcare providers to create, manage and participate […]

Bupa offers free telehealth sessions for fund members through Blua platform

21 October 2024

Health insurer Bupa is offering members free telehealth bookings through its Blua digital health platform, which uses Doctors on Demand for 24/7 telehealth, as well as electronic prescriptions and online door-to-door chemist delivery. Members are being offered three free sessions a year with 24/7 access to doctors for consultations that may include general medical advice, […]

Dublin and North East to be first region for national EHR

18 October 2024

The development of a business case for the procurement and implementation of the first of the planned regional electronic health records (EHRs) is underway, with an expected procurement for the first region, Dublin North East, to be concluded next year and the first site in preparation from 2026. The first of the regional EHRs is […]

Blog: Health NZ Data + Digital adrift in stormy seas

18 October 2024

Whether abandoning ship or being pushed overboard, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand’s digital health leaders have taken the brunt of wild storms in recent months. The latest casualty was Health NZ’s chief of data and digital, Leigh Donoghue, whose role was unceremoniously scrapped last week. The official terminology is “disestablished,” and Pulse+IT understands […]

Microsoft to release healthcare AI models, conversational data integration

17 October 2024

Microsoft will launch medical imaging foundation models as the first release of its new healthcare AI models in Azure AI Studio, which will allow healthcare organisations to test, fine-tune and build AI solutions tailored to their specific needs. Part of some major innovations added to the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare announced this week in advance […]

Butler hopes to introduce ‘sharing by default’ laws next month, warns penalties may apply

17 October 2024

The Australian government will introduce legislation to Parliament next month to support its ‘sharing by default’ policy, which will mandate the sharing of key health information with consumers starting with pathology and diagnostic imaging report uploads to their My Health Record. Health Minister Mark Butler told the Victorian Healthcare Week conference today that penalties may […]

Maternal and newborn system to go live at two more sites

17 October 2024

The Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System (MN CMS) will go live at two more hospitals before the end of next year, bringing the proportion of births covered by the system to 65 per cent. Phase II of the MN CMS implementation plan is now underway and will go live at the Coombe Hospital and […]

Best Practice releases Spectra version featuring improved AI scribe and eScripts capability

16 October 2024

Best Practice Software has released the latest version of its Premier clinical and practice management software, which features improved Lyrebird Scribe integration, enhanced observations and support for the upcoming Best Practice Mobile app release. Bp Premier Spectra includes the enhancements from the previous Orchid service pack 2 release, including support for the new electronic prescribing […]

Bestmed enters home care market with purpose-built meds safety solution

16 October 2024

Electronic medication management solution vendor Bestmed will launch a new version of its product for home care providers this month, promising to increase medication safety for ageing people living at home. Bestmed is best known for its electronic National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC) medication management system for residential aged care, which has been integrated with […]

“Once in health, always in health” for Aceso boss after Sorsix buy-out

16 October 2024

Ensuring a smooth transition is top of mind for Aceso CEO Gabe Rijpma, following the health IT provider’s recent acquisition by Macedonian-founded software company Sorsix. The two companies have worked together in New Zealand and Australia for the past six years, with Sorsix now set to take over Aceso Health’s related party contracts and business […]

Swiftqueue integrates with PatientAide, targets oncology appointment complexity

16 October 2024

Irish-founded appointment scheduling system Swiftqueue has been integrated with fellow Dedalus’ platform PatientAide to further streamline the patient experience. Swiftqueue is also introducing new capabilities such as dynamic questionnaires and the use of AI to its technology to help predict patients who may not attend their appointments, along with running new projects for oncology appointments […]

Health NZ Data and Digital boss axed, $100m savings targeted

15 October 2024

“If I still have a job tomorrow, thank you for inviting me,” were some of the last words from Leigh Donoghue as he addressed New Zealand and Australian digital health industry leaders at the Beehive in July. Less than three months later, Mr Donoghue, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora’s chief of data and […]

Mark Butler to provide keynote on digital health strategy at VHW 2024

15 October 2024

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler will outline the federal government’s vision for a healthcare system where digital systems drive better care at this week’s Victorian Healthcare Week in Melbourne. Mr Butler will provide an update on the national digital health strategy agenda at the conference on Thursday, October17, which will also hear from Victorian Department […]

Magentus launches Gentu Marketplace for one-stop app integrations

14 October 2024

Medical specialist practice management solution vendor Magentus has launched a new marketplace for its cloud-based Gentu PMS, offering what it calls a one-stop app integration experience. The Gentu Marketplace is similar to the current marketplace for Magentus’ market-leading desktop system Genie, which includes a range of third-part integrations including eRx, MIMS, HotDoc, HealthLink and Nuance. […]

Orion Health partners with Streamliners for new HealthPathways markets

14 October 2024

Orion Health has signed a new strategic partnership with HealthPathways creator Streamliners that will see the two companies collaborating on existing implementations and new projects, and jointly exploring new markets. HealthPathways provides clinicians with up-to-date access to the latest global evidence and best practice guidelines, as well as real-time recommendations on patient assessments, treatment options […]

Dreyer jumps ship from Health NZ to ACC

14 October 2024

Michael Dreyer is set to join New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) as deputy chief executive technology and data on November 11. Mr Dreyer is currently Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora director of sector digital channels and was previously general manager, national digital services and chief technology officer at the Ministry of Health. […]

International health IT week in review: October 13

13 October 2024

UK regulatory agency for AI in healthcare, HIMSS analytics maturity model upgraded, investment in Suki ambient scribe, NY cyber requirements for hospitals, Epic and Particle Health data dispute, EMR causes delay in patient referrals, Synnovis IT systems back online, Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) partners with Google and Mayo Clinic New regulatory office will support healthcare […]

Blog: Regulating AI in healthcare: the next steps

11 October 2024

Pulse+IT found itself a big bogged down this week amid the rather boring but entirely necessary area of government consultations on things relating to healthcare, in this case on how or whether to regulate AI in healthcare in Australia. The Department of Health and Aged Care was a guest of a webinar earlier this week […]

HSE releases statement of intent on cyber security following Conti attack

11 October 2024

The Health Service Executive has released a three-year plan detailing 27 investment case items to help it implement the recommendations of the independent post-incident review (PIR) into the 2021 Conti ransomware attack. The Cyber Security Statement of Strategic Intent outlines what HSW says is a unified approach to embedding security in connected digital health services […]

Northern Ireland opens up My Care portal for encompass users

11 October 2024

Patients and service users in the two Northern Ireland Health and Social Care trusts that are using the encompass electronic medical record can now access the My Care patient portal to see their appointments, medication and some test results. My Care is based on EMR provider Epic’s MyChart patient app and is available to patients […]

Economics of WACHS Command Centre expansion under the scope

10 October 2024

A new study is underway looking at the economics of expanding Western Australia Country Health Service (WACHS)’s Command Centre for virtual emergency services into remote Indigenous communities. WACHS has been running an emergency telehealth service since 2012 that has been combined into its Command Centre, which coordinates care across 2.5 million square kilometres and half […]

Surgeons underexposed to new technologies – RCSI report

10 October 2024

Access to new technologies is an important consideration for surgeons when deciding where to apply for a consultant position, according to a new report from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). The New Technologies for Future of Surgery in Ireland RCSI Working Group Report 2024 engaged with 30 surgeons, surgical trainees and researchers […]

Report uncovers major gender bias in funding for femtech innovation

10 October 2024

Femtech product companies founded by women are less likely to receive investment compared to similar companies founded by men, a new investigation has revealed. The work, carried out by researcher Ludovica Castiglia in partnership with FemHealth Insights consultancy firm, found that, on average, female-founded femtech companies in the UK, US and Canada have raised 23 […]

HIMAA24: HIM role “crucial” to success of virtual ED

10 October 2024

The success of the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) has relied on a health information manager to optimise funding and implement Department of Health requirements in the face of increased robotic automation and other developments in healthcare services. VVED is run by Northern Health, and its emergency services health information systems manager Nicholas Caruana is […]

General practice views on innovation: state of the health of the nation

9 October 2024

Almost half of Australian GPs feel enthusiastic when adopting new digital technologies within general practice and just 17 per cent do not, with the majority having a positive view of innovation on improving patient care, patient health outcomes and productivity, a new survey has found. The RACGP’s Health of the Nation 2024 report found that […]

Support at Home: option for assessors to upload support plan to My Health Record

9 October 2024

More details have been released about the ICT roadmap for aged care following the introduction of the new Aged Care Act and the Support at Home program, including the ability for aged care assessors to upload an individual support plan to an older person’s My Health Record and a new budget planner tool that will […]

RACGP partners with Cubiko for CPD measuring outcomes tool

9 October 2024

Practice intelligence platform Cubiko has worked with the RACGP to add a new My CPD Outcomes tool to the Cubiko platform, promising to simplify the measurement of outcomes as part of GPs’ mandatory continuing professional development requirements. GPs are required to complete 50 hours of CPD each year to maintain their registration to practice. One […]

Humans in the loop or specific oversight for AI in healthcare

9 October 2024

The Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) has released a consultation paper on the safe and responsible use of AI in healthcare, calling for submissions from industry, clinicians and consumers on current legislative and regulatory frameworks and whether they adequately mitigate the potential for harm. The public consultation is considering questions related to the […]

St John of God goes live with Charm Evolution as part of national roll-out

8 October 2024

St John of God Berwick Hospital has gone live with the Charm Evolution from Magentus, part of a national networked implementation for the oncology information management solution. The solution was piloted at Subiaco Hospital’s Bendat Family Comprehensive Cancer Centre and will now be roll out nationally at St John of God Health Care, including at […]

Digital health maturity assessments highlight link with practice viability

7 October 2024

Almost half of Primary Health Networks (PHNs) are now using a digital health maturity assessment tool that enables them to assess the digital and data maturity of Australian general practices, aged care facilities, allied health practices and pharmacies, and suggest a plan of action to support digital change. The Kaleidoscope data insights platform has been […]

HIMAA24: HIMs role evolves as EMRs “become the norm”

7 October 2024

With electronic medical records in healthcare settings becoming bedded in, the role of health information managers has seen a “significant evolution” in recent years. The scope and impact of this evolution will be explored by Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Women’s Hospital’s director of digital information and digital innovation Ross Buchanan in a keynote presentation […]

International health IT week in review: October 6

6 October 2024

10-year plan for UK single patient record, Google support for India’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, FTC may intervene in Epic Systems antitrust lawsuit, trial to book breast diagnostic clinics via NHS App, US federal health IT strategy 2024-2030, OpenAI valued at $157b, VA staff got into Vance, Walz medical files NHS England to take on […]

Blog: Springboarding from the HIE as My Health Record is set on FHIR

4 October 2024

It was another yuge week in health IT and digital health around the world, including here in Australia, where some major projects moved along at pace. This included the release of a tender for a FHIR server solution by the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), which will see new infrastructure built using the FHIR standard, […]

WONCA Europe 2024: Are digital health services a scandal in the making?

4 October 2024

Digital mental health tools have the potential to be the “next oxycontin scandal”, GPs attending the recent conference of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA) heard. The conference, held at the Convention Centre Dublin last week, brought together more than 2400 attendees from around the globe for discussions on a range of topics, including […]

Budget 2025: extra €23m for digital health, €1m for virtual wards

4 October 2024

The Irish government will invest an extra €23 million in new digital health projects in 2025 on top of recurrent funding, including projects such as the roll-out of the patient app and the development of shared care records. This week’s budget also saw €1m put aside to roll out community virtual wards in four sites, […]

Clinical need is the recipe for digital health success: Thompson

4 October 2024

Approaching the digitisation of the healthcare system as an IT project is a recipe for failure, according to the chief information officer (CIO) of the HSE and CEO of eHealth Ireland, Fran Thompson. Speaking at the recent Smart Health Summit, Mr Thompson said: “The biggest challenge in digitising the health service is recognising that it […]

IHI launches public-private platform for synthetic data generation and research

4 October 2024

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), the public-private partnership (PPP) between the European Union and the European life science industries, has launched a new project to harness the potential of synthetic data for research. The project, Synthetic Data Generation Framework for Integrated Validation of Use Cases and AI Healthcare Applications (SYNTHIA), commenced with a kick-off meeting […]

Opinion: How a world-class HIE could be a world first

3 October 2024

On 15 July 2024, the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) brought interested parties together in Canberra to outline plans for a National Health Information Exchange (HIE). With an encompassing vision that infuses and embraces technology, the Commonwealth’s investment in an HIE could improve health outcomes, reduce costs and grow Australia’s economy. An HIE is a […]

My Health Record set on FHIR for future sharing of health information

3 October 2024

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has issued a request for tender for contractors to help build the internal technical platform capabilities and infrastructure integrations needed to enable FHIR-based interoperability for the My Health Record system. The contract, worth between $45 and $50 million, is part of the modernisation of the My Health Record system […]

Microsoft confirms Whakarongorau Telehealth as anchor tenant at hyperscale cloud

3 October 2024

Whakarongorau Aotearoa/New Zealand Telehealth Services is set to become an anchor tenant of Microsoft New Zealand’s hyperscale cloud region, which is scheduled to open later this year. Microsoft New Zealand made the announcement this week, saying the partnership would enable nurses, counsellors and support teams to reach more New Zealanders on more platforms than ever. […]

WA Health takes first steps to procure long-awaited statewide EMR

2 October 2024

The Western Australian Department of Health (DoH) is calling for registrations of interest from electronic medical record vendors to help the department plan for the long-awaited EMR for the WA health system. The ROI comes in advance of a request for tender and is expected to help the DoH to gauge interest levels in providing […]

Fred IT releases digital basket for MedView Flow digital script workflow

2 October 2024

Pharmacy software and digital health solution vendor Fred IT has released a new digital basket feature for its MedView Flow electronic script queuing system, aiming to fill a gap between physical baskets for paper scripts and digital baskets for electronic prescriptions. The new feature is based on electronic shelf technology and allows pharmacists to consolidate […]

New Dunedin Hospital digital upgrade “need only pass opening day test”

1 October 2024

The New Dunedin Hospital’s digital transformation programme only needs to reach a level sufficient enough for the facility to operate effectively on opening day, or for work-arounds to be in place by then, a new review of the hospital project says. Earlier this year, Cabinet commissioned a one-off independent review into the New Dunedin Hospital […]

Wandi Nerida live with integrated best-of-breed DMR solution

1 October 2024

The Wandi Nerida residential eating disorder recovery centre in Queensland has gone live with its integrated digital medical record (DMR) system, which has brought together a number of best of breed solutions. A Wandi Nerida spokeperson said the go-live is a “significant leap forward” in delivering seamless, patient-centred care, enabled by technology solutions with a […]

PenCS launches Heart Health Check app in Topbar

1 October 2024

Primary care technology vendor PenCS has launched a new Heart Health Check app using its Topbar platform. The app calculates an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) based on pre-filled information from their patient record. According to PenCS, the Heart Health Check app aims to deliver personalised insights into a patient’s current cardiovascular status […]

Tapping into smartphone data to better understand depression

30 September 2024

A recently launched project aims to harness both AI and digital phenotyping to see if smartphone data can help identify depression in young people. Researchers at Black Dog Institute’s Centre of Excellence in Depression Treatment Precision will investigate the links between smartphone data and amotivation, which they identified as a set of symptoms that manifest […]

Pilot of three quality indicators for Support at Home

30 September 2024

Management consultancy HealthConsult calling for expressions of interest from in-home aged care providers to participate in a pilot of three quality indicators for the new Support at Home program. The pilot will involve a data collection period between October and December with access to data collection tools, allowing care providers to gain early insights into […]

International health IT week in review: September 29

29 September 2024

WHO calls for digital investment, 2FA could have stopped Synnovis cyber attack, GP blood testing restored three months after Synnovis cyber attack, Will AI hallucinations get worse? NHS Federated Data Platform, Particle Health files antitrust suit against Epic, generative artificial intelligence in primary care Digital revolution to health revolution: WHO calls for digital investment Pulse+IT […]

Blog: RACGP a bit late to the My Health Record party

27 September 2024

The venerable RACGP issued quite a peculiar press release this week calling on the government to overhaul the My Health Record and for more funding to improve its useability, saying it won’t be able to fulfil its potential to be the “one-stop store for Australians’ health records” without significant investment. We say peculiar because the […]

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