Again, in the last week, I have come across a few news items which are worth passing on.
First we have:
Cyber psychology helps save lives
Lynette Hoffman | April 25, 2009
Article from: The Australian
WHAT do you do when a friend is contemplating suicide? Doug didn't know.
So he did what millions of people worldwide do every day when seeking advice, answers and just about everything else. Doug turned to that universal source of information: Google.
He stumbled upon ReachOut.com.au, a youth targeted website providing support and information about mental illness.
Doug -- who asked that his last name not be published -- used the site to help his friend, who went on to receive counselling and treatment for depression and trauma.
Later, when Doug found himself battling low self-esteem and struggling to come terms with his sexuality, he found comfort in reading the stories of other young people on the site.
"At my lowest of lows I knew that not continuing wasn't an option," he says. "I knew I wasn't alone. It encouraged a positive outlook from the start."
Despite increasing public awareness and campaigns designed to diminish the stigma associated with mental illness, depression, anxiety and other mental health problems are not only widespread but also under-diagnosed and under-treated among all Australians, not only young people.
Much more here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25376388-23289,00.html
This is a useful long article. The key sites covered include:
Good stuff.
Second we have:
Patient privacy under threat
22-Apr-2009
By Michael East
THE Federal Privacy Commissioner will review proposed legislation that would allow Medicare staff to access patients’ medical records without their knowledge, after the proposal provoked outrage from the medical profession.
Under the proposed legislation made public last week, Medicare would not need to obtain a patient’s permission or notify them that their records were being viewed and copied.
The draft legislation is part of Medicare’s push to have greater powers when investigating potentially fraudulent claims by doctors.
Medicare would not be required to notify “the person in respect of whom the professional service was rendered” or “the person who incurred the medical expenses”, the legislation states.
The medical profession last week condemned the proposed laws. AMA president Dr Rosanna Capolingua described the legislation as “Big Brother at its worst”.
Despite the controversial nature of the proposal, the deadlines for sub missions to the parliamentary inquiry into the legislation is at the end of this week.
Addressing the concerns, Australian Privacy Commissioner Ms Karen Curtis said she would put forward suggestions to the Federal Government on how best to protect patient privacy as part of a review of the legislation.
“The protection of individual’s health information is an important part of the work of my office,” she said.
More here (subscription required):
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/articles/a1/0c0601a1.asp
This is encouraging – sound like some common sense is prevailing. Sadly Senator Ludwig is still sticking to his pathetic talking points.
Third we have:
Betfair wants access to medical records
- Andrew Clennell State Political Editor
- April 24, 2009
THE global gaming agency Betfair is pushing for access to Medicare records, motor vehicle registries, births, deaths and marriages data and passport information to "verify the identity of customers".
The request is made in Betfair's submission to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into gambling.
Betfair operates a controversial betting exchange that became the subject of a horse-race fixing scandal in Britain. Betfair's records of customers were crucial in assisting police.
Betfair recommended that "wagering operators should be given restricted access to identity databases such as Medicare records, motor vehicle registries, passport information and births, deaths and marriages registries for the purposes of verifying the identity of customers in accordance with federal legislative requirements". It said in its submission that "Betfair has a strict requirement that every customer verify his or her identity" and that "every bet placed on Betfair can be tracked to a particular customer".
The submission says the Betfair controls "provides significant advantages in controlling and detecting attempts to launder money or to engage in deceptive conduct and it allows for more effective programs for responsible gambling".
More here:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/betfair-wants-access-to-medical-records-20090423-agu4.html
They have to be joking! (I hope!)
Fourth we have:
E-commerce laws to be upgraded
Karen Dearne | April 23, 2009
DOMESTIC e-commerce laws will be upgraded so Australia can adopt the United Nations Convention on the use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts - a new legal standard that underpins business activity conducted over the internet.
The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) yesterday agreed to amend state and territory Electronic Transactions Acts, following "overwhelming support" for reforms aimed at addressing technological advances since the present uniform ETAs -- based on the 1996 Model Law on E-Commerce -- were adopted.
The rules address means of confirming the validity of electronic transactions, including the recognition of legal contracts, and rules for establishing the time and place of dispatch and receipt of electronic communications.
"Submissions from the business community and other interested groups all supported proposed amendments that will allow Australia to accede to the Convention on Electronic Contracting," SCAG said in a communique.
More here:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25370707-15306,00.html
This needs a bit of research – as some of the topics covered appear to have some impact in the e-Health domain.
All that seems to have been in the communiqué is the following:
“SCAG is making significant progress on harmonisation projects that are part of the drive towards a seamless national economy that is modern, responsive and consistent with international best practice.
· Ministers have agreed that amendments to the uniform Electronic Transactions Acts that could implement the UN Convention on Electronic Communications in International Contracts should be drafted. This decision reflects the results of consultation conducted earlier this year where respondents overwhelmingly supported SCAG’s proposals.”
More here:
http://www.scag.org.au/lawlink/SCAG/ll_scag.nsf/pages/scag_index
Fifth we have:
E-health centre wheels in chief Phil Gurney
AMBITION: Paul Broekhuyse | April 21, 2009
PHIL Gurney is the new chief executive of the Australian e-Health Research Centre, a joint venture between the CSIRO and the Queensland government.
He takes over from founding chief executive Gary Morgan, who has been appointed operations deputy director of the CSIRO's ICT centre.
Dr Gurney said his challenge over the next few years was to engage broadly with the medical community.
"We want the research outcomes to deliver real-world benefits to patients, and ensure they are adopted throughout the Australian and global healthcare system," Dr Gurney said.
As a consultant, Dr Gurney has advised executive teams at small and medium businesses, charities and government organisations including the Brotherhood of St Laurence, where he advised on the establishment of the Innovation Hub.
More here:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25361387-24169,00.html
It is good to see e-Health appointments getting significant publicity!
Sixth we have:
Smartcard mooted for federal welfare payments
Karen Dearne | April 21, 2009
THE federal Government's welfare payment BasicsCard may become a smartcard.
The Human Services Department is preparing to approach the market for an alternative to its magnetic stripe card.
Human Services assistant secretary Brian Olsen said there had been no decision on whether to "exclude or require chip technology".
Plans to open bidding for the welfare card system industry follow an initially restricted tender, won by Retail Decisions, to fast-track the creation of an income management scheme.
Retail Decision's ReD Prepaid Cards arm was paid more than $2.5 million to design, build and operate BasicsCard in the present financial year.
Under the Northern Territory emergency intervention, Centrelink pays half of a person's benefit on to the card, quarantining funds for the purchase of food and other essentials at authorised stores.
Federal Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin has pledged to continue compulsory income management in the NT -- and in two other trial areas -- but the department emphasised that the tender "should not be taken as a sign of an intention to expand the scheme".
More here:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25361756-15306,00.html
We seem to have smartcards being proposed all over the place. I hope the Government manages this project better than the last few!
See also:
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/300493/qld_get_smart_licences_next_year?eid=-6787
QLD to get smart licences next year
Facial recognition behind fraud crack-down
Darren Pauli 23 April, 2009 14:41
Queensland Transport has inked a five-year deal with Unisys to design and build a facial recognition and biometric matching platform for the state's smartcard drivers' licence.
Unisys would not reveal the value of the deal.
The real worry about the proposal – as described in this article is that it has all the attributes of the failed Commonwealth Access card built in – including – apparently – planned function creep! It is vital any proposal like this does just one job – e.g. being a driver’s license!
Seventh we have:
Call for NBN audit
Nicola Berkovic | April 22, 2009
THE Coalition has called for a full and independent audit of the Rudd Government's national broadband network tender, which cost taxpayers $20 million.
It has also urged the Government to reimburse companies for their expenses in preparing their bids to roll out the network.
The Government initially called for proposals to build a fibre-to-the-node network (street-corner boxes), saying it would tip $4.7 billion into the project. But earlier this month it announced it would terminate the tender, and instead spend $43 billion rolling out fibre direct to 90 per cent of homes and a mixture of wireless and satellite technologies to the remaining 10 per cent.
Opposition communications spokesman Nick Minchin said the tender had failed to produce an outcome and had wasted public money as well as millions spent by bidders preparing their proposals.
In a letter sent to Auditor-General Ian McPhee yesterday and obtained by The Australian, Senator Minchin wrote: "The panel confirmed that the key government objectives on which this RFP process was based, including the development of a fibre-to-the-node network to service 98 per cent of the population, were totally unrealistic and unaffordable."
More here:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25369043-15306,00.html
This news about the older proposal but if the old one was handled so badly one really has to worry about the new 10 times the size NBN!
Eighth we have:
Optus joins internet filtering trial
April 23, 2009
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy's controversial plans to block banned internet sites at the internet service provider level have been aided by Australia's second-largest ISP, Optus, which has agreed to take part in a trial.
The filtering plan has been fiercely criticised on free speech grounds while others have raised technical concerns about its effectiveness or its possible impact on internet speeds. It was subject to ridicule last month when a list of websites — said to be the secret blacklist that would be used in the trials — was leaked.
More here:
http://business.theage.com.au/business/optus-joins-internet-filtering-trial-20090422-afdz.html
I hope we get some useful information about how this actually will work now one of the seriously large ISPs is taking part.
More commentary here:
Analyst: Optus' Internet filter participation shocking and disappointing
Leading telco analyst claims the telco's move could upset its customers
Trevor Clarke (ARN) 22 April, 2009 16:04
Ninth we have:
Bionic eye gets $50m grant
AAP
April 22, 2009 03:41pm
THE Rudd Government will invest $50 million towards the development of a bionic eye.
The Government announced the funding as part of its response on Wednesday to the 2020 Summit in Canberra a year ago.
It will be available through a competitive grants process.
"The Government is committed to supporting research where Australia is on the leading edge of innovation as a crucial investment in our nation's future,'' it said in its summit response.
More here:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25370120-29277,00.html
I would really love to know just where our efforts are compared with the rest of the world in this area. Just because we did a great job with the Bionic Ear we should not assume we have a lead here!
More discussion on the grant here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25372783-23289,00.html
Researchers race to develop bionic eye
Leigh Dayton | April 23, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE scientific race is on for all or part of the $50.7 million allotted for research to develop a bionic eye.
Lastly the technical comment for the week:
NAS boxes sort out home storage
TECH CHECK: Ian Grayson | April 21, 2009
WITH an ever-rising tide of digital data flooding our homes and offices, traditional methods of dealing with it all are struggling to keep up.
The Iomega StorCentre IX2 (pic) is easy to set up and has a very small footprint
Multiple PCs with cavernous hard drives can store everything from documents and emails to music and video files, and that might work well for a while, but sharing it all with others and backing it up can quickly become a nightmare.
Remembering where computer files are stored and keeping track of multiple copies sounds easy, but digital chaos can rapidly become the norm.
In the home, digital photos languish in forgotten folders and downloaded music cannot be found when it's wanted.
In the office, it's not much fun searching for an important contract or presentation, only to discover it is on a colleague's notebook PC, and he or she is interstate.
To avoid such scenarios, growing numbers of houses and small offices are taking advantage of a different way to store digital content.
They are installing network attached storage (NAS), which essentially consists of boxes of hard drives that connect directly to an existing home or small office computer network.
Rather than content being stored on individual PCs, everything is on the NAS drive, where it can be easily accessed by anyone on the network.
When they first appeared on the market, NAS devices were big, clunky and expensive, but as a result of advances in hardware and software they have dropped in price as quickly as their storage capacity has increased.
More here:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25360718-5013037,00.html
This is a good reminder of how Network Attached Storage has become cheaper and more available for small business and home look. If thinking about such technology it is worth also looking at the offerings from Western Digital and Acer.
More next week.
David.
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