Artificial Intelligence

The revolution changing the face of healthcare delivery

TUH trials remote asthma monitoring with PROMs capability

27 September 2024

Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) is testing a health tech solution to remotely monitor patients with moderate to severe asthma. The project, led by TUH respiratory consultant Patrick Mitchell, is using a wearable device to monitor lung function and other vital signs and relay the recordings to a digital platform accessible to healthcare professionals at the […]

Digital revolution to health revolution: WHO calls for digital investment

26 September 2024

Investing an additional €0.22 per patient per year in digital health interventions could avert approximately seven million acute events and hospitalisations and save more than two million lives from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) over the next decade, according to a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The report, Going […]

Magentus harnesses Propel Health AI for free psoriasis patient dashboard

26 September 2024

Healthcare technology company Magentus has partnered with biotechnology company Amgen Australia to release a free dashboard tool to help dermatologists improve outcomes for psoriasis patients. The Psoriasis Patient Dashboard has been developed in association with healthcare data and artificial intelligence platform Propel Health AI and is said to be able to analyse thousands of records […]

Tool to assess trustworthiness of patient-generated health data

26 September 2024

Patient-generated health data (PGHD) – data collected from the patient themselves, through wearables or from mobile apps – provides clinicians with information about the patient’s health status outside of the traditional clinical setting. But how trustworthy is this data? Alfredo Ormazabal, a researcher at the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology […]

Cross-agency buy-in needed for NZ digital mental health solutions

26 September 2024

Progress on improving mental wellbeing in New Zealand through digital solutions needs “buy-in” across government agencies, not just health services, according to advice from the Ministry of Health. The recently released advice was in response to a request from the Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey for information on recent investment and strategic settings that […]

RACGP calls for overhaul of My Health Record, reduction in admin workload

25 September 2024

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has called on the federal government to “overhaul” the My Health Record, despite the Australian Digital Health Agency’s multi-million dollar plan to modernise the system announced five years ago. The college said one of its surveys had found that 31 per cent of GPs rarely or never […]

Hunter region PHN launches AI-enabled general practice initiative

25 September 2024

The Hunter, New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network has launched a new AI-enabled general practice initiative, looking for 10 practices in the region with strong digital maturity to test AI-powered solutions in their practices. The PHN says the initiative aims to “revolutionise” general practice by integrating and testing AI-powered solutions, enhancing efficiency, and […]

MediRecords integrates Heidi Health AI medical scribe

24 September 2024

Cloud-based electronic health record and practice management system vendor MediRecords will oﬀer users an integration with Heidi Health’s AI medical scribe from next month. The AI note-taking technology aims to streamline clinical documentation for doctors, with the integration meaning users won’t need to log into separate software or cut and paste across browser tabs. MediRecords […]

Digital natives prefer in-person mental health support over online tools

24 September 2024

Digitally native young people in New Zealand have a strong preference for in-person mental health services over virtual support tools such as AI powered chatbots, new research shows. Researchers noted that a similar online survey undertaken in Ireland following lockdown found the opposite, with almost 52 per cent of respondents using social media for mental […]

Telstra Health and HealthLink partner for FHIR-integrated referrals in the cloud

23 September 2024

Secure messaging system vendor HealthLink has integrated its SmartForms functionality into Telstra Health’s cloud-based practice management system Helix. Helix joins other Telstra Health solutions such as MedicalDirector Clinical, Pracsoft and Bluechip in offering digitised referrals. The integration has seen HealthLink become Telstra Health’s first partner to integrate with a Telstra Health product using its Smart […]

Valentia’s telehealth platform to support future medication program for breast cancer

23 September 2024

Valentia Technologies’ Nurse Support System (NSS) will be used to facilitate communication between breast cancer patients and support services provided by the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCFNZ) in a new program to roll out next year to encourage adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET). Valentia Technologies managing director Ahmad Javad told Pulse+IT the primary goal of […]

International health IT week in review: September 22

22 September 2024

Touting benefits of AI under fire, 80% of UK pop registered for NHS App but few using it, is the AI bubble about to pop? Canada Health Infoway survey of doctors on digital health and health IT, Oracle Health enhances veteran care with free interoperability code, Apple receives FDA clearance for hearing aids Texas AG, […]

Blog: AI enthusiasts still leading the charge in primary care

20 September 2024

Artificial intelligence in primary care was in the news again this week, as if it’s never out of it these days. We had a great story earlier this week on Lyrebird Scribe, the AI medical scribe that is integrated into Best Practice Premier and was one of our most popular this week. Lyrebird Health will […]

Ireland’s interpretation of GDPR ‘disgraceful’ – NI digital health expert

20 September 2024

The way the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is interpreted in Ireland is a “disgrace” and is not serving the best interests of patients or the health system, according to the scientific director of the UK Health Data Research Hub for Cancer. Speaking at the recent Smart Health Summit, Mark Lawler, professor of digital health […]

AI-assisted pre-eclampsia tool aims for EHR integration

19 September 2024

The team behind the research project that is developing a new AI-assisted pre-eclampsia diagnostic tool, AI_PREMie, is partnering with analytics software developer SAS Institute in Dublin to create an interoperable algorithm that will allow the software to be integrated with the future HSE electronic health records (EHR) system. Pre-eclampsia affects almost one in every 12 […]

Health NZ and GPNZ join forces on consolidated PHO dashboard

19 September 2024

An agreement between Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ) signals a stronger focus on national-level primary care data to help alleviate workforce and accessibility issues and improve patient experiences across the country. GPNZ has signed a letter of agreement (LoA) with Health NZ to support collaboration on a […]

First MedLIS site goes live at Beaumont Hospital

19 September 2024

The long-awaited national laboratory information management system (MedLIS) has gone live at the first site, Pulse+IT has learned. After a delay of almost five years, the system is now live at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital and efforts are already underway to expand the service to additional sites. The implementation of MedLIS has been hit with several […]

Plans for WHO-compliant one-stop shop registry for clinical trials

19 September 2024

Australia hopes to build a national “one-stop shop” (NOSS) platform to unify the clinical trial and health research sectors into one operational system, building an ICT solution that will act as a World Health Organisation-compliant research registry and website for the community. The Department of Health and Aged Care has called for expressions of interest […]

Cautious take-up of AI in NZ primary care but benefits expected to grow: survey

18 September 2024

A survey of general practices in New Zealand has found just over half of respondents have used AI, while nearly a quarter use it daily, mainly for administrative purposes and automating routine work. The AI in Primary Care survey was conducted by the AI in primary care group in July and August and was open […]

Opinion: Why do you need a health information manager?

18 September 2024

Last month, the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) celebrated national HIM Week, a week dedicated to understanding and appreciating the work of Health Information Managers and Clinical Coders across the healthcare system and how it relies on their important and valuable work. Health systems across the country and the world need health information […]

The Clinician wins five-year contract with Queensland Health for PROMs and PREMs

17 September 2024

Digital health software vendor The Clinician has won a five-year, $10 million contract with Queensland Health to provide its technology for QH’s patient reported measures and patient safety culture (PRMs and PSC) staff survey system. The system will provide real-time feedback from patients of Queensland Health services including ward/hospital feedback as patient reported experience measures […]

Data lakes and random forests for AI-driven public health platform

17 September 2024

Researchers from Flinders University expect SMART-PH, Australia’s first AI-driven public health platform, will detect future health disruptions such as pandemics and natural disasters, while improving healthcare forecasting, planning and strategic decision making. The project, which recently received $3 million in funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), will be Australia’s first integrated public health […]

Lyrebird Health working on non-English language transcription for AI medical scribe

16 September 2024

Ambient AI medical scribe developer Lyrebird Health is working on a new feature that will allow consultations held in different languages to be automatically transcribed and then converted into English. The Lyrebird medical AI scribe is a standalone product that is also integrated into Best Practice Premier which listens in to a consultation and automatically […]

MediSecure hack adds to highest number of data breach notifications in years

16 September 2024

The ransomware attack on MediSecure reported earlier this year was responsible for the largest number of Australians affected by a breach since the notifiable data breaches (NDB) scheme came into effect in 2018, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) says. The data breach – the inquiry into which the OAIC has now closed […]

International health IT week in review: September 15

15 September 2024

Analogue to digital NHS, AI use case library for Salesforce Health Cloud, digital test for ADHD, Federated Data Platform and sharing data, Health811 expands in Canada, OpenAI and Anthropic open on safety, cancer survivors and EHRs, TEFCA alignment, Tony Blair Institute suggests “crash program” of digital health records PM pledges move to a ‘digital NHS’, […]

Blog: Starmer’s “three big shifts” includes tilt towards technology

13 September 2024

It’s been a relatively quiet week in digital health in Australia and New Zealand so we’ve cast our eye further afield, all the way to the UK where newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer made one of his most significant policy statements this week, promising a three-stage course of action to right the ship of […]

Radiologists say “human in the loop approach” needed for medical AI

12 September 2024

The organisation representing radiologists in Australia and New Zealand says AI used in medical treatment must have oversight by trained medical doctors. In two new position statements, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) said AI in medicine came with risks and benefits, and any use of AI in the treatment of […]

Smart Health Summit 2024: Shared care record to go to tender by year end

12 September 2024

The tendering process for a national digital shared care record (SCR) will begin in a matter of months, according to the Department of Health secretary general, Robert Watt. Speaking at the Smart Health Summit in Dublin earlier this week, Mr Watt said he expects the SCR to go to tender at the end of the […]

Smart Health Summit 2024: HSE spends €55 million on cybersecurity

12 September 2024

The HSE spent €55 million on cybersecurity last year, the largest amount ever invested in cybersecurity in the health service, and close to €10 million more than the 2022 spend. The increase reflects the lessons learned from the 2021 cyberattack, which left the organisation crippled and resulted in sensitive data related to 520 individuals being […]

AirPods as a hearing aid, Apple Intelligence AI engine in new release

12 September 2024

A range of new features relevant to healthcare professionals were introduced at this week’s Apple iPhone product launch, including audio transcription and summaries, priority messages and wearables for health monitoring. Along with the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, Apple launched the Series 10 Apple Watch that can detect sleep apnoea and atrial fibrillation. […]

Digital literacy may be a barrier to digitisation of health: survey

12 September 2024

The digital capabilities of the public and health and care professionals could be a major barrier to the digitisation of health services, according to the findings of a new Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) survey. The National Engagement on Digital Health and Social Care, undertaken in partnership with the Department of Health and the […]

Western NSW GPs given access to patient hospital information through HealtheNet

11 September 2024

General practices in far western NSW are being given view-only access to some of their patient’s NSW Health medical information in a new project using eHealth NSW’s HealtheNet clinical portal. The co-located GP clinics project is being trialled to allow clinicians in regional and remote areas who provide healthcare in both the community and NSW […]

Software pilot to automate monthly care statements for aged care

11 September 2024

Digital consultancy Liquid Interactive is running a pilot on behalf of the Department of Health and Aged Care to support the development of digital solutions that reduce the administrative burden of monthly care statements for residential aged care. Monthly care statements are a voluntary initiative set to begin next month and follow the recommendations of […]

Consumer and clinician input needed for mobile, multi-disciplinary IBD app

10 September 2024

Clinicians and their patients are being invited to contribute to an app aimed at making life easier for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD charity Crohn’s Colitis Cure (CCCure) is building a consumer app that will link patient-reported data to clinical data, in order to help people with IBD self-manage, and with the ability […]

Microsoft Accenture report on gen AI signals benefits for nursing

10 September 2024

A new report on the economic opportunities offered by generative AI in New Zealand suggests the technology could free up time and increase productivity for nursing professionals. The report, titled New Zealand’s Generative AI Opportunity, was a joint collaboration between Microsoft and Accenture and examined more than 19,000 tasks performed across 400 occupations to model […]

RFDS Victoria to roll out Visionflex for telehealth and integrate with EHR

9 September 2024

RFDS Victoria has awarded a tender for its primary and allied health telehealth platform to Visionflex, which will replace its existing telehealth system and integrate with the MMEx platform it is rolling out as its new electronic health record. RFDS Victoria provides a wide range of primary and allied health services and patient transport to […]

Wavelink signs on with Acredia for NFC-enabled app for aged care

9 September 2024

Connected health and aged care solutions distributor Wavelink has signed a new partnership with Melbourne-based aged care software specialist Acredia to distribute its modular software system to Wavelink’s network. The cloud-based Acredia platform includes modules for resident management, clinical, medication, national quality indicator reporting and customer relationship management. It also has a Care Direct app […]

Bloomfield steps in as ESR’s interim chief executive

9 September 2024

New Zealand’s former director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield has taken up the role as interim chief executive of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR). The appointment was announced a week after ESR’s previous chief executive Peter Lennox publicly resigned from the role, with his interim replacement announced the same day he left the […]

Franklin Hospital to implement Orion Health’s electronic patient record

9 September 2024

Auckland’s new private Franklin Hospital will implement the new electronic patient record (EPR) package from Orion Health, consisting of a patient administration system and Orion’s well-known Clinical Workstation. Orion Health’s EPR is a rebranding of its Hospital Information System and is a modular, modern application designed to simplify administrative processes and clinical workflows. The implementation […]

Blog: Mandatory guardrails and general purpose AI

6 September 2024

AI was back in the news this week, as if it is ever out of it these days, but today there was breaking news about the release of proposals from the Australian government to mandate guardrails for the use of general purpose AI in high-risk settings. The government is proposing 10 guardrails and three different […]

eHealth NSW completes “landing zone” for Single Digital Patient Record

6 September 2024

eHealth NSW has completed the build of the Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) hosting environment in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, the first step of the $1 billion project to roll out Epic’s electronic medical record across the state. eHealth NSW described the AWS landing zone as a secure, scalable and foundation for how […]

Irish tech takes centre stage at UN General Assembly

6 September 2024

Four Irish digital health innovations will take centre stage at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Digital Health Symposium in New York later this month. The technologies include the KEWS300 vital signs automation system by SyncroPhi Systems, Digicare’s paperless medication system, and the new Digital Health Spine Living Lab, which was launched at Maynooth University’s […]

AI infrastructure for youth mental health aims for better, faster treatment

5 September 2024

Researchers leading a $3 million project to build AI infrastructure for the treatment of youth mental health expect it will deliver more accurate and timely diagnosis, prognosis and treatment options for young people in need of mental health support. The Youth AI: Infrastructure for the Next Generation of Youth Mental Healthcare project received the $3m […]

Opinion: Sustainability in Irish healthcare: a path forward

5 September 2024

Climate change is a pressing reality impacting our daily lives and the health of our communities. The urgency to act has never been greater. Our sector, like others, must rise to the occasion and implement sustainable practices to protect our environment and ensure a healthier future. Our members are committed to supporting the sector in […]

Mater Hospital rolling out localised app for patients with PAH

5 September 2024

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital is rolling out a new app to support people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), using the CONNECTPlus platform from UK firm Health and Care Innovations. CONNECTPlus has been designed as a platform to provide patient information on treatment pathways and procedures and patient education videos that can be adapted to a […]

Galway virtual COPD ward slashes hospital bed usage

4 September 2024

The introduction of a virtual COPD ward at Galway University Hospitals (GUH) has saved the hospital more than 200 bed days since it was set up in April, with the average length of stay in virtual care (7.6 days) representing a 35.5 per cent improvement on the inpatient national average. The GUH COPD virtual care […]

Telehealth upskilling available for RACH staff and providers

4 September 2024

A new telehealth training program is being made freely available to staff who work in or provide services to Commonwealth-funded residential aged care homes (RACH) across Australia. Fifteen Primary Health Networks (PHNs) have come together to develop the free telehealth training package which aims to upskill staff on how to deliver safe and effective telehealth […]

Testing ground for virtual nursing services in residential aged care

3 September 2024

The Department of Health and Aged Care has issued a tender calling for suppliers to test its virtual nursing in aged care framework, involving a three-year, $30 million project to guide the development and implementation of virtual nursing support in residential aged care homes (RACH). The project will focus on supporting residential aged care providers, […]

Vendors given extension on new format for National Health Index number

3 September 2024

Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora has given an extension to IT vendors and healthcare organisations on the new format for National Health Index (NHI) numbers to provide additional time for them to adapt. The new format will begin from July 1 2026 rather than October 2025 and will see additional capacity for 33 […]

Rehab hospital signs on with Vitro for MyHR discharge summary upload

3 September 2024

Sydney’s Alwyn Rehabilitation Hospital has contracted with Vitro Software to implement its discharge summary module with My Health Record upload capability. The 26-bed private, physical rehabilitation hospital in Strathfield will begin implementation of the new system in the next fortnight, with a planned go-live in March 2025. A Vitro spokesperson said the hospital was starting […]

ADHA ramps up allied health program with industry offer for software vendors

2 September 2024

Software vendors specialising in the allied health sector are being offered financial assistance to enhance their software to enable connection to My Health Record and allow allied health professionals to view and upload relevant information. As part of its allied health program, the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) will deliver a supported registration pathway for […]

NSW Health Engage Outpatients eReferral solution live in six LHDs

2 September 2024

NSW Health and secure messaging service vendor HealthLink are reporting key milestones in the expansion of the Engage Outpatients eReferral program, which is seeing the roll out of HealthLink’s SmartForms technology for eReferrals and NSW Health’s electronic referral management system (eRMS) across multiple Local Health Districts (LHDs). Six LHDs are now implementing eRMS, including Western […]

Blog: Is this the dawning of the aged care digital era?

30 August 2024

Correction: The Department of Health and Aged Care has clarified that it is client support plans, not care plans, that will be shared from My Aged Care to My Health Record. “Client Support Plans record and identify the client’s areas of concern regarding care, goals to address these concerns, and any recommendations for services or […]

National Cyber Emergency Plan draws on lessons learned from HSE ransomware attack

30 August 2024

The National Cyber Security Centre has released its National Cyber Emergency Plan (NCEP), outlining the process by which a national cyber emergency is declared, managed and co-ordinated. The plan follows sector-specific emergency exercises in 2022 and 2023, as well as lessons learned from the HSE ransomware attack in 2021. The ransomware as a service (RaaS) […]

€250 million for new round of Seed and Venture Capital Scheme

30 August 2024

The next five years of the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme will have a record allocation of €250 million, aimed at increasing the availability of risk capital for start-ups. It brings to €700m invested since 2013 in the scheme, which is managed by Enterprise Ireland, and represents a 42 per cent increase on previous rounds. […]

Minimum requirements to support aged care software interoperability released

30 August 2024

Minimum software requirements for every residential aged care facility’s clinical information system (CIS) and electronic medication management (eMM) software have been released, aimed at standardising information collection and sharing, and improving interoperability. Australia’s first ever aged care clinical information system (ACCIS) standards were developed by the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) and the Department of […]

GUH pilots virtual emergency care navigation hub

29 August 2024

A digital emergency department avoidance project at Galway University Hospital dramatically reduced the number of patients attending the hospital’s emergency department while also saving bed days. GUH has reported the findings of a pilot of an acute integrated pre-admission navigational hub, which operated on a restricted basis (Mon-Fri 9am-1pm) for a five-month period. Thirteen GP […]

Health NZ’s digital funds diverted to payroll upgrade

29 August 2024

Funding originally earmarked for Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand’s digital upgrade programme has been diverted in order to stave off payroll issues at the national health agency, newly released documents show. In a briefing to Health Minister Shane Reti in March, and released publicly last week, Health NZ’s chief data and digital officer […]

Medtech alleges Valentia wrongly taking staff passwords, home addresses

28 August 2024

Practice management software vendor Medtech has written to all practice managers using its PMS to highlight what it alleges is over-extraction of data by rival Valentia Technologies, including staff user names and passwords. It follows the High Court’s dismissal of Medtech’s request for an interim injunction against Valentia over its software for shared electronic health […]

Private equity investment to boost Clinimetrix and Castle Medical brands

28 August 2024

Medical practice group and owner of the Clinimetrix data analytics solution Castle Medical Holdings (CMH) has been acquired by private equity firm CareSync Capital. With the backing of CareSync Capital, CMH plans to further expand its portfolio with a focus on adding primary care clinics and integrating dental and cosmetic services. It also plans to […]

MAC to MyHR: aged care plans to be uploaded to My Health Record

27 August 2024

Update: Client support plans developed for people accessing aged care services and available on the My Aged Care (MAC) system will soon be able to be shared with the person’s My Health Record (MyHR). The new arrangements, due to come into force later this year, will see the PDF-based client support plans packaged as clinical […]

Improving access to research data a personal mission

27 August 2024

Ensuring accessibility of health data for researchers and raising the status of research requests is a goal close to the heart of health informatician Nancy Kapur. Ms Kapur’s own health journey spurred her mission to improve accessibility and quality of health data for researchers, and to promote the importance of research in healthcare. “My personal […]

Avant launches VoiceBox Intelligent Transcription to general market

26 August 2024

Avant Practice Solutions has launched its VoiceBox Intelligent Transcription (VoiceBox IT) solution on the general market, promising an end-to-end dictation-to-transcription solution designed by doctors that helps to streamline medical correspondence. VoiceBox IT is a fully secure and data-protected smartphone app which is designed to record, format and deliver transcripts at the touch of a button. […]

Five Faces and Privy partner to combine digital trust and patient experience

26 August 2024

Australian patient experience software provider Five Faces and Indonesian digital trust provider Privy have signed a partnership agreement to collaborate across both geographies. Privy’s digital signature solution is being integrated with Five Faces’ digital front door solution, providing an option for hospitals to use authenticated signatures for medical and financial consent forms if required. Privy […]

Rowlands steps up to chair HL7 board

26 August 2024

Health informatics expert David Rowlands has been appointed as the new chairman of the board of standards body HL7 Australia, the local affiliate of HL7 International. Mr Rowlands takes over from Digital Health CRC senior consultant Isobel Frean, who will remain on the voluntary board as a non-executive director. Also appointed to the board as […]

Blog: Ambient AI and re-humanising the exam room

23 August 2024

The topic of AI medical scribes was still in the news this week following our blog from last week, in which we asked what one commenter said was a very silly question about whether doctors using AI scribes to help with their clinical notes should be expected to share them with the patient. Silly question […]

Ireland exported €16.5 billion worth of medical devices in 2023

23 August 2024

Ireland tops the list of European countries for its positive trade balance in medical devices. According to the latest report from MedTech Europe, Ireland exported €16.5 billion worth of medical devices in 2023, coming in third behind the Netherlands (€37.2 billion) and Germany (€30 billion) for the value of medtech exports. In contrast, Ireland imported […]

Pyjama time, generative AI and the rise of the chief health AI officer

23 August 2024

UC San Diego Health is using AI in its emergency departments to analyse EMR data to gauge a patient’s risk of developing sepsis, managing to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in mortality due to sepsis over a two-year period. The healthcare organisation has also used generative AI in its Epic EMR in a project […]

Collective effort to build AI-powered national injury surveillance system

22 August 2024

Experts from across medicine, technology and the public sector have come together to advance work on an AI-enabled national injury surveillance system, a first of its kind in Australia. Having received a grant of $2.98 million from the federal government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the National Injury Surveillance for Actionable Research – Emergency Department […]

What do investors look for in healthtech start-ups?

22 August 2024

Healthtech investors consider leadership and management to be the most crucial but also the most lacking skillset in European healthtech start-ups, according to a new report by EIT Health’s WorkInHealth Foundation and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The report – Addressing skills needs in the European health sector – also reports that the management team […]

EMA program to support orphan medical device vendors

22 August 2024

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched a new pilot program to support the development and assessment of orphan medical devices in the EU. The agency has established panels of medical device experts to offer free advice to manufacturers and notified bodies on orphan device status and clinical evaluation. The expert panels will provide guidance […]

Virtual care improves prisoner access to specialists in NSW

21 August 2024

The roll out of virtual care across all custodial facilities in NSW is improving access to health specialists and reducing transportation costs for off-site healthcare, NSW Health says. NSW Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network chief digital health and information officer Neville Board said virtual care was now available at all 38 custodial facilities […]

How to improve patient flow and discharge planning with electronic journey boards

20 August 2024

An independent study of the implementation of Alcidion’s Miya Precision FHIR events platform at Melbourne’s Alfred Health has found that adopting electronic patient journey boards (ePJBs) with two-way integration with EMRs and PAS systems can improve patient flow. The study was conducted by Monash University and the Digital Health CRC and involved an evaluation that […]

RACGP issues guidance on AI scribes in practice

20 August 2024

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has released guidance on using AI scribes in practice, warning that GPs will be liable for errors within the patient health record even if they are generated by the AI scribe and they must obtain consent from a patient to use an AI scribe in the consultation. The […]

Ex-DHB data integrated into national data platform

20 August 2024

The initial phase of New Zealand’s new National Data Platform (NDP), which integrates data from across the former District Health Board (DHB) systems to provide insights into medication demand, service gaps and public health trends, is now complete, with plans to add more data sources over time. The NDP has established a nationwide, secure environment […]

Step-by-step guide for in-home aged care providers on implementing digital

19 August 2024

Home aged care provider Silverchain has partnered with the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) to develop a new framework to help in-home aged care providers implement technology-supported services. In what is thought to be the first guidelines specifically for older people and the aged care workforce in the Australian in-home aged care setting, the framework […]

International health IT week in review: August 18

18 August 2024

New Brunswick adopts patient summary, “pajama time” in the US, first NHS implementation for Dedalus’ ORBIS, LLMs, hallucinations and medical summaries, MEDITECH launches Traverse Exchange, Epic to support TECFA, gen AI tools for nurses, flesh and blood beats AI Patients create their own summary with MyHealthNB Canadian Healthcare Technology ~ Staff writer ~ 14/08/2024 The […]

Blog: OpenNotes, patient portals and AI-generated patient summaries

16 August 2024

Pulse+IT has been charting the implementation and adoption of the Epic electronic medical record in Australia for many years, pioneered of course by the wonderful team at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, which went live with a big bang roll out in 2016. RCH was followed by its neighbours in the Parkville precinct in […]

Innovative Health Initiative call for proposals for research into real-world benefits

16 August 2024

The European Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has launched its eighth call for research funding proposals, focusing on projects that target four specific topics. They are heart disease in cities, using big data to tackle osteoarthritis, the development of regulatory sandboxes, and the best ways to measure a therapy’s impacts on patients’ lives. IHI is a […]

Delivering care virtually via a patient portal: the RMH experience

16 August 2024

Royal Melbourne Hospital has expanded the capabilities of its patient portal to begin offering interactive and individualised care plans for outpatients, with patient-entered data available in the hospital’s EMR for clinicians to review in real time. The outpatient care plans are part of the Parkville precinct’s Health Hub patient portal for adult patients at RMH, […]

HealthCare Software goes global with controlled drugs register

16 August 2024

Australian health software developer HealthCare Software (HCS) has signed a distribution agreement with Swedish pre-hospital software specialist Ortivus to introduce HCS’s controlled drug management (CDM) solution to Ireland and the UK. The solution replaces paper-based registers that many ambulance services still use for controlled drugs such as opioids, which are prone to error, are difficult […]

HealthTech Ireland calls for new office to accelerate digital health strategy

15 August 2024

HealthTech Ireland is calling on the government to establish an Office of Life Sciences which would strategically coordinate efforts and drive research and innovation in the digital health sphere. In its pre-budget submission, the organisation urges the government to provide €800,000 to support the creation of the new entity, which would “facilitate cross-organisational collaboration, prevent […]

Vitro launches speech-to-text feature on digital records platform

15 August 2024

Digital health software developer Vitro Software has announced the integration of fellow Irish firm T-Pro’s speech-to-text technology within its digital medical records platform. The new feature will allow clinicians to dictate and transcribe patient information in real-time using natural speech, eliminating the need for manual data entry. According to T-Pro, the development is expected to […]

Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group launches digital patient pathways for endoscopy

15 August 2024

Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group (FSFHG) is expanding its use of Personify Care’s digital patient pathways to its endoscopy and gastroscopy units while simultaneously going live with a two-way integration with the health service’s BOSSnet digital medical record and WebPAS patient administration system. The expansion follows an earlier project with Perth’s South Metropolitan Health Service […]

Telehealth Forum funding cut “unfortunate”

15 August 2024

The decision by Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand to cut funding to the New Zealand Telehealth Forum was a decision ”not taken lightly,” according to Health NZ’s director strategy & investment data and digital Darren Douglass. The forum is a grouping of health sector leaders including clinicians, professional colleges, health administrators, ICT experts […]

Department of Corrections contracts Intrahealth for patient management

14 August 2024

New Zealand’s Department of Corrections has chosen electronic health record specialists Intrahealth to take on a new contract managing prisoner medical information, in a deal worth $9m over seven years. The agreement will see Intrahealth roll out its Profile patient management system on a software as a service (SaaS) basis, following a request for proposal […]

Healthengine expands technology partners with Core Practice

14 August 2024

Online appointment booking platform Healthengine has partnered with dental practice management software provider, Core Practice. Core Practice is a pioneer of cloud-based practice management software for dentists and has seen significant growth over the past decade. The new technology partnership means Core Practice customers will be able to directly publish available appointments to Healthengine automatically, […]

St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney expands diabetes care with CareMonitor

13 August 2024

St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney (SVHNS) has further expanded its St Vincent’s @ Home virtual care program to its diabetes service to allow patients to receive proactive treatment modifications at home. SVHNS has been offering the St Vincent’s @ Home hospital in the home program using CareMonitor’s digital healthcare platform since 2020, initially to help […]

Nascent grant to fill the gap of AI evaluation tools in healthcare

13 August 2024

Increasing the uptake of AI in Australian hospitals and filling the gap in AI evaluation infrastructure are some of the goals of NASCENT, a national infrastructure project for real-time clinical AI trials. The project, led by the director of University of Queensland’s Digital Health Centre (QDHeC) Clair Sullivan, recently received almost $3 million funding from […]

MercyAscot goes live with Personify Care pre-admissions platform for digital check-in

13 August 2024

Updated: The roll out of Personify Care’s pre-admissions platform across Auckland’s MercyAscot hospitals and clinics is expected to benefit up to 19,000 patients. The pre-admission platform allows patients to securely register online before visiting any MercyAscot site for an appointment. MercyAscot’s general manager transformation and business improvement Sarah Gardner said offering a digital check-in option […]

HealthCare Software completes statewide implementation of controlled drugs register

12 August 2024

Hobart’s HealthCare Software (HCS) has worked with Ambulance Tasmania to roll out its controlled drug management (CDM) solution for pre-hospital and emergency services across the state. The CDM solution, which is also used by Ambulance Victoria and St John Ambulance in WA, is now being marketed to ambulance services in the UK and Ireland through […]

Hunter region partners with Cubiko for insights into general practice viability

12 August 2024

The Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC PHN) has partnered with data insights specialist Cubiko to roll out a support platform to practices in the region taking part in its sustainability and viability initiative (SAVI). Cubiko’s Sustainability Support Platform has been developed in response to longstanding concerns about the fragile viability […]

PenCS adds stroke reports and dashboards functionality to Practice Cloud

12 August 2024

Primary care data insights technology vendor PenCS has added new stroke reports and dashboards to its Practice Cloud health platform. PenCS’ CEO Edweana Wenkart said the scalable, data-driven solution can support nurses, GPs and healthcare providers to reduce stroke in Australia. “With an emphasis on prevention, our platform is now actively supporting practice teams to […]

High court dismisses Medtech v Valentia injunction case

10 August 2024

New Zealand’s High Court this week dismissed practice management software vendor Medtech’s request for an interim injunction against competitor Valentia Technologies over its software for shared electronic health records (SEHR). Medtech has been in long-standing litigation against Valentia over allegations of copyright infringement with its indici practice management system that has extended to claims of […]

Blog: On FHIR with AI at HIC 2024

9 August 2024

If there was still any lingering doubt that generative AI had not made a firm imprint on healthcare in Australia and New Zealand, those ideas were thoroughly dispelled at the HIC conference in Brisbane this week, where AI was pretty much the only topic in town worth talking about. Only the inevitable march of the […]

Opinion: Accelerating the delivery of healthcare through transformation: navigating AI, compliance, and digital transformation

8 August 2024

As the healthcare industry embraces digital transformation, the convergence of cutting-edge technologies and regulatory frameworks presents both opportunities and challenges. Here we explore the intersection of the EU AI Act and the Department of Health’s “Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland”, shedding light on how these regulations shape the future of patient-centred […]

MEDITECH and Google collaborate for AI-powered Expanse search and summarisation

8 August 2024

Global electronic medical record vendor MEDITECH has collaborated with Google Cloud to develop an AI-powered search and summarisation capability in MEDITECH’s Expanse EMR to enable care teams to find the information they need using Google’s familiar search function. Powered by Google Cloud’s foundational and generative AI capabilities, the Expanse search and summarisation tool uses natural […]

Vhi exceeds 100,000 digital consultations in 2023

8 August 2024

Health insurer Vhi recorded over 100,000 digital consultations in 2023, including in excess of 82,000 online GP consultations and 18,000 consultations with physiotherapists, dietitians and speech and language therapists, according to figures obtained by Pulse+IT. Vhi’s Snap and Send claims service also saw a dramatic increase in activity, with 1.5 million claims processed through the […]

ICGP launches GPEP online training platform

8 August 2024

The Irish College of General Practitioners’ (ICGP’s) trainee ePortfolio platform has gone live to almost 2000 users. The platform, called GPEP, has been designed to act as a consolidated source of information for both trainers and trainees. It is built on the Risr ePortfolio technology used by a number of medical colleges and universities around […]

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