ASIA News

Yonsei University Health System (YUHS), one of the oldest and largest private university hospital networks in South Korea, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier, to build a 5G-powered digital hospital. Under the MOU, SK Telecom and  YUHS will work together to build a 5G network and develop specialised solutions for the Yongin Severance Hospital, which is scheduled to open in February 2020, by leveraging SK Telecom’s technological expertise in areas of 5G, AI, IoT and media. The 5G-powered digital hospital will be equipped with SK Telecom’s AI speaker NUGU to enable patients with physical difficulties to easily control their beds, lighting and TV with their voice. They can even use NUGU Call service to get medical assistance in case of emergencies. AR-based indoor navigation service through the application of indoor positioning and 3D mapping technologies to enhance the convenience of patients and visitors will also be introduced at the new 5G-powered hospital. SK Telecom is also considering to apply its quantum cryptography solutions to its network covering the Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital and Yongin Severance Hospital (hospitals under the YUHS network) as a cybersecurity measure to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive medical information. What’s the trend It is important to note that 5G is not just an extension of 3G and 4G networks. The technology is rather a network that combines 4G, Wi-Fi, wireless access technologies and millimetre wave. It also leverages cloud infrastructure, intelligent edge services and virtualised network core. It promises a massive boost in transfer speeds that things like distributed computing or IoT devices in healthcare need to reach their full potential. 5G technology is not quite ready to be harnessed, but by 2019 the first vendors plan to bring this technology to its full potential. According to a Xinhua news article last month, China's Guangdong province will build its first 5G-based demonstration hospital, which is a joint partnership between Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, China Mobile Group Guangdong Co., Ltd. (Guangdong Mobile), and the tech giant Huawei. In the US, Rush System for Health in Chicago has partnered with AT&T to become what it says is the first in the nation to use a standards-based 5G network in a healthcare setting.  On the record “Today is a high-tech digital era, so the digital transformation for hospitals is a must,” YUHS President and CEO Yoon Do-heum said in a statement. “Yongin Severance Hospital will become the core of Yonsei Medical Centre as an intelligent digital innovation hospital.” Park Jung-ho, President and CEO of SK Telecom, said: “SK Telecom’s partnership with Yonsei University Health System carries a significant meaning as it represents a new level of collaboration between two different industries.” “SK Telecom will work closely with the Yonsei University Health System to build the world’s best 5G-enabled hospital by utilising cutting-edge ICT.”

Healthcare leader representatives from Singapore, Australia and the Philippines took centre stage as the HIMSS Singapore eHealth & Health 2.0 Summit officially kicked off on April 23 with the CXO Panel session on the topic of disruptive innovation for value-based care.  “Today’s healthcare model is based on ‘more is better,’ but I think the healthcare model of tomorrow ought to be when ‘better is more.’ When we look at that shift from the volume to value-driven care approach to how we are going to look after our patients, and take care of them with themselves being ‘activated’ to so, it will change the paradigm of how healthcare is interpreted and can be delivered,” explained Dr. Eugene Soh, chief executive officer, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.  According to Dr. Soh, what value-based care means to him is the idea of how to expand value over time and space because value is delivered today in a very episodic manner and he believes the future will be a more relationship-based model. From his experience working in the Philippines, Mr. Christian Besler, chief digital officer, Ayala Healthcare, said that what value-based care means to him is threefold: bringing about affordability, accessibility and quality of healthcare to the masses, especially in a country where good quality healthcare tends to be concentrated in urban areas. The role of telehealth Dr. Stephen Chan, chief medical information officer, Woodlands Health Campus Singapore, who was also the panel moderator, posed the question on the role of telehealth in Singapore to the panel: Despite the country’s small geographical size, could telehealth be customised to the local population? Is it more than just “access” for the modern day consumer?  Dr. Soh cautioned that the idea of telehealth should not just be transactional in nature but that care can follow the patient – it is about a community of carers that work with the patient. Mr. Besler echoed a similar sentiment: “Telehealth should not just be about the monetary value, it should be about bringing value to patient, allowing them to choose encounters with healthcare based on their time and convenience.”  Although he did not have a direct experience from the perspective of a private healthcare provider in Singapore, Dr. Peng Chung Mien, chief executive officer, Farrer Park Hospital, said that his hospital is currently on a trial with insurance companies to use telehealth for assessment to see if clients need to physically go to an emergency department for treatment. This is in the context in which there are a lot of instances of people going into hospitals’ emergency departments for non-emergency-related cases. He added that the Ministry of Health’s regulation is that the first consultation of the patient with the doctor should always be in-person, and only subsequently followed up with telehealth sessions if required after the relationship has been established. Rethinking the patient experience  The ongoing theme during the panel session was back to the fundamentals in healthcare: how to bring about value, ultimately for patients and how to empower them. In short, how can patients be empowered to have ownership of their care? Mr. Besler shared that it helps to give patients access to their healthcare data and records, empowering them with information and advice, having that constant encounter of care that will improve their experience.  Sharing his perspective from Australia, Mr. Chris Mitchell, executive director of Information Communications & Technology, Hunter New England Health District, said that while it is relatively new, there is a movement toward the tagline "Nothing about me, without me," that is, really putting patients at the centre of care and any decisions being made is made in consultation with the patient. Parking of cars might be an afterthought for hospital design, but one of the patient-centric features that Dr. Peng said is happening at Farrer Park Hospital are parking spaces that allow two cars to park alongside each other yet also accommodate space for wheelchair and lift access.  “I think patient experience assumes a very linear relationship with the patient, one that happens at intervals and transactions in the healthcare model. My dream is that we have a better way to build a relationship with our patients,” Dr. Soh ended the session on a philosophical note.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) officially launched a capacity building platform designed for community-level healthcare services, according to a report by Xinhua News on April 15.  At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 2017, a report summarised that community-level healthcare services should be improved and the work of general practitioners strengthened. In 2018, the NHC launched a capacity building and training program for community level talents and was preparing to establish a capacity building platform combining online and offline efforts.  “Talent team building is the key component to enhancing community level healthcare services”, said Wang Hesheng, NHC deputy director. In February this year, Fang Laiying, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and vice-president of the Chinese Hospital Association, said that despite the rapid development of China’s health industry at the grass-roots level, the scarcest resource in the medical industry currently in China are medical talents catering to the needs at the grass-roots level, not professors. Fang added that cultivating a grass-root talent team has been a top priority in the reform of the medical health industry.

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has opened an online consultation for all Australians to have a say on the development of a more modern, digitally connected health system. The online consultation, part of a nationwide series of discussions used to co-design the National Health Interoperability Roadmap, allows clinicians, healthcare organisations, consumers and the technology sector to converse about standards and priorities required for an interoperable health system. The roadmap is a key priority of the National Digital Health Strategy, which was approved by all states and territories through the Council of Australian Government (COAG) Health Council in 2017. The strategy identifies the importance of connected health services and calls for the definition of standards to support interoperability.  “Industry clinical software supports millions of digital transactions daily through public and private health systems. A collaborative consensus on standards will increase the confidence of all users and make a more interconnected health system possible for patients and their healthcare providers,” Medical Software Industry Association CEO Emma Hossack said.  According to the ADHA, interoperability holds the potential to bring patients’ records together from a range of systems and to provide access to information from disparate sources, give consumers and providers greater visibility and enable research and innovation. “Best use of data and technology is key to sustainable, high quality and person-centred healthcare,” ADHA CEO Tim Kelsey said. “We’ve made progress since the National Digital Health Strategy was launched in 2018 – including creating a My Health Record for nine out of 10 Australians, and developing standards for secure digital messages to replace letters and fax machines in healthcare. “We are now developing the plan to move Australia to the next stage of connected care. Improving the interoperability of health and care services so that the right information is available at the right time for the right person is fundamental to improving the outcomes and experience of healthcare.” In addition to the online consultation, ADHA will be facilitating 50 digital health community conversations nationally in the coming months with members of the healthcare sector, health technology industry and consumer representatives to collaborate on how digital technology can best support the delivery of a person-centred healthcare system. ADHA is also welcoming written submissions by email or mail. This article first appeared on Healthcare IT News Australia. .jumbotron{ background-image: url("https://www.healthcareitnews.com/sites/hitn/files/u2556/InteroperabilityJumbotron.jpg"); background-size: cover; color: white; } .jumbotron h2{ color: white; } Focus on Interoperability During April, we'll talk to experts and thought leaders about what's really happening in interoperability and share insights about what the future holds.

New Zealand’s Northland District Health Board (DHB) is trialling an oral telehealth service for children and adolescents with plans to expand it to adult services over time. The DHB is piloting the use of Zoom video conferencing technology and a specialised intraoral camera to allow dentists at Whangarei Hospital to do examinations and consultations on children at remote locations. The first trial involved an oral health therapist operating the camera at Kaitaia District Hospital. The therapist sees the images live so is able to adjust the camera as needed and on instructions from the dentist. Previously, the dentist would have travelled to Kaitaia and seen the patients in person. Oral health therapist Kirstie Culpan says that by having teledentists, children can have their consults on time. If needed, they can also be placed on the general anaesthetic waitlist as soon as possible. Northland DHB telehealth and mobility programme manager Roy Davidson said, “The live clinical quality imaging provided by the specialised intraoral camera is the key technical component that makes these clinics possible.” He says the telehealth setup has at times proved to be a positive distraction in the clinic as children are generally interested in the technology. The service is targeting children and adolescents initially but will expand to adult services in time. A second pilot clinic was held on April 5 linking to Kerikeri, and an assessment will now be undertaken and a decision made on scale and timing of rolling out the service. “At this stage, there appears to be strong potential to link up the oral health locations throughout Northland, including the mobile dental clinics,” said Davidson. “Linking the more rural mobile dental clinics would provide a significant improvement to access of care for those families unable to travel to centres.” He says the telehealth service also provides support and peer contact engagement from dentists to dental and oral health therapists who are working in the community service. “Telehealth enables assessment in real time and discussion with whānau members who are with the patient and is a collaborative tool, enabling knowledge up skilling for the clinical teams involved,” Davidson said. “Telehealth reduces travel for clinicians, reduces travel for families and provides faster access to specialist dental care.” This article first appeared on eHealthNews.nz.

The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), set up to improve people’s experience of government services, has set out new requirements as part of a new Secure Cloud strategy, bringing more change around privacy and security policies for all industries including healthcare.  The new requirements demand Australian software companies to complete a compliance process and accreditation before they’re able to roll out third-party services.  The mandatory policy applies to any third-party that uses cloud services to connect with the Department of Human services (DHS) – this encompasses services such as My Health Record, Medicare, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and other forms of care. Macquarie Cloud Services Head of Customer Experience Phil Wallace said the move aims to lift security protecting sensitive health data and payments platforms, which is vital for healthcare as it’s responsible for more mandatory data breach notifications than any other sector. “Because of the sensitive nature of healthcare data, the DHS has always had to meet heightened security standards. The policy has two mandatory requirements, being DHS certification and that cloud providers must use sovereign Australian onshore solutions,” he said.  “Cloud solutions can be complex and distributed by nature. By helping the industry move to new, more secure onshore secure standards, it removes the threat that one link in the healthcare supply chain could compromise sensitive data and payments for all users.”  Wallace said a secure cloud strategy policy puts in place standard processes for organisations to follow, to enable an industry-wide compliance obligation.  “Health technology is complex; products may be subject to a whole range of standards and protocols, some of which are still being defined. Getting the critical area of data storage security right enables organisations to start concentrating on the protocols in their practice.”  Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA) CEO Emma Hossack agreed with Wallace, adding that privacy of patient information is critical for healthcare providers.  “In the event that providers are using web-based solutions – and this will become increasingly common – then security of transmission and storage of health information is no longer a nice to have; it is essential. There is no privacy without security,” she said. According to Hossack, associated problems in the healthcare space aren’t to do with software, but rather, how it’s deployed and the security protocols around it.  “It includes allowing multi parties to ‘share’ an individual’s password, which negates the benefit of access logs and weakens security and privacy,” she said.    “This comes down to training; it’s an area which the MSIA will work with the Australian Digital Health Agency on this year to encourage all health organisations to continually train staff on the use of software – both in terms of functionality and security.” Hossack said this move is just the start of improving privacy and security in healthcare.  She suggested that various divisions of healthcare band together to educate the industry about the changes.  “Change takes time. Education about the importance of security for consumers’ privacy by the government and the whole health industry is the best way to overcome the challenge. Education by colleges and other peak bodies like the Practice Managers Association and nursing bodies responsible for accreditation and standards is also key.”  Greenlight ITC CEO Mike Smith said policy is important, but healthcare providers that aim to achieve them on their own, with limited resources and constant change, will find it challenging.  The managed service provider and cloud support partner to software companies servicing the healthcare sector has worked with medical billing experts and other healthcare software companies on compliance. “Many healthcare users face challenges just sustaining current operations in the face of aging assets, rising costs, the war for talent and growing complexity. When healthcare providers partner with local experts for compliant solutions, everybody wins,” Smith said. Smith said there are a number of other initiatives healthcare providers can take. They include:  Keeping abreast of new legislation or changes  Actioning on changes as soon as possible to allow as much time as possible for adjustment      Keeping customers and partners informed of changes throughout  Identifying efficiencies to offset rising costs  Incorporating other requirements like monitoring and backup when teaming up with a partner. “New legislation, constant change and more distributed modes of care are making it harder for practitioners to concentrate on helping people. Organisations should look to offload such compliance and security burdens to specialists, so they can free resources to help more people,” he added.   This article first appeared on Healthcare IT News Australia.

Telehealth is increasingly being used to connect clinicians within and between New Zealand’s hospitals and to reach into people’s homes, a new survey revealed. The Telehealth Leadership Group’s most recent stocktake questionnaire was sent to all 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) in October 2018. Telehealth Leadership Group programme lead Patricia Kerr says the group is still doing a detailed analysis of results, but initial findings show there has been a general increase in the use of telehealth within DHBs since the last survey in 2014, as well as between DHBs. Also, there are more telehealth services going directly from clinics into people’s homes and a wider range of technologies being used. “There’s not only an increase in the volume of use, but also in the number of clinical services using telehealth,” she said. The number of DHBs with telehealth programme managers has increased and more DHBs are also providing telehealth training to staff. The examples of excellence identified previously – Auckland, Northland, Waikato and Canterbury – have continued to grow and others have emerged. “There are more pockets of excellence, where individuals are taking up use of telehealth because they can see it delivers benefits for their service delivery,” Kerr said. Telehealth is increasingly being used for multidisciplinary meetings with streaming of pathology and radiology images, allowing clinicians who previously could not attend to participate and reducing travel times. New Zealand Telehealth Resource Centre telehealth advisor mobile health Andrew Panckhurst says improved interoperability between providers of video conferencing services has made it easier for people using a variety of different platforms to link up. New entrants to the video conferencing market are often open and interoperable by nature, and better connectivity has also boosted growth. Ministry of Health sector portfolio manager data and digital services Judy Eves says that “virtual meeting rooms”, a concept that was not widely used in the 2014 survey, now enables people to easily join video conferences from a laptop or mobile device. The increased use of telehealth supports the Ministry’s goal of more cost-effective care delivered closer to people’s homes. “There are huge cost and time benefits for both patients and clinicians,” she said. Telehealth also improves access to education and training. “We’re hoping to use the results of the survey to promote communications and share areas of excellence that are happening and further support the uptake of telehealth,” explained Eves. The Telehealth Leadership Group is a clinically led independent group, supported by the Ministry of Health. The group plans to survey GPs and Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) on their use of telehealth later this year. This article first appeared on eHealthNews.nz.

The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) officially launched on April 1, 2019, in Hong Kong. Consumers may now choose to purchase Certified Plans as offered by the participating insurance companies.  The scheme is a policy initiative implemented by the Food and Health Bureau to regulate indemnity hospital insurance plans offered to individuals, with voluntary participation by insurance companies and consumers. To alleviate the strain on the public healthcare system, especially during peak periods such as winter surge, Certified Plans under the VHIS have a number of standard features for increasing consumers' confidence in purchasing hospital insurance, thereby facilitating their use of private healthcare services when necessary. At the launch ceremony of the VHIS last week, the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, said that the VHIS will provide individual indemnity hospital insurance. To tie in with the publicity slogan "Choose with Confidence," all Certified Plans under the VHIS must meet the benefit standard prescribed by the scheme, including standardised policy terms and conditions, benefit coverage and benefit amounts. The features of Certified Plans include: Guaranteed renewal up to the age of 100 regardless of change in the health conditions of the insured persons (without reunderwriting); No limit on "lifetime benefit"; Coverage extended to cover unknown pre-existing conditions and day case surgical procedures (including endoscopy), etc.; Tax deduction for taxpayers who purchase Certified Plans for themselves and/or specified relatives and pay the premium on or after April 1, 2019; and Transparency on the premiums of Certified Plans. The premium schedules are accessible on the VHIS website. According to an official statement by the VHIS, the VHIS Office will continue work on the registration of participating insurers, vetting of individual indemnity hospital insurance plans for certification of compliance status, enforcement of scheme regulations, etc. Currently, there are 36 companies registered on the list of VHIS Providers on the VHIS website.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently announced the appointment of a Public Sector Data Security Review Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of data security practices across the entire public service. The committee will look at measures and processes related to the collection and protection of citizens’ personal data by public sector agencies, as well as by vendors who handle personal data on behalf of the government, according to a statement issued on March 31 by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Mr Teo Chee Hean will be the chair for the committee, which also includes private sector representatives with expertise in data security and technology. Ministers involved in Singapore’s Smart Nation efforts – Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Mr S Iswaran, Mr Chan Chun Sing, and Dr Janil Puthucheary – will also be part of the committee. The committee will review how the government is securing and protecting citizens’ data from end to end, including the role of vendors and other authorised third parties. It will also recommend technical measures, processes and capabilities to improve the government’s protection of citizens’ data, and response to incidents. An action plan of immediate steps and longer term measures to implement the recommendations will be developed as well. International experts and industry professionals, from both the private and public sectors, will also be consulted by the committee, and an inter-agency taskforce formed by public officers across the entire public sector will support the committee. Although security measures such as the Internet Surfing Separation policy in 2016 and the disabling of USB ports from being accessed by unauthorised devices in 2017 have been implemented across the public sector to safeguard sensitive data, the PMO said that the review is “essential to uphold public confidence and deliver a high quality of public service to our citizens through the use of data.” The Public Sector Data Security Review Committee was appointed in light of a series of four data-related incidents that occurred to the Health Ministry in the past 10 months. Notably, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) also said in a statement on March 30 that one of its vendors, Secur Solutions Group (SSG), reported that there was more unauthorised access to the personal information of 800,000 blood donors as previously reported. The data was uploaded online and left unsecured over a period of two months. The Committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the Prime Minister by November 30 2019.

Last week, Thailand began development of its telemedicine programme at 32 hospitals located in rural areas in eight provinces, according to an article by the Bangkok post. The eight provinces are Chiang Rai, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Kalasin, Phetchabun, Surin, Songkhla and Surat Thani. The telemedicine programme is a joint effort of the Public Health Ministry and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). The integration and promotion of the use of appropriate digital technologies for telemedicine is also part of the Thailand 4.0 plan to increase access to healthcare with digital technologies, as stated in the eHealth Strategy by the Ministry of Public Health (2017-2026). A budget of 180 million baht has been allocated to purchase and install digital equipment for telemedicine in the initial phase, according to NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith. The budget is part of the NBTC’s five-year funding for the operation of hospitals. Mr Takorn added that telemedicine services will be offered by the initial 32 hospitals by the fourth quarter of 2019. The programme will also focus on four main illnesses: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and skin disease as they account for more than 70% of hospital cases. The initial 32 hospitals involved in the telemedicine programme consist of 15 subdistrict health-promoting hospitals, five community hospitals, eight provincial hospitals and four primary health clusters. Elsewhere in Thailand, the Khon Kaen Smart Health project, which was a winner under the Public Health and Social Services category for the 2018 IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA), saw a collaboration between local hospitals, businesses and academia with support from government agencies to provide better health services, especially for elderly residents with chronic conditions. Earlier this month, Samitivej Hospital Group, a private hospital brand in Thailand with a network of eight hospitals and owned by Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS), launched a one-stop Virtual Hospital app, which provides services such as teleconsultation and medicine delivery. The services of the Samitivej Virtual Hospital do not require appointments to be made in advance.