The latest news from the Digital Health CRC
February 2023
Message from our CEO
Annette Schmiede
It is so pleasing to see healthcare reform at the forefront of a national debate and discussion. The need to overhaul primary care, revamp Medicare to be fit for purpose and ensure we build a resilient and well-resourced health workforce is more critical than ever as we face a population that is aging and with ever more complex health challenges.
The global pandemic presented unparalleled demands on the healthcare sector but it also demonstrated the unprecedented opportunity that we have to use technological advances to transform how healthcare is delivered. If we get this right I believe it will enable us to establish a healthcare system to meet the needs of generations to come.
The recent Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report presented digital and data as one of four primary areas of focus in improving Australia’s health system. Under the banner of modernising primary care, the report authors made a series of digital health recommendations, including the need to better connect health data across all parts of the health system, underpinned by robust national governance and legislative frameworks, regulation of clinical software and improved technology.
We could not agree with this more fully. Today, the DHCRC releases a paper calling for a way forward in building a collective approach to creating a national framework for the governance of data and information. For too long the lack of a national information and governance has impeded Australian researchers. This paper, featured in this newsletter below, uses case studies from a number of recent DHCRC projects to demonstrate practical examples where our participants have been directly impacted by these barriers. We also present a series of short- and long-term suggestions as a way forward. We hope this provokes discussion and we welcome your feedback and views on this important topic.
Also in this newsletter, we share a couple of recent projects that we announced at the end of last year and early this year. The first is an Australian-first research initiative into the emergence and prevalence of Long COVID in primary care, and how this can be best managed in general practice who are at the frontline of diagnosis and treatment. The second is a projected aiming to co-design, develop, implement and review the effectiveness of a care navigation platform – the Local Mental Health Care Operational Navigation Chart (MChart) – to better facilitate the navigation of mental health care services by all stakeholders.
Finally, we’re pleased to feature two of our students in this edition of our newsletter. This year we plan to more regularly shine a light on our student cohort that is making a real contribution to the future of digital health.
Warm regards,
Annette Schmiede
CEO, Digital Health CRC
Latest News
DHCRC calls out data governance issues
Australia lacks the national data and information governance tools to deliver the scale of healthcare transformation required to support effective responses to population health challenges such as pandemics, population ageing and personalised care.
This was the take-out of a paper released this week by the DHCRC detailing the need for Australia to implement a contemporary national data and information governance framework.
A comment on the Medicare Taskforce Report
The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report packs a punch, despite only being a dozen pages. It is certainly pleasing to see top billing being given to digital and data in the future of healthcare.
The paper rightly points out that advances in adoption of technology during COVID-19 must not be lost. It says critical patient health information remains siloed and cannot be shared easily. That is exactly what we have experienced first-hand across many our research projects.
Cooperation key to innovation
CEO Annette Schmiede represented DHCRC at the inaugural National Innovation Policy Forum hosted by Cooperative Research Australia at Parliament House in November.
The event was headlined by an address from the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic; as well as keynotes from Aboriginal Elder and Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Professor Tom Calma AO and business leader and forum patron, David Thodey.
Read more here...
In conversation with… Alessandro Luongo DHCRC Program Director
In this regular column we will introduce you to members of our team, share some of their career journey and take a look at what they are focused on at DHCRC.
Alessandro Luongo is an accredited exercise physiologist and accredited practising dietitian who has worked in both community and private practice settings before joining DHCRC as Program Director.
Education Update
First class honours for DHCRC scholarship recipient
DHCRC scholarship recipient Sophie Macklin has graduated with First Class Honours after completing her Honours Research at the University of Queensland.
With a passion for rural and regional health, Sophie’s thesis was titled: Understanding the pathway to consumer centred healthcare information in rural and remote Queensland.
Sophie found that there are many gaps in the way patient medical information is managed in remote areas with basic issues such as frail internet connections impacting the uptake of digital data solutions to the detriment of consumers. Sophie is now considering a PhD to further explore this area that has been largely overlooked.
Uniquely Sophie was awarded a scholarship funded by the DHCRC and the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA).
The joint scholarship provided opportunities for Sophie to network, present at conferences and publish her research. Sophie was part of the “Purple UQ Brigade” at the Digital Health Summit where she presented her research findings at the DHCRC-sponsored Research and Industry Alley.
DHCRC Education and Workforce Director Dr Melanie Haines said: “It was such a such a thrill to see Sophie follow her passion and explore how digital health improvements can be applied more effectively in remote and regional areas, which is critical for so many Australians. The outcome of this research reflects the support that CRC scholarship programs can deliver in adding important and valuable insight to the research community.”
QUT Graduate Certificate a path to digital health knowledge
Recent graduate Scott Hughes says the completing the Graduate Certificate in Digital Health Leadership and Management at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has set him on a path to better implement digital health solutions in practice.
With a degree in Applied Science from QUT, Scott experienced first-hand as a cardiac scientist the increasing importance of digital health innovation and wanted to understand its applications more deeply.
“I can see digital healthcare only getting bigger,” Scott said. “Cardiology is so much about data – capturing, storing and translating data to provide better, faster, outcomes for patients. So I could see digital health is the direction we are going and I was determined to find out more.”
Having looked at numerous course options, Scott selected QUT for its breadth of topics and hands-on approach. “Digital health is so broad and so I wanted a course that would give both a depth and breadth to my knowledge of the opportunities and challenges that digital brings to healthcare.”
Since completing his graduate certificate, Scott has been able to confidently dive further into the digital health ecosystem, joining health software provider Agfa HealthCare.
“I am now working with healthcare institutions and hospitals to implement digital solutions that make it better for patients, more user-friendly for clinicians and more efficient for the organisation. In many ways healthcare is behind on the digital spectrum but it is quickly catching up.”
The DHCRC recently unveiled a partnership with QUT to offer up to 10 scholarships for healthcare workers undertaking postgraduate study in the Graduate Certificate. The scholarship is open to individuals working in the healthcare sector and will cover up to 100% of the total tuition fees.
Apply now! Healthcare Design short course study grant
The Digital Health CRC (DHCRC) has partnered with the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) and RMIT Online to provide study grants for individuals looking to accelerate their career in healthcare.
The Healthcare Design Future Skills short course is a six-week experience that will equip you with knowledge of Australian healthcare systems and skills in human centred design. You will imagine and design alternative futures for the industry and create a prototype for the healthcare of tomorrow.
This micro credentialed course provides a pathway to potential prototype development funding through DHCRC and CRCNA and is also a foundation for the RMIT Graduate Certificate in Digital Health, if you wish to continue to study towards this qualification.
DHCRC and CRCNA are providing study grants to successful applicants that will cover 50% of Healthcare Design enrolment costs. The remaining 50% is to be paid by you or your organisation. Applications are open to all current and aspiring healthcare professionals and those who wish to transition to health from other sectors.
This is an empowering professional development opportunity for individuals and teams.
Applications are now open with the course due to start on 13 March 2023.
Please express your interest via this form below by 26 February 2023. Successful applicants must accept their offer by 1 March 2023.
Project Update
Living with Long COVID: Deepening our understanding to better support frontline GPs and improve patient care
An Australian-first research initiative into the emergence and prevalence of Long COVID in primary care, and how this can be best managed in general practice, will be the focus of a new project by the DHCRC in collaboration with Outcome Health, Macquarie University and four Primary Health Networks (PHNs).
Navigating the complexity of Australia’s mental healthcare system
The initiative, coordinated by the DHCRC and involving the University of Canberra, Swinburne University of Technology, Capital Health Network, Psicost Research Association, and Bupa Foundation, will ultimately look to create a user-friendly tool to help professionals, planners and consumers more easily navigate the mental health care system.
Upcoming Events
Data & Analytics in Healthcare
Date: 27-28 March 2023
Location: Grand Hyatt, Melbourne
Data & Analytics in Healthcare will deep-dive into the data transformation taking place in healthcare across Australia. Featuring experts from across the industry – from clinicians to the board, and governance leaders to informatics officers – this event will explore efforts to transform the use of data, analytics, and AI in order to deliver great efficiencies and better, more accurate, patient care.
Look out for DHCRC Chief Innovation Officer Stefan Harrer who will moderate a panel during the event on AI adoption in clinical care.
Science Meets Parliament 2023
Date: March 2023
Location: Canberra
This event offers an unrivalled program of bespoke training to forge deeper connections between federal Parliamentarians and those working in science and technology. It plays crucial role to build relationships to bring STEM expertise even more deeply into the service of the nation.
It does so by giving STEM experts a deeper understanding of how to engage effectively with policymakers. And it helps policymakers to connect with key experts in science and technology.
This national gathering of STEM leaders includes expert-led professional development, a welcome reception, a Parliamentary forum, national gala dinner, a televised National Press Club address, and opportunities for delegates to meet in small groups privately with Parliamentarians.
