IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Australia’s high level of urbanisation of 77 per cent greatly exceeds the global average, making it a fertile ground for smart city projects. The Australian Government released a Smart Cities Plan in 2016 and offered $50M in grants to support the plan. Yet many challenges remain, writes Léon Langlais.

A recent UniSA study found that more than half of surveyed households didn’t understand what a smart city is and how it could benefit them.

Mr Gray told a Summit on Technology in Government and the Public Sector that the next big challenge was ‘location based’ services.

“Government decisions are typically based on cost, time and benefit – or What, When and Why,” Mr Gray said.

Spending more than doubled during 2010-11, up from $60m a year earlier, reflecting a ramping up of work on the Gillard government’s $500m personally controlled e-health record program to meet its July 1 launch.

But documents released today show that while individuals may be able to register for a PCEHR from that date, national usage of the system is not planned in the foreseeable future.

“There has been the promise that the transformation in healthcare caused by digitisation is just around the corner,” he said.

It’s a promise that includes the full integration of different healthcare systems across the private, public and allied health sectors.

Other changes are also expected.

The Australian Medical Association said the personally controlled e-health record system should be an opt-out -- not opt-in -- service to boost consumer participation.

It said the personally controlled aspect of the e-health record system was a double-edged sword.

Healthcare providers, technology suppliers and developers met last week in Melbourne to discuss the challenges and opportunities for patient treatment in the next decade.

They came up with more issues than answers, but all agreed on the need to connect remote patients with their care providers more efficiently, something proponents of e-health have been hoping the national broadband network will help solve.

While the recently published results of the House of Representatives investigation into the role and potential of the NBN were predictably split along party lines, the reports from both the majority and the minority stressed the importance of the demand-side activity of the NBN.

ICT investment under the Victorian Government’s 2012-13 budget will concentrate on boosting the state’s manufacturing industry, funding the Myki e-ticketing system, e-health initiatives and upgrades to emergency service systems.

According to the Victorian Treasurer, Kim Wells, the budget — aimed at reining in expenditure while growing revenues — will provide “additional support for business-to-business networks to assist with the sharing of knowledge, information and technology.”

Australia’s chief health bureaucrat is excited by the opportunities for technology in healthcare. My Health Record “can improve treatment decisions, reduce adverse events, avoidable hospital admissions and reduce duplication of medical tests”.

It is an exciting time to be a steward of the Australian health system. Our government has committed to reforms across the system: to improve co-ordination of care; efficiency of care; and sustainability of the system to improve health outcomes for all Australians.

"Implementers should take legal advice with respect to potential liability, inform their software indemnity insurers and ensure end-users sign comprehensive waivers," the MSIA says in a white paper adopted by members at its annual CEO Forum last month.

The eight-page white paper -- obtained by The Australian -- was provided to all members of the Healthcare Identifiers (HI) stakeholders working group, including the National e-Health Transition Authority, federal Health department and Medicare, for their consideration.

"New Medicare items will allow a range of existing consultation services to be provided via video conferencing and additional rebates on top of these items recognize the increased complexity of providing a service to a remote patient", said Health Minister Nicola Roxon.

Minister for Health Tanya Plibersek announced the funding on Friday, stating that it will be provided in addition to the $233.7 million set aside in the 2012 Budget for the launch of the personally controlled e-health records (PCEHR). Medicare Locals are networks that help to support frontline health providers.

The $50 million will go towards providing training in GP practices, and to other healthcare providers, Plibersek said in a statement.

The Medicare Locals network has received $50 million in funding over two years to help general practitioners and healthcare providers use the e-health record system.

The funding is part of the government’s rollout of the e-health records system and is in addition to $233.7 million announced in the 2012-13 Budget.

"If substantial amounts of taxpayers' money are spent (on e-health) with little outcome, future funds will go to other programs," the Australasian College of Health Informatics has warned.

"Therefore, the PCEHR must work and must be sustainable."

The consultation was like many others Professor Boyce conducts at his practice in Lismore, northern New South Wales, but with one big difference: the patient was almost 2000 kilometres away in Cairns.

Victoria Police Superintendent Rod Wilson flagged an electronic database for venues to access and share information on the city's worst boozy offenders.

"I'd love to see it. It'd be fantastic," he said.

Two dozen ThoughtWorks employees and enthusiasts from outside the company are expected to converge on the company's Melbourne offices tonight for several hours of collaborative work on an open healthcare-interchange standard that's delivering e-health to some of the world's most impoverished countries.

Victorian healthcare provider Melbourne Health has published a request for tender to support its proposed electronic medical record system.

The Victorian government has gone to tender, seeking a provider to upgrade Melbourne Health's network and site infrastructure.

The successful vendor will be charged with enabling appropriate levels of clinical and administrative user access to a proposed electronic medical record (EMR) system to be introduced at Melbourne Health, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and the Royal Women's Hospital, the request for tender (RFT) explains.

As part of the Gillard Government’s mental health package, the Department of Health and Ageing has extended an invitation to suitably qualified organisations to develop and deliver their Virtual Clinic mental health services.

According to the Department, myGov linked people directly to a range of Government services using a single username and password.

This made it even easier for people to lodge their income tax returns online.