International health IT week in review: June 28

Pulse+IT's weekly round-up of international health IT news for the week ending June 28: Irish app is launching, Sodinokibi targeting healthcare POS devices, airline's COVID screening tool, Mass eHealth winds down, public health by fax, back-to-work screening, failed NHS app cost £11.8m, handwashing detection in Apple Watch, digital services in aged care, Finland's digital market
Ireland’s contact tracing app ready to launch
MobiHealthNews ~ Sara Mageit ~ 24/06/2020
The An Garda Siochana police force volunteered to take part in field trials to see how it would perform in everyday situations and the results have given health officials the confidence to launch the app to the public.
Sodinokibi ransomware gang targets POS software
Information Security Media Group ~ Akshaya Asokan ~ 24/06/2020
The Sodinokibi ransomware gang is targeting point-of-sale payment device software after infecting networks with its crypto-locking malware, according to Symantec's Threat Intelligence team.
Etihad Airways launches COVID-19 risk assessment tool with Medicus AI
MobiHealthNews ~ Ahmed El Sherif ~ 25/06/2020
The two companies have partnered to provide the tool, which works by guiding travellers through an AI-powered assessment based on WHO guidelines.
Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative is calling it a day
Healthcare IT News ~ Mike Miliard ~ 25/06/2020
After 15 years as health IT innovation leader, the nonprofit MAeHC will be winding down operations in 2020, with many of its assets transferred to other like-minded organizations.
Ontario to scrap iPHIS and roll out new system
Canadian Healthcare Technology ~ Staff writer ~ 24/06/2020
The integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) was implemented in 2005 and still relies on fax machines and manual inputting of the data.
Verily, CVS Health join the budding back-to-work health screening market
MobiHealthNews ~ Dave Muoio ~ 24/06/2020
Alongside data analytics and employee apps, both offerings focus on facilitating coronavirus testing services among employees.
Tory peer reveals NHS contact-tracing app has cost £11.8m to date
Digital Health News ~ Hannah Crouch ~ 23/06/2020
This follows the government announcing on 18 June that it was abandoning its model for the NHS contact-tracing app and would switch to Google and Apple’s technology.
WWDC2020: Sleep tracking comes to Apple Watch at last
MobiHealthNews ~ Jonah Comstock ~ 22/06/2020
Another feature that’s particularly notable as the world continues to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic is handwashing detection and assistance.
Tech providers join forces to help get digital services into care homes
Digital Health News ~ Hannah Crouch ~ 22/06/2020
Four technology providers have launched a major campaign to help the care home sector post-Covid by using digital services to improve their businesses.
Finnish health tech innovators feel the COVID-19 effect
MobiHealthNews ~ Piers Ford ~ 19/06/2020
Demand for tech solutions has soared in Finland during the pandemic as healthcare providers seek new ways to diagnose and treat patients, and source properly tested PPE.
Britain makes u-turn on digital contact-tracing app
Information Security Media Group ~ Mathew J Schwartz ~ 19/06/2020
To the triple failures of Britain's inability to prevent a massive number of deaths due to COVID-19, effectively contact-trace infected individuals in England, or track recovered cases, add a fourth: Following months of development and testing, the U.K. has ditched its custom-built, centralized digital contact-tracing app.
Posted in Australian eHealth