Diabetes WA discloses data breach

Diabetes WA, the peak body for diabetes in Western Australia, has reported unauthorised access to the personal information of some of their contacts.

Based on its initial investigation, the following information may have been accessed by hackers: name, address, birth date, email, telephone number, marital status, Aboriginal status, Medicare number, referring doctor, and type of diabetes. 

The organisation already reached out to the affected individuals and recommended they apply for a replacement Medicare number. 

It still assured, however, that "no detailed medical records or detailed clinical information were accessed." "The breach was quickly detected and fully contained," it added.

Following this incident, Diabetes WA said it will "further reinforce our technology security measures to protect us from potential future attacks." The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner was already notified of the matter, it also shared.

My Health Record enables access to NHI

Te Whatu Ora recently announced that it has enabled access to more health information on its latest My Health Record platform.

Besides being able to view immunisation history and COVID-19 test results, users can now also view and update the details of their National Health Index, High Use Health Card and Community Services Card. They can also view the COVID-19 results and some NHI details of their children whose accounts are linked to theirs.

"We are now empowering consumers and whanau to proactively determine their own identity information, including ethnicity and gender," added Te Whatu Ora Digital Channels sector director Michael Dreyer. 

More information will be accessible on My Health Record soon, including current and past medications and lab results. The old My Covid Record used during the height of the global pandemic was redeveloped into My Health Record to provide secure, one-stop access to New Zealanders' personal health information.

Dispatch support solution sought for NSW Ambulance

NSW Health is seeking suppliers of a dispatch decision support system for NSW Ambulance. 

The technology is expected to support the management of dispatch and deployment of ambulances across the state. 

In recent years, the emergency services provider has been beefing up its technological capabilities by adopting a mobile emergency alert and dispatch app and a cardiac notification platform and upgrading its radio network. 

SA endoscopic hospital digitises patient pathway

Northern and Southern Endoscopy, South Australia's first standalone endoscopic day hospital, has recently digitised its patient pathways with Personify Care.

The hospital had dealt with huge preadmission calls and relied heavily on paper forms for triage and manual risk screening. Now, it has enabled patients to complete pre-clinic health assessments online upon referral. 

On the staff side, they can now look into patients' risk status on a dashboard, quickly identifying high-risk patients through clinical alerts.

The Personify Care platform also automates triage and sends patients digital confirmation of their procedure details, personalised bowel preparation instructions, and informed financial consent. 

"[T]his shift has not only reduced the administrative burden but has also paved the way for substantial time savings in nursing and administrative tasks," administration manager Kelly Carpenter attested. The hospital shared that over nine in 10 patients are now confirming their appointments via the digital pathway platform while 82% have adopted it alongside their care.