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In partnership with Hasso Plattner Institute, the New York health system will devote new resources to advancing biomedical and digital engineering, AI, machine learning and more.

The “Bringing Predictive Analytics to Healthcare Challenge” is the third in a series designed to encourage innovators to focus on healthcare. 

IaaS and SaaS offerings are enabling payers to run analytics against claims and other data in new ways that enable them to operate more efficiently.

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.

The Australian Government has invested a further $6.3 million towards developing the Health Data Portal, used to report on Indigenous health data. The portal, used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services and funded under the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP), allows healthcare providers to publish reports for public consumption or exchange data and other files with authenticated individuals, businesses and other government agencies. It aims to provide a simplified and streamlined process for organisations to deliver health services in communities. The portal is also used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services to submit National Key Performance Indicators (nKPIs) and from July 1, will include the Online Services Report (OSR) and the Health Care Provider (HCP) number report. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare maintains and reports on the nKPI data collection. nKPIs are determined to improve the delivery of primary healthcare services by supporting quality improvement activities among service providers. They also support policy and planning at the national and state/territory level by monitoring progress and highlighting areas for improvement. According to Minister for Indigenous Health Ken Wyatt, the extra funding comes as a result of the success of data collected in January. “In January 2019, 100 per cent of 238 reporting health services successfully submitted their nKPI data through the portal,” he said, in a statement. “The success of the January 2019 data collection can be attributed to the co-design approach, which saw the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector involved in the development of the portal. This included working together on the design, prototype and user testing of the portal.” [Read more: ‘Reputations on the line’: NT digital health record roll out approaches the halfway mark | All-women team set to improve Indigenous health with “highly unusual” grant win] Wyatt also said the funding signifies the Federal Government’s commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services to develop practical, evidence-based policy and deliver programs that will make a difference to the lives of First Australians. “This collection is one of the most advanced primary healthcare data sets available as it gathers care and outcome data from all IAHP health services. It is part of our focus on closing the gap and supporting culturally appropriate primary health care and programs,” he said. “Ensuring high quality primary healthcare is delivered in a culturally and competent way is a key to improving the health and wellbeing of First Australians in communities across Australia.”

The lights, deployed at UC San Diego Health by BIOS, help with circadian entrainment to boost staff alertness and its wavelengths can improve visual check-ups for elderly patients, the company says.

The creation of the Burke Mental Health Emergency Center, which focuses on telemedicine, gives rural healthcare organizations and law enforcement new choices where few used to exist.

EmblemHealth CEO Karen Ignagni says the effort gives a glimpse into the next generation of population health.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock unveiled plans for the creation of a new unit called NHSX earlier this year.