International health IT week in review: December 13

Pulse+IT’s weekly weekend round-up of international health IT and eHealth news:

Interoperability: Government officials make plans for 2016
FierceHealthIT ~ Katie Dvorak ~ 09/12/2015

When it comes to secure health information exchange, all eyes are on 2016. At an event Tuesday hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Committee, government officials spoke of their interoperability plans for the coming year.


MOD extends CGI records contract
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 10/12/2015

Te Ministry of Defence has extended its contract with CGI to provide an integrated electronic health record service for the UK’s armed forces.


All-Wales more-tests results service
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 09/12/2015

All health boards in Wales will be using the same system for sending pathology and radiology results to GP practices by the end of January next year.


ONC 2016 goal to connect HIEs nationwide met with skepticism
Health Data Management ~ Greg Slabodkin ~ 09/12/2015

National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo, M.D., yesterday laid out her office’s 2016 goals which include connecting health information exchanges across the “entire country within a year,” as part of the agency’s big push towards interoperability on a national level.


Lane Fox calls for free NHS wi-fi
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 08/12/2015

The provision of free wi-fi across the NHS estate is one of four, major recommendations set out by internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox in a new report on the digital future of health.


GPs in NME set to stick with SystmOne
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 08/12/2015

Nearly all GP practices in the North, Midlands and East of England that are using TPP’s SystmOne are set to stick with the clinical IT system once their national contract ends next year.


9 organizations urge Congress to oppose delay of Stage 3
HealthcareITNews ~ Bernie Monegain ~ 08/12/2015

Health IT Now, along with with eight other organizations, some of them health IT vendors, are calling on Congress to stay the course on Stage 3 of the Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program.


Assessing the privacy, security vulnerabilities of APIs
Health Data Management ~ Greg Slabodkin ~ 08/12/2015

Before patients can leverage application programming interfaces to access their healthcare data, as called for in the final Stage 3 electronic health record Meaningful Use rule, there are privacy and security issues that must be addressed.


Group gives Congress 10 ways to fix Stage 3
Health Data Management ~ Greg Slabodkin ~ 08/12/2015

As Congress considers delaying Meaningful Use Stage 3, a coalition of health IT groups and vendors seeks legislative changes to address the lack of interoperability


DirectTrust predicts the end of Meaningful Use
FierceHealthIT ~ Katie Dvorak ~ 08/12/2015

Next year will be another one of “momentous forward movement” when it comes to interoperability in the healthcare sector, DirectTrust predicts.


NHSmail 2 faces delay
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 07/12/2015

The new secure email and messaging service for the NHS has been delayed by around five months due to issues with data centres.


Why medical devices are so hard to secure
mHealth News ~ Mike Miliard ~ 04/12/2015

Many of the aging medical devices still in wide use at hospitals across the U.S. were built without much consideration for security controls.


Healthcare pros enthusiastic about IBM Watson, despite hurdles
FierceHealthIT ~ Katie Dvorak ~ 04/12/2015

Hospitals and health systems across the country are using IBM’s Watson–and so far healthcare leaders are enthusiastic about the system, according to areport in the Wall Street Journal.


Confidence lacking in secure data sharing, survey finds
FierceHealthIT ~ Susan D Hall ~ 04/12/2015

More than two out of three healthcare organizations aren’t completely confident they can share data safely while still protecting patient privacy, according to a new survey.


HIMSS Value Score to measure financial side of health IT
HealthcareITNews ~ Jessica Davis ~ 03/12/2015

HIMSS on Thursday launched its Value Score program, the first international IT quality measurement for healthcare providers that factors in technological, clinical and financial outcomes.


Specialist letters picking up steam on the PCEHR

While the category has been a slow burner after more than three years of operation, the number of specialist letters being uploaded to the PCEHR is beginning to gather steam, with over 4000 now on the national system.

Few if any have been uploaded from private rooms using common practice management systems, with the vast majority coming from the Northern Territory’s five public hospitals, where uploading clinical documents to a shared health record has already proven its worth.

According to the latest statistics from the Department of Health, 4161 specialist letters have been uploaded. That figure pales into insignificance against the number of discharge summaries uploaded – now numbering well over 200,000 – but the capability to send communications point-to-point and point-to-share simultaneously is now being demonstrated.

A lot of this progress has to do with the NT’s MeHR-to-National (M2N) project, which is seeing the territory’s successful My eHealth Record (MeHR) system transition over to the national PCEHR.

According to a National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) case study, the NT has instituted a ‘default-to-send’ policy that seems to be adding value to the national system.

A NEHTA spokesperson said that many of the specialist letters now on the system have been uploaded from St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney through its Emerging Systems’ EHS clinical information system.

St Vincent’s and Emerging Systems have pioneered much of the capability for acute care interaction with the PCEHR, including discharge summaries, and were the first to connect to the system back in 2012.

As part of the M2N project, the NT began to implement the Healthcare Information and PCEHR Services (HIPS) technology developed by the South Australian Department of Health and one of its vendor partners to link the disparate acute care clinical information systems in use around the country to the PCEHR.

The NT has been using HIPS to link to the PCEHR through its hospital-based Clinical WorkStation (CWS) software, and is now routinely sending CDA specialist letters both back to the referring GP through HL7 and up to the PCEHR though HIPS.

“Initially it was only St Vincent’s and Royal Darwin Hospital that were uploading specialist letters but given the Northern Territory’s recent transition to the PCEHR, all five sites are now uploading,” the NEHTA spokesperson said.

“Specialist letter uploading has been included as part of the workflow in both these places, which is why the numbers are increasing.”

According to NEHTA, NT Health began uploading CDA specialist letters from all five public hospitals in mid-2015. In the first three months, more than 350 specialist letters were uploaded to the PCEHR, with content contribution and a ‘default-to-send’ policy having no deleterious effect on clinical workflow.

Specialist letters are already uploaded to MeHR, and the M2N transition project has been at pains to ensure that the benefits to clinicians and patients of that successful system are replicated in the national system.

Pathology uploads remain a problem, but a recent NEHTA report on the successes of the MeHR showed that the benefits long claimed for in the national system are possible.

One of the reasons for the success of the NT Health transition solution, NEHTA says, is that the automatic upload of the specialist letter to the PCEHR is done in a routine manner, much the same way as the discharge summary is prepared and sent.

The document is created in CWS, is verified by the consultant doctor and is then sent both point-to-point to the referring clinician and point-to-share to the PCEHR at the same time.

“This process leverages the standing consent model for content contribution to the eHealth record system while also permitting consumers the ability to withdraw consent to send,” NEHTA says.

It is through HIPS that the NT system can talk to the PCEHR and the HI Service. NEHTA has published the HIPS source code so that other implements can become PCEHR-enabled.

According to NEHTA, the NT experience provides assurance for other jurisdictions, private hospitals and private specialist clinics that they will be capable of connecting and contributing specialist content to the PCEHR.

Quiet revolution in ETP opens way to paper-optional prescriptions

Paper-optional prescriptions are the obvious next electronic step for the community pharmacy sector with 62 per cent of pharmacists believing they could help prevent fraud and misadventure, a national survey by electronic prescription exchange vendor eRx Script Exchange has found.

eRx, part of the Fred IT Group that is half owned by the Pharmacy Guild and half by Telstra Health, undertook a survey of 740 pharmacists in February and March this year to gauge pharmacy use of electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP), what pharmacists valued the most about using the technology and what they expected to see in the future.

Overall, 65 per cent of pharmacists said their single largest concern about ETP was that local doctors weren’t connected. “All doctors need to be on board in order for eRx to work efficiently,” one said, while another mentioned that the biggest hurdle it was facing was the issue of handwritten scripts, many written by doctors doing house calls.

Releasing its 2015 Pharmacy eHealth Survey report today, eRx said a more productive future for pharmacy would see patients able to choose whether to have a paper-based or an electronic prescription so pharmacies wouldn’t need to replicate electronic processes with unnecessary paper trails.

While some further progress has been made in digitising the system – Medicare announced earlier this year that scanned rather than physical copies of scripts are now being accepted for PBS claims and post-payment compliance checks – a paper script is still the required legal document and changes to legislation will be needed before paperless prescriptions are possible.

However, eRx boasts that there has been a “quiet revolution” over the last six years since eRx was established, with ETP now a mature process and eRx claiming its system is used by 89 per cent of pharmacies and 76 per cent of doctors.

(Rival MediSecure Script Vault was launched in 2009, pitching itself as the general practice alternative to the supposedly pharmacy-centric eRx. While the enmity between the two companies is no secret, the rival systems have been interoperable for some years.)

The next step, eRx says, is paper-optional, and the pharmacists seemed to agree. More than half (55 per cent) surveyed saw paper-optional prescriptions as an obvious next step for the industry.

Figures from the UK’s Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that 63 per cent of GPs there are using electronic prescribing but 98 per cent of pharmacies can accept them, and paperless prescriptions now account for 47 per cent of all prescriptions dispensed.

The UK has also moved to make the digital record the legal document, and 13 million patients have now nominated to receive their prescriptions electronically.

While most pharmacists believe this will be the next step for Australia, they do have some fears about the move, the survey shows.

Eighty-one per cent said technical issues concerned them the most about moving to paperless prescribing, insisting that “the system needs to work without issues every time”.

They were also concerned about the potential for channeling scripts to particular pharmacies, for potential forgeries, and privacy and security issues. Over 20 per cent also said they wouldn’t trust an ETP system without paper.

However, 62 per cent said paper-optional prescriptions could help to prevent prescription fraud and misadventure, 55.5 per cent said they were “an obvious next step for the industry”, 50 per cent believed they should be part of the national eHealth strategy, 47 per cent said they could create industry savings and efficiencies, and 24 per cent said they would further improve patient safety.

The potential to use the script exchanges for real-time prescription monitoring of controlled drugs was also raised.

In eRx’s survey, 77 per cent of pharmacists said ETP has a role in the better monitoring of restricted drugs, and 62 per cent said paperless prescriptions could help to prevent prescription fraud and misadventure.

One pharmacist said S8 scripts should only be available via electronic prescription, which would reduce the forgery rate dramatically.

The survey also gauged progress in areas like scan rate, for which pharmacists are paid an incentive. The vast bulk of pharmacists said they scan at least 15 per cent of prescriptions, with 42 per cent now scanning more than half.

The fact that ETP systems are zero cost – under the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (5CPA), pharmacists are refunded the cost of each transaction by the Department of Health – was seen as a benefit, and most said ETP had improved staff efficiency and dispensing workflow.

In the future, pharmacists would like to see:

Fred IT CEO Paul Naismith said the survey was an important step in continuing to advance eHealth in pharmacy.

“The transition into the 6th Community Pharmacy Agreement provided an important opportunity to review pharmacy’s eHealth progress to date,” Mr Naismith said.

“The results painted a very clear picture of the value of ETP to dispensing and workflow. They also told us that community pharmacy sees a much stronger role for ETP in managing some of the challenges of the health care system, particularly areas such as managing risk around scheduled medicines, fraud and misadventure.

“We remain extremely committed to continuing to advance eHealth so that the benefits of real-time medications histories, better medicines management and real-time communication become realities for health professionals.

“In the short term, this means focusing on connecting more doctors in local communities. However, as a result of the survey, we also have a very clear road map of the tangible steps for delivering greater eHealth benefits to health professionals and patients.”

The 2015 Pharmacy eHealth Survey is available from the eRx website.

Pulse+IT website access now available

This post is devoted entirely to our new website, which launched a few weeks ago with quite a few additional features and refinements to be rolled out in the weeks ahead.

Whether it be as a reader or as an advertiser, our plans for the new website are more than cosmetic so please take the time to review this post and be sure to get in touch if you have any queries or feedback.

Pulse+IT website access

Beyond rolling out a new web server, new content management system and new visuals, the biggest development related to the new Pulse+IT website is our decision to start restricting access to selected content to paid subscribers, a process that commenced earlier in the week.

A quick note about Pulse+IT eNewsletters

Before I get to the specifics of the website, please note that the Pulse+IT eNewsletter service to which you may currently be subscribed remains free.

With subscribers at the time of writing and a trajectory pointing to 17,000 by Christmas, we have no plans to change our eNewsletter model and look forward to welcoming our 20,000th subscriber at some stage in 2016.

The only thing to be aware of in relation to the Pulse+IT eNewsletter service is that an increasing number of the articles referenced in our eNewsletters will link through to articles reserved for readers with Pulse+IT website access.

Some background

Having ceased publication of our printed magazine at the end of 2014, the introduction of a subscriber model for the Pulse+IT website has been something I’ve been working towards throughout the year in consultation with three of the membership organisations that supported our print offering over many years.

Pulse+IT derives most of its revenue from a diverse range of advertisers who purchase web banners, eNewsletter banners, eDMs, directory listings and webinars, however I have always felt that publishing teams perform at their best when their readership plays a direct role in the financial model of the publication.

With print publishing in rapid decline and online publications of all shapes and sizes struggling to make ends meet, I’m pleased to report that Pulse+IT has the confidence to continue to invest in independent journalism to the benefit of our readers and the health sectors in which they work.

By transitioning the Pulse+IT website to a paid service at this time, I’m seeking to ensure the viability of comprehensive reporting of eHealth and Health IT in Australia and New Zealand for many years to come, and look forward to your support in this endeavour.

So what’s the deal?

To maintain access to all articles on the Pulse+IT website, individuals can purchase a subscription for $90+GST per year (three and six month options are also available). With Pulse+IT publishing around 60 articles each month and with the majority of these stories being exclusively covered by Pulse+IT, I’m confident you will agree this offer represents great value.

Before you pull out the credit card, keep the following in mind:

1. You may already have access as a member of AAPM / HIMAA / HISA

Members of AAPM, HIMAA and HISA and receive complimentary access to the Pulse+IT website as part of Pulse+IT’s partnership arrangements with these organisations. Usernames and passwords for all current financial members of these organisations have been allocated, however if you are a member and have not received your details, search your inbox (or junk mail) for an email from “webmaster@pulseitmagazine.com.au” or try performing a password reminder at the website using the email address your association has for you on file as your username. Note this may be a different address to the one you are using for the Pulse+IT eNewsletter service. Failing that, contact Pulse+IT and we will investigate.

2. You may already have access if your organisation advertises with Pulse+IT

If your organisation is a current Pulse+IT advertiser, you are entitled to a complimentary subscription for as long as your organisation remains a supporter of the publication. I have contacted all current Pulse+IT advertisers and commenced the process of issuing usernames and passwords to the staff members that have been nominated for website access, but if you haven’t received your credentials, contact Pulse+IT and we will be happy to assist.

3. If you aren’t currently a Pulse+IT advertiser, joining the Pulse+IT Directory is a cost effective way to get both promotional exposure and website access

If you are considering a subscription and work for an organisation that doesn’t currently advertise with Pulse+IT, keep in mind that the entry point for an organisational listing in the Pulse+IT Directory is just $500+GST per year. Accordingly if you work for an organisation pitching products or services to the health sector, it is likely to make both financial and promotional sense to undertake a Pulse+IT Directory listing, and in turn receive complimentary website subscriptions for yourself and your colleagues.

International health IT week in review: September 13

Pulse+IT’s weekly weekend round-up of international health IT and eHealth news:

Apple injects health features into Watch
HealthcareITNews ~ Eric Wicklund ~ 09/09/2015

With many eyes focusing on Cupertino Wednesday Apple held another launch event and, as is becoming the norm, did so with a few surprises up its sleeve.


New IBM population health tool aims to improve patient engagement
FierceHealthIT ~ Dan Bowman ~ 10/09/2015

The solution, IBM Watson Care Manager, will aggregate patient data from multiple sources–including wearable devices like the Fitbit, smartscales and Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit offerings–into the cloud, which providers can then view.


Why health data ownership is a ‘civil right’
FierceHealthIT ~ Katie Dvorak ~ 09/09/2015

The ever-increasing amount of health data collected by a person over time soon will need a home, and that means a need for data management systems that give individuals control over their personal health information, according to Eric Topol,


EHR vendors not meeting ONC usability testing standards
Health Data Management ~ Greg Slabodkin ~ 09/09/2015

Electronic health record vendors are not adhering to usability testing standards for their EHR products and are failing to meet federally mandated user-centered design requirements,


Patient portals more useful than many realize
HealthcareITNews ~ Sherree Geyer ~ 09/09/2015

Kaiser Permanente engages 45 percent of its more than 9 million members through online portals, which provide secure physician-patient email and access to KP HealthConnect, a comprehensive electronic health record to empower patients to manage care.


VA reduces mortality and adverse events with bed sensors
mHealth News ~ Eric Wicklund ~ 09/09/2015

A contact-free sensor system placed under a mattress to monitor continuous vital signs has proven its value to the Veterans Administration, which tested the solution on more than 1,000 patients with spinal injuries.


Walton Centre develops E-Obs in-house
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 09/09/2015

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust has completed the roll-out of an electronic observations system that was developed in-house.


ACP recommends direct patient-doc contact before telehealth consult
FierceHealthIT ~ Susan D. Hall ~ 08/09/2015

Benefits offered by telemedicine “must be measured against the risks and challenges associated with its use,” the American College of Physicians states in a position paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.


EHR ‘overreliance’ led to release of Ebola patient
FierceEMR ~ Katie Dvorak ~ 08/09/2015

Overreliance on its electronic health record system was one of the mistakes Texas Health Resources made that led to the misdiagnosis and release of a patient later confirmed to have Ebola, according to a report from an expert panel convened by the Dallas-based health system.


Care.data on hold again
Digital Health News ~ Rebecca McBeth ~ 07/09/2015

Controversial patient data collection programme care.data has been put on hold again while a review of the opt-out model is completed.


Newcastle signs with Carestream
Digital Health News ~ Thomas Meek ~ 07/09/2015

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has signed a ten-year deal with Carestream for a new, integrated picture archiving and communication system and radiology information system.


FDA makes medical device data easier to access, use
Health Data Management ~ Greg Slabodkin ~ 04/09/2015

The Food and Drug Administration is making it easier for software developers and researchers to access and use data covering the entire medical device product life cycle.


Health system reaps big savings with remote monitoring
mHealth News ~ Eric Wicklund ~ 01/09/2015

An Arizona health system is expanding its home health monitoring program following a pilot project that saw significant reductions in hospitalizations and length of stay.


Telstra Health a small drop in big pond but targeted for growth

Telstra Health was highlighted as one of the company’s long-term growth businesses in Telstra’s 2015 annual report released today, which showed the telco giant swimming in $26 billion in revenue for a net profit of $4.23b for the 2014-15 financial year.

The Telstra Health division, formally launched as a standalone business unit in October 2014 but which had been actively acquiring companies in 2013, contributed $78 million in revenue for the 2014-2015 financial year, up from about $40 million the previous year.

While it is only small change in comparison to the enormous Telstra Retail arm, Telstra Health is one of four longer-term growth opportunities outlined in the annual report, along with Telstra Media, the Telstra Software Group and Telstra Ventures.

Acquisitions and investments made during the financial year include the global health analytics firm Dr Foster for an undisclosed sum, aged care software vendor iCareHealth for $26m, hospital software vendor Emerging Systems for $15m, and GP desktop and hospital software vendor CloudMed for $19m.

This is in addition to acquisitions made in the previous year, including $44m for DCA Health (now HealthConnex) and $27m for its 50 per cent stake in Fred IT.

Telstra Health also formally launched its ReadyCare telehealth service in July in a joint venture with Swiss firm Medgate. The annual report reveals that Telstra holds 87.5 per cent of equity in ReadyCare, with Medgate holding the remaining 12.5 per cent.

While only $2 million was invested in ReadyCare in the 2015 financial year, a Telstra spokesperson said this would ramp up as the service established itself. It currently has 20 part-time GPs on the books.

Telstra says the division is now able to offer solutions for primary care, aged and residential care, hospitals, radiology and pathology, pharmacy, indigenous care, specialists, analytics and telemedicine.

“In addition to these investments and acquisitions, the business has been able to bring a number of new solutions to market to solve key health challenges,” the company says, highlighting the launch of the MyCareManager home telehealth platform in April 2015.

In the last 18 months Telstra Health has completed 15 acquisitions, investments and distribution agreements, the company says.

It recently added Melbourne-based data analytics firm Health IQ to the roster, as well as announcing new roll-outs for its Communicare software package in indigenous health and a strategic alliance between Emerging Systems and oncology software specialist Charm Health.

Windows 10 and what to do about it in practice

Microsoft is gearing up for the release of the Windows 10 of its Windows operating system at the end of the month but healthcare providers are being urged to check with their clinical and practice management software vendors that their software is compatible before installing the upgrade.

While several vendors are reporting that most users will not notice a major difference with Windows 10 besides improvements to usability, most clinical and practice management software used in primary care is integrated with a number of third-party products that also need to be compatible with the upgrade.

General practice software vendor MedicalDirector has asked its customers not to upgrade to Windows 10 when it becomes available on July 29. “We are currently testing this version to identify the impact on our software and we request that our customers do not upgrade to this new operating system at this time,” the company told its customers last week.

“You can be assured that the upcoming releases of MedicalDirector Clinical, PracSoft and Blue Chip software available later this year will be compatible with this operating system.”

‎David Freemantle, general manager for product management at Fred IT Group, said his company was testing Fred with Windows 10 at the moment.

“Basically it all works with Fred, so we can say we will be Windows 10 compatible, but the problem – and all of the vendors will face this – is the third-party applications,” Mr Freemantle said. “There aren’t any software vendors out there that aren’t integrated with third party products.”

Mr Freemantle said the main feature that customers will notice is improvements to usability.

“Microsoft has resolved some of the problems with Windows 8 – Windows 8.1 was a big step up from that – and there are some big improvements,” he said. “You can tile apps now whereas before it was just one or the other, and they are bringing back the start menu, so the main improvement is in usability.”

Glen Germaine, owner of allied health practice management software vendor myPractice, said he had tested myPractice on Windows 10 and said “it installs and works just fine”. The company has already updated its installer to meet the Windows 10 requirements, he said.

Mr Germaine has personally been running Windows 10 as part of the “Insider Preview” since late last year, and says his advice would be that customers should jump at it as long as their line of business applications all support it.

“It is very stable and the user interface improvements over Windows 8 and 8.1 make it a lot more usable for desktop PCs and laptops,” he said.

“I know that we, along with many of our customers have been frustrated by the Windows 8 ‘Start’ screen. It was great for tablets and touch-enabled laptops – not good for desktops. The Start button and the Programs menu make life easier for most Windows desktop users.”

He said he had found that the Quick Access section in the File Explorer, incorporating Frequent Folders and Recent Files, had been very useful, but the update won’t provide myPractice with anything that specifically enhances the program.

“At its core, it is essentially the same as Windows 8.1. Apparently the internal graphics side of things has been improved, but users won’t really notice that.”

What is new is Microsoft Edge, a brand new browser that Microsoft says will give users a better web experience, and gadgets like Cortana, a ‘personal digital assistant’ that will work across Windows devices.

Cloud-based allied health software vendor coreplus is pretty much able to avoid the compatibility problems as its software is delivered as a service via a browser.

coreplus CEO John (Yianni) Serpanos said this was a distinct advantage over installed software, which is subject to the underlying operating system.

“In other words, as long as the internet browser is working with the operating system, coreplus is able to operate unaffected by the upgrade,” Mr Serpanos said.

“Given the mainstream browsers are typically Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Microsoft IE and those vendors ensure their browsers are compatible with operating system upgrades, we’re generally future proof when it comes to operating system upgrades.”

Robyn Peters, director of Direct Control, a business management and clinical solution for general practice, specialist practice and day surgeries, said her company had also been testing with Windows 10 as part of the Insider Preview.

Ms Peters said the software was now compatible with Windows 10 along with Office 365, Xero and MYOB, which are all running in Windows 10.

Her advice to clinics planning to explore Windows 10 is to ensure staff take some time to get to know the new OS so they don’t feel frustrated with using the new layout.

“It is intuitive and easy to work with,” she said. “Do not be concerned if you are jumping from Windows 7 to Windows 10.”

Best Practice Software chief commercial officer Craig Hodges said his team had put the software through initial installation and basic functionality testing on the Windows 10 preview editions, but the company won’t be making a release available to coincide with the Windows 10 release on July 29.

“However, we are working towards future updates which will aim to provide compatibility with Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10,” Mr Hodges said.

He said his advice to users of Best Practice is that changing operating systems in a business environment should always be carefully planned and preferably tested prior to implementation.

“Whole system upgrades are challenging and practices should consider engaging with trained IT professionals to provide back-up, upgrade and migration advice,” he said.

Mr Hodges said feedback had shown that the return of the Start menu may be a big attraction to Windows users who have been holding off upgrading their systems to the Windows 8.

Other features to look forward to include Snap Assist, he said.

“With the uptake of widescreen and touch functionality, we think users will enjoy Snap Assist where you can instantly snap different windows to sections of the monitor.

“[You can] flick the waiting room window to the left and the appointment book to the right of the screen.”

Windows 10 will be released on July 29 as a free download for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users.

Fred signs up Advantage Pharmacy for NXT in the cloud

Pharmacy IT solutions vendor Fred IT will roll out its cloud-based Fred NXT platform throughout the Advantage Pharmacy Group this year in what is the first national implementation of the market leader’s new platform.

The group includes both the Advantage and the Chemist Discount Centre retail pharmacy banners, with company-owned and franchised stores predominantly in Victoria and NSW.

Advantage Pharmacy is adopting a group solution that will enable the management of operations and data across all parts of the group from one central location. Software and services can be shared between stores and users.

“The introduction of a new technology platform is a vital part of Advantage Pharmacy’s plans for further innovation and growth,” Advantage group principal John Kardis said in a statement.

“This new platform will enable us to improve communication and information flow between all parts of our group, streamlining the management of our multi-store operations, whilst also achieving savings in our capital and operating costs.”

Fred NXT is built on Microsoft Dynamics AX technology and provides a single, integrated platform to connect all areas of a retail pharmacy business, including dispensary, point of sale, professional services, enterprise resource planning and purchasing and stock management functions.

It has been tested at a number of beta pharmacies over the last two years, including at Fred IT CEO Paul Naismith’s two pharmacies in Melbourne.

The ability to share functions across the group will enable the creation of a fully integrated central database containing all business data, the direct integration of all information from stores into the central system, which removes the duplication of tasks and information, fully integrated drug updates and pricing, and the centralised management of pricing and product information.

The rollout of Fred NXT throughout the Advantage Pharmacy group is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Phone health concept wins ageing hackathon

The concept of recording an older person’s health measurements via an automated telephone service for later analysis has won the Hack Ageing hackathon held in Melbourne at the weekend.

Organised by IBM and health technology agency HealthXL, the hackathon was aimed at developing solutions that would improve the quality of life for the elderly in the areas of dementia, malnutrition, social isolation and physical activity.

As part of the event, more than 150 clinicians, software developers, hardware engineers, designers, businesspeople and consumers worked directly with health experts from HealthXL, Melbourne’s Northern Health and Alzheimer’s Australia, along with health researchers and technical experts from IBM.

The eventual winner was the TeleXHealth team, which came up with the idea of a solution that could enable elderly people to confidentially share key information about their health, such as weight, blood sugar and blood pressure, through an automated telephone service.

The information would then be digitally recorded, analysed and tracked on a dashboard, and accessed via a mobile application by the patient, their doctor, family or carer.

The TeleXHealth team will now work with clinicians and community care providers in the Northern Health hospital network to refine and complete a prototype of their solution for trialling with patient groups.

TeleXHealth will also be invited to present its solution to 100 digital health experts at the next HealthXL global gathering, being held in Munich in September.

TeleXHealth team leader Andreas Limberopoulos said talking with the elderly people and aged care experts during the event provided his team with great insight, a real-life understanding of their lives and the challenges faced.

“We were able to design a solution that we know can be easily used by elderly people, yet provides their carer with the information they need to better manage their health remotely,” Mr Limberopoulos said.

Other category winners include ‘Olive’, which is aimed at ensuring the safety of elderly people driving, enabling them to remain mobile and independent for longer. By monitoring and tracking information about the vehicle and the driver behaviour, such as location, speed, braking and distant from other vehicles, health professionals, carers and family can be confident of the person’s driving ability.

There was also ‘Heston’, an online application that can be used by dieticians to create personalised meal plans to help tackle malnutrition in elderly people. The solution analyses a range of personal information on each patient including previous and current medical history, food likes and dislikes and weight goals.

Australasian health week in review: June 13

Pulse+IT’s weekly round-up of Australian and New Zealand health, IT and eHealth news:

Hard decisions on CDC software
Australian Ageing Agenda ~ Natasha Egan ~ 12/06/2015

CIOs and executives know it is all systems go for consumer directed care from next month, yet the information and communications technology to support its delivery are still evolving.


Medicare toolkit dubbed ‘more crap’
Australian Doctor ~ Tessa Hoffman ~ 12/06/2015

The Department of Human Services has developed an exhaustive “online toolkit” to teach GPs how to avoid getting busted by Medicare investigators.


Bill may ban GPs calling themselves surgeons
Medical Observer ~ Julie Lambert ~ 12/06/2015

Legislation is being prepared in NSW to ban GPs and other non-surgical specialists from claiming the title surgeon, amid concerns over complications arising from procedures at skin and cosmetic clinics.


WA Health’s ICT overhaul two years away, outdated systems not linked
ABC News ~ Andrew O’Connor ~ 11/06/2015

Western Australia’s Health Department is still at least two years away from overhauling and linking its information technology systems state-wide.


Wikileaks: NZ health system could be ‘crippled’ by TPP
stuff.co.nz ~ Aimee Gulliver ~ 11/06/2015

The New Zealand health system could be “crippled” by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, analysts say documents posted online by whistleblower group Wikileaks show.


Meet the expensive 84-inch Surface Hub tablet, Microsoft’s attempt at making work meetings fun
Sydney Morning Herald ~ Matthew Hall ~ 11/06/2015

As remotely-located workforces become the norm, Microsoft is pitching its newly-launched Surface Hub as an all-in-one platform so engaging workers will no longer check Facebook or emails while listening in to conference calls and meetings.


Critics say NZ and Pharmac cornered in trade-deal terms revealed by Wikileaks
NZ Doctor ~ Virginia McMillan ~ 11/06/2015

The latest leaks from major trade talks reveal “potent” clauses, with real teeth that could be used against Pharmac, doctors and lawyers are warning.


Co-payment fear cuts visits to rural GPs
Medical Observer ~ Flynn Murphy ~ 11/06/2015

The government’s co-payment policy, despite being dropped, has led to a steep fall in GP patient numbers in rural areas, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.


Review asks whether public-private partnerships are answer to improving bush internet access
ABC News ~ Craig Zonca ~ 11/06/2015

A review of communications in regional Australia is considering how to encourage more public-private partnerships to build new mobile and internet infrastructure in remote areas.


Riskometer targets patients who have little to learn from CVD risk assessment
NZ Doctor ~ Virginia McMillan ~ 10/06/2015

A New Zealand-developed educational health app is targeting people at low or moderate risk of stroke – because it is among them that the majority of strokes occur.


WWDC 2015: Apple Music, iOS 9, OSX El Capitan – all the Apple announcements
Sydney Morning Herald ~ Tim Biggs ~ 09/06/2015

The details of everything coming soon to iOS, OSX, Apple Watch and the new cross-platform music streaming service.


Ten apps to help beat the blues
Sydney Morning Herald ~ Hannah Francis ~ 09/06/2015

10 evidence-based apps to beat the blues


Trepidation over proposal to replace Southern DHB with a commissioner
NZ Doctor ~ Liane Topham-Kindley ~ 09/06/2015

There is some trepidation in the Southern health sector over news the health minister is considering replacing Southern District Health Board with a commissioner to resolve its financial woes.


Third NBN rebrand could cost close to $1 million
Canberra Times ~ Henry Belot ~ 08/06/2015

The third rebranding of NBN Co is expected to cost close to $1 million and an additional $4.5 million will be spent on regional television advertising.


Evolving citizen portals to enable digital government
CIO Magazine ~ Glenn Archer ~ 05/06/2015

Government portals have been used for decades to provide information to citizens, as well as simplify and consolidate online services, but there’s no denying that there has been mixed success over the years.


CSIRO, NICTA merger could cost 200 jobs
ITNews ~ Allie Coyne ~ 05/06/2015

As many as 200 workers could lose their jobs if the proposed merger of science and research bodies NICTA and CSIRO goes ahead, but the cuts would be far greater should the agencies stay separate, according to the CSIRO’s chief executive.