It would be easy to think that the notion of a "digital divide" is now outdated. Whose life isn't digital in some respect these days?
As shown in the recent Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) report, Australians' digital lives, 92% of Australians use the internet across a range of technological devices. This suggests only a small minority of Australians are not using the internet. Perhaps they can't due to lack of availability or they don't out of choice.
Weiterlesen: AU: Bridging the digital divide means accommodating diversity
Health services that would usually cost hundreds of dollars and hours in travel are now just a click away for the many rural patients requiring specialist appointments.
Telehealth is fast capturing the attention of rural communities, connecting patients with specialists hundreds of kilometres away via a Skype-like system.
The technology means patients' travel costs are dramatically reduced and, in some cases, eliminated.
The Department of Human Services' 30-year-old IT system used for welfare payments is to be replaced.
The new platform is expected to maximise the benefits of e-government, reduce the costs of administering the system for taxpayers and help crack down on welfare cheats.
The project, one of the world's largest transformations of a social welfare IT system, will take several years to complete.
Australian technology leaders believe a lack of skills is the biggest threat to the success of digital delivery.
A new survey also found that IT budgets were growing in line with digital investment and a greater impact from digital disruption was expected this year.
The research comes from the Harvey Nash Australia Digital Event Pulse Survey 2015. It was shared at a recent digital event held in Sydney by recruitment consultancy and IT outsourcing service provider Harvey Nash Australia that attracted more than 120 industry leaders.
The problem could worsen as technology use in health care grows
Electronic health records vendors make the process of sharing patient information too expensive and complicated for hospitals and doctors, a problem that affects the quality and cost of care.
That's the conclusion reached by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the U.S. government agency that oversees the country's health IT efforts.
Weiterlesen: AU: Health IT vendors slammed for hampering the exchange of patient data