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Common usability challenges can also contribute to medical errors, the organization said.

Even as EHR vendor-driven networks gain maturity and scope, older and more traditional health information exchanges still have a lot of critical value to bring to the table, one expert says.

In December 2018, Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce announced plans to put medical-related fees, including drugs, supplies and service charges, on the price control list of the government’s central committee on prices of goods and services. On January 9 2019, the plan was approved and the Thai government added medicine, medical supplies and medical services to its price control lists, which was announced by Minister of Commerce Sontirat Sontijirawong. A subcommittee has been formed to work out measures to control their prices, which consists of representatives from the ministries of commerce and public health, insurance associations, the Private Hospital Association, the Foundation for Consumers and the National Health Security Office, Minister Sontirat said. Impact on digital health adoption With the implementation of price controls on medical supplies and services, the impact would mostly likely be felt by the private hospitals and healthcare providers since their revenues and profits would be adversely affected. However, on a broader level, the price controls could result in a nationalised standardisation of healthcare terminologies and delivery in terms of how services are ordered. Currently, most hospitals in Thailand, especially those in the private sector, have unique software programs that are designed specifically for their internal use and operate quite comfortably within each institution’s legacy IT systems. What this also means is that it is virtually impossible for electronic information-sharing across hospitals but the price controls may pave the way for a more standardised way of recording health information to facilitate reimbursement both for healthcare providers and payers/insurance providers. A more standardised method of recording and sharing of health information at the national level using IT brings with it several benefits – patients can move across different healthcare organisations without having to bring along their physical paper medical records, reduction of diagnosis/prescription errors as clinicians have a more comprehensive medical record of their patients and potential opportunities for population health analytics with a unified national electronic health record. While the move towards a unified national electronic healthcare record in Thailand may take some time and effort to realise, the new price controls presents a shake-up and enormous opportunities for both public and private healthcare providers to provide more value and quality to their patients through leveraging health IT technologies.

In an effort to deliver on safety for patients through the establishment of protocols around AI, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) has created a working group that determines how the technology fits into the world of radiology and healthcare. Composed of practicing radiologists, data scientists, computer scientists and professionals in AI, the working group will explore what AI means for radiologists, the safety of the technology and training needed for doctors to use it. RANZCR President Dr Lance Lawler said that the group will also be working towards evaluating the impacts of the technology, the ethics of it, as well as how it fits into accreditations and regulatory frameworks. “We’re trying to be proactive with it so that we don’t end up in a situation where implications are not thought through,” he added. “Nowhere have we seen anyone seriously looking at these issues, which is often the way that regulations and new technologies come about. We want the technology to be used so that the benefits of it are reaped without being exposed to undue risk.” According to Dr Lawler, AI is of huge potential to radiology as it’s “very good at image recognition and pattern recognition”, which the field uses for image analysis to diagnose and follow up on diseases. But, even with the increasing hype around AI, there has not been enough work done to understand what the technology is, what it will be good for, what the risks of it are and how it can be applied to deliver better quality, lower cost healthcare to Australian patients, he said. As such, the organisation is embarking on a multi-layered approach to the issue. Dr Lawler said it will be looking into how AI is working in other countries, particularly in the US, with the FDA approving certain AI algorithms for use under certain conditions. “We want to understand their approach, and how that applies to us,” he said. On the other hand, it will be looking at bringing to market a training element that educates medical practitioners about the technology. “This new technology will be a tool that doctors use, so they have to know about this technology in order to deliver safe healthcare to their patients. The training element will look into what they need to know, how it will be delivered, how it will be assessed, etc.” The working group is also collaborating with Standards Australia to focus on standards and regulation. “We’re working with Standards Australia to decide what the standards are that need to be met, as well as the minimum standards for the applications of the technology, and then use those standards as the basis for safely regulating it, the way that everything else is regulated in healthcare,” Dr Lawler said.    He addressed the need for a more combined, coherent response from government departments to actively investigate the use of this technology and involving medical academia and healthcare providers in strategy for it. “The ministries and regulatory bodies have been conspicuously quiet with AI, so we’d like to start engaging them in even basic discussions about this technology because it will make a very big impact, it’s only a matter of when.” Is AI replacing radiologists? Dr Lawler also spoke about concerns that roles will change significantly with AI infiltrating the market, in terms of machines replacing work done by radiologists. “There has been a lot of hype around this technology, some resulting in statements made about the future of radiology. They suggest that radiologists will be replaced by machines. Hypes aren’t based on facts and this is just an assumption,” he said. “There’s always going to be work for radiologists and it may just be an issue of reapplying people to different areas. There is fear of the unknown and the purpose of the working group is to put some shape around this whole issue so that people aren’t afraid of it.” At the moment, there’s very little impact of AI on health and radiology because it’s not being used to its full potential and is still under development, according to Dr Lawler. But he said AI is the “next big thing for the industry” and “is a great move for society as a whole”. “This is because there are some things that AI can do better than humans, but there are also some things that humans do better than AI so, we need to find a way to balance the two to deliver better quality healthcare overall,” he said. “And the best way to do that is to get ahead of the curve than be chasing our tails, which happens a lot in healthcare. “We want to get to a point where there’s an accepted and routine use of certain AI tools for some clinical circumstances. For radiology, that may be for breast cancer or lung cancer screening, or comparing responses to treatment – basically in high volume, repetitive cases that machines can do easily.” This article originally appeared on Healthcare IT News Australia.

As the EHR giant looks to trim its workforce with buyouts, a company spokesperson suggested that further cuts may be necessary.

Urgent care provider PromptMD messages patients as they head out the door to gain fresh perspectives on care – it so far has a 36.8% response rate.

Whether it's the big opening reception, the awards gala, Women in Health IT, topical breakfast gatherings or many other chances to network, HIMSS helps attendees gather together to exchange experiences.

Many of the site’s most in-demand jobs are emerging careers in healthcare, while others are long-standing positions.

The first employee of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is taking a new role in a different federal unit.

Brisbane-based real-time precision dosing software company DoseMe has gone from strength to strength in its company growth and success since it was founded in April 2014, following two years of prototype development.  The company, which aims to improve patient care through proper dosing using a tool built on the principles of Bayesian dose forecasting, is an ANDHealth+ alumnus, having received both funding and support from the Australian digital health business accelerator. Bayesian dose forecasting involves the analysis of patient data and laboratory results to gauge a patient's metabolism rate in relation to how they process a drug in their system. In operation for two years, ANDHealth aims to help mid-stage digital health companies prepare for investment and international market entry through its ANDHealth+ program. The organisation said that since October 2017, ANDHealth+ cohorts have raised more than $14 million, generated over $2.4 million in revenue, undertaken new market launches, created new jobs, commenced multiple clinical trials and studies, secured new customers and served new patients. DoseMe Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Robert McLeay told HITNA that the ANDHealth+ program exposed the company to more customers and professional relationships that enabled it to beef up its operations. “We went from being an early-stage business pushing product through to scaling the company,” he said. “The program not only helped us in terms of funding, but we also received in-kind support across a range of business areas from the additional members of the program. A lot of people underestimate the value of this but for us, it proved to be very valuable. “For example, that included legal support around strategies that we could take to protect and continually develop our intellectual property.” DoseMe’s solution involves digitally constructing a virtual model of a patient’s individual pharmacokinetics, then analysing and comparing it with thousands of data points from clinically validated pharmacokinetic drug models. A virtual patient model is built, followed by the solution calculating an individualised dose specific to the patient, using the Bayesian dose forecasting method. [Read more: Supercharged sector as the Federal Government backs $200 million Digital Health CRC | Tech development, regulation, investment and implementation key to digital health] Using this model, it aims to simulate potential outcomes of different dosing regimens to ensure that a clinician can provide the best possible advice for every patient. The company also claims that the platform can, over time, learn and refine its dose recommendations. The solution also integrates into EHR platforms and patient management software and supports a wide range of users. THE MOVE TOWARDS ACQUISITION DoseMe was recently acquired by US-based Tabula Rasa HealthCare for up to US$30 million. Since joining the program, the company has gone from having about a handful of US customers to now having more than 95 customers in the region. “The US is the world’s largest healthcare market. It’s complicated, but a very critical one for our company to get right. Today, the US makes up more than 80 per cent of our customer base,” McLeay said. “ANDHealth gave us a lot of support for this move in terms of intellectual property – enabling us to make sure that we are well protected – and have a future strategy in place to continually grow our product portfolio. “It moved us from not having the ability to get into the US market to rapidly expanding, and make sure that as we do so, we globally protected our IP. These were all critical milestones for our company to reach.” Following the acquisition, McLeay said the company will work towards expanding its solution set and integrating its synergies with Tabula Rasa HealthCare. “We expect our growth to continue, particularly in the US, and this is an excellent opportunity to accelerate that further across more geographic locations. We’re looking forward to putting DoseMe in every hospital around the world to more effectively dose patients,” he said. RENEWED BACKING FOR DIGITAL HEALTH COMMERCIALISATION Following the success of previous cohorts like DoseMe, not-for-profit medical technologies and pharmaceuticals growth centre, MTPConnect, has again awarded ANDHealth with a new round of funding. It has invested $250,000 towards the delivery of digital health market success bootcamps for up to 40 Australian digital health companies. MTPConnect was formed in November 2015 as part of the Federal Government’s $248 million Industry Growth Centres Initiative and aims to accelerate the rate of growth of the medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals. [Read more: Health tech funding injection to propel Australian innovations to market and into Asia | “We could lead the world”: Australia’s MTP sector shows it's punching above its weight] MTPConnect CEO Dr Dan Grant said ANDHealth’s focus is on equipping digital health innovators with the skills needed to turn ideas into commercially successful products. “Through ANDHealth’s curriculum, representatives from digital health companies will take a deep dive into clinical evidence, regulation, business models, intellectual property, partnering, attracting investment and exploring new international markets,” he said. “These are the real-world skills that underpin successful companies, allowing them to build the capital they need to continue innovating, market their products to the world and employ more Australians.” According to ANDHealth Managing Director Bronwyn Le Grice, the funding will boost the business acumen of digital health companies. “ANDHealth [supports] digital health companies prepare for investment and international market entry. With this renewed support from MTPConnect, we will be able to expand the impact across a greater number of companies, from earlier in their evolution,” she said. “The funding will allow us to leverage our existing skills and programs and the capabilities of our members, partners and global networks to continue building a evidence-based digital health industry in Australia.” [Read more: Australian and US tech leaders enter alliance to boost health innovation | Australian Government grants to fund pioneers in 3D printing and precision medicine] McLeay supported the move, saying that it helps accelerate a health technology company’s business strategy. “If you’re at that inflection point in your business where your product is clinically validated and has reached commercial viability, the ANDHealth+ program will help you move away from just thinking about the technology to getting the business aspect of it right. “Businesses should be aware of the markets that they want to move into, have an idea of the strategy required and have a team that’s able to execute on this strategy before joining the program, which then ties it all together and builds growth possibilities around it,” he added.