Australasian health IT week in review: December 12
Pulse+IT’s weekly round-up of Australian and New Zealand health, IT and eHealth news:
Google Nest, Apple Pay, holograms, robots and connected homes lead us to the future
The Australian ~ Chris Griffith ~ 10/12/2015
Holograms, virtual reality and augmented reality will be growth areas for tech next year. In general, we will see technology that already is embraced by some become more refined and widely adopted.
Health funding and terrorism on COAG agenda
ABC News ~ Naomi Woodley ~ 11/12/2015
State and territory leaders say they’re united in the need for the Commonwealth to reverse cuts to long-term health funding.
Kim Hames says he ‘won’t be bitter’ if he leaves cabinet
ABC News ~ Jacob Kagi ~ 10/12/2015
Western Australian Health Minister Kim Hames insists he is not bitter over his likely departure from Cabinet next year, after announcing he will resign as Deputy Premier in February.
NDIS: Staff shortages, lack of government co-operation flagged as roll-out problems
ABC News ~ Libby Hogan ~ 10/12/2015
Two-thirds of the nation’s disability service providers say the Federal Government is not co-operating with them on some of the problems they have flagged with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) trial sites.
World-first robot surgery in Toowoomba gives cancer patient new voice
ABC News ~ Peter Gunders ~ 10/12/2015
Toowoomba surgeons Dr Suresh Mahendran and Dr Roger Grigg performed the operation with a DaVinci robotic system, with assistance from Professor Suren Krishnan from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, who is considered a leader in robotic ear, nose and throat surgery.
Fremantle Hospital’s intensive care unit in danger of closing as Government attempts to cut costs
ABC News ~ Jacob Kagi ~ 10/12/2015
The future of Fremantle Hospital’s intensive care unit is being closely looked at, as the Government attempts to cut costs at the facility.
Changes to free up Victorian ambulance services, stop them being ‘treated like taxis’
ABC News ~ Jean Edwards ~ 10/12/2015
People who demand to be seen by paramedics for minor health complaints like headaches and toothaches will be directed to doctors, under changes designed to stop Victorians using ambulances as taxis.
Room for private insurers in general practice: RACGP
Medical Observer ~ Paddy Wood ~ 09/12/2015
The RACGP is willing to explore the involvement of private health insurers in general practice, provided GPs maintain their clinical independence.
GP frustrations: How Australia compares
Medical Observer ~ David Rowley ~ 09/12/2015
Australian GPs are struggling with the increased demands of chronic care in an ageing population, a new report shows.
Sods turned on Adelaide’s controversial Repat Hospital replacement
ABC News ~ Tom Fedorowytsch ~ 09/12/2015
The controversial closure of Adelaide’s Repatriation General Hospital is a step closer, with construction beginning on its replacement at the Flinders Medical Centre in the city’s south.
Barwon Health hunts for tech chief to lead BYOD overhaul
iTNews ~ Andrew Sadauskas ~ 09/12/2015
State-owned public health operator Barwon Health is looking for a new chief knowledge and information officer to lead a mobile push following the departure of its former head of IT.
Two-thirds of major NSW Health IT projects are running late
iTNews ~ Paris Cowan ~ 08/12/2015
Six of the NSW Department of Health’s nine largest technology projects are running behind schedule, prompting the state’s auditor-general to call for a review into the way IT initiatives are managed.
Queensland can’t sue IBM over health payroll system: judge
Brisbane Times ~ AAP ~ 08/12/2015
The Queensland government’s lawsuit against IBM Australia over the disastrous health payroll system has stalled, after the Supreme Court upheld a legal challenge by the technology giant.
New virtual clinic offers specialists referrals for $20
Australian Doctor ~ Paul Smith ~ 08/12/2015
A new virtual medical clinic is selling repeat specialist referrals for $20 when a patient’s usual GP referral has expired.
Australian public service failing to share information
Sydney Morning Herald ~ Phillip Thomson ~ 08/12/2015
A report signed off by top Canberra bureaucrats has revealed stunning examples of public service inefficiency when it comes to releasing and managing data.
Sector encouraged to collaborate on new 10-year reform framework
Australian Ageing Agenda ~ Natasha Egan ~ 07/12/2015
A 10-year aged care roadmap will be launched next year and service providers and technology vendors can help shape the development of a framework for further reform, a senior departmental bureaucrat has said.
Innovation plan: CSIRO comes in from the cold with funding boost
Sydney Morning Herald ~ Judith Ireland ~ 07/12/2015
When CSIRO officials looked at the budget papers in May 2014, they could see that winter was coming.
Turnbull to restore CSIRO funding, shake up govt IT procurement
iTNews ~ Allie Coyne ~ 07/12/2015
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will give $90 million back to the cash-strapped CSIRO and make it easier for IT start-ups to do business with the government as part of his $1 billion innovation plan.
Genome future is mapped out
The Australian ~ Mitchell Bingemann ~ 07/12/2015
The Garvan Institute is in talks with Telstra and the government to create a project to decode the human genome.
New online service giving sick notes without seeing a doctor
Sunday Herald Sun ~ Jane Hansen ~ 06/12/2015
A service offering online medical certificates in just five minutes has been blasted by the Australian Medical Association as potentially dangerous and by business groups who say it is open to misusing sick leave entitlements.