International health IT week in review: March 21

Amazon expands telehealth platform, why government tech is so hard, Singapore and NZ in talks on vax certificates, China uses WeChat for vax passport, EU COVID apps interoperate, HIMSS settles expo class action, US vaccine finder website, Ontario booking system
Amazon enters telehealth, but competitors “will not go quietly”
MedCity News ~ Elise Reuter ~ 17/03/2021
Telemedicine leaders like Teladoc and Amwell may have seen their shares dip after the news Wednesday that Amazon will be selling its telehealth platform to employers.
Why is it so hard to build government technology?
MIT Technology Review ~ Cat Ferguson ~ 17/03/2021
The pandemic has shown how difficult it can be for the US to succeed with major technology projects. We asked leading thinkers what they would do to change that.
Singapore, New Zealand discuss possible mutual recognition of digital health, COVID-19 vaccination certificates
Channel News Asia ~ Ian Cheng ~ 18/03/2021
The foreign ministers of Singapore and New Zealand on Thursday (Mar 18) discussed the possibility of working together to mutually recognise both countries' digital health and COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
China is traveling with a digital vaccine passport
Technode ~ Wei Sheng ~ 16/03/2021
To sign up, users enter their passport number in a foreign ministry-owned mini program on Tencent’s WeChat instant-messaging platform.
COVID-19 alert and warning apps to protect lives and livelihoods
MobiHealthNews ~ Sara Mageit ~ 17/03/2021
A service allowing national apps to talk to each other has been set up by the European Commission, allowing users to receive a warning if they were in contact with someone who has indicated that they have tested positive for COVID-19.
Head of Ontario's vaccine task force set to leave as province's vaccine booking system launches
CBC News ~ Staff writer ~ 15/03/2021
The province's booking system and support desk went live Monday morning. In order to reduce high traffic volumes, the province is asking people who are not yet vaccine eligible to avoid calling the line or clogging up the online system.
HIMSS to settle class action exhibitor lawsuit for $2.8M
MedCity News ~ Elise Reuter ~ 15/03/2021
A year after it cancelled its 2020 conference, the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) will pay $2.8 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by exhibitors.
Biden announces national vaccine finder website
Healthcare IT News ~ Jonah Comstock ~ 11/03/2021
The White House also promised to create an 800 number that would serve the same purpose for those without access to the internet and to deploy technology teams to help support states' websites.
France to trial digital vaccine passport scheme
Healthcare IT News ~ Tammy Lovell ~ 13/03/2021
Passengers travelling to the French Caribbean territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe, will be able to use the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) AOKpass app to prove either a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or negative test result.
Posted in Australian eHealth