TANN: Australia

The ITAC 2012 National Information Technology in Aged Care Conference has released a call for papers for the conference, which is to be held at Melbourne Park Function Centre on 19 and 20 April 2012. The theme of the conference emphasises the importance of information technology in establishing a sustainable, quality focused aged care environment .The conference brings together local and international experts across the fields of community care , medication management ,assistive technologies and off-site information systems delivery. Call for papers closing date is 30 September 2012. More information can be sought from email hidden; JavaScript is required

Senator Stephen Conroy , Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has released the terms of reference for a review of access to telecommunication services for older Australians and people experiencing illness and suffering disabilities.The review was announced in 2010 and the awaited release of the terms of reference is welcomed.

The review will primarily consider how best to support access to telecommunication services by people who need assistance and it will examine the ways to maximise the benefits from newer technologies, such as mobile devices and the internet. The opportunities from the rollout of the National Broadband Network as well as a review of the National Relay Service (NRS) will be considered in the scope. Specifically the review will address -

• whether national relay and outreach services could be improved in the light of new technologies
• what more can be done to assist NRS and non-NRS users
• how to build community, industry and government awareness of telecommunication access issues, and,
• how to communicate up-to-date information on telecommunication options and consumer rights.

Further information can be found at www.dbcde.gov.au/disability The closing date for submissions is 19 August.

A $620 million Telehealth initiative is to commence from 1 July. The initiative will make it easier for people to access specialists without the time and expense of travelling to a major city. The key target  group for  this initiative is people living in remote, regional and outer metropolitan areas with the goal that they will have easier access to specialists’ consultations. This initiative is viewed as a key component of the Australian Government’s national health reform efforts to promote access.

The initiative also applies across Australia to all care recipients in an aged care facility and patients of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and Aboriginal Medical Services (to which an exemption under section 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 applies).

The new Medicare items will allow a range of existing specialist consultation services to be provided via video conferencing and additional rebates on top of these items recognise the increased complexity of providing a service to a remote patient.

Rebates will also be available for the services provided by the health professional located with the patient including GPs, nurse practitioners, midwives, practice nurses and Aboriginal health workers.

Financial incentives will also be available to medical practitioners to encourage the adoption of telehealth services. More information can be gained from Medicare Benefits Schedule Online.

A new partnership between Feros Care and the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD)has been formed to assist Northern NSW residents living with a chronic illness to access Telehealth services. The program is aimed at promoting independence and providing chronic condition monitoring.

 Feros Care, a care service in northern NSW, is rapidly gaining a national reputation for innovative and leading edge practice in delivery of Telehealth and Telecare. They have taken their experience and in house expertise from the action research pilot they ran in 2010 into the homes of people living with diabetes, and cardiac or respiratory disease.

 Up to 15 people at any one time in the Tweed and Murwillumbah areas will be part of the trial service funded until December 2011. The service is aimed at using the monitoring system for six to eight weeks. Each home will be set up with Telehealth equipment which may include a blood pressure monitor, finger pulse oximeter, thermometer, weighing scales, and a glucose monitor, dependent on the individual’s needs.

Minister Roxon announced the second wave projects which form part of the Australian Government’s $467 million national personally controlled electronic health records (PCEHR) project. The nine new sites are targeted at providing practical examples of how e-health can improve health care. In total 12 sites are now funded as e-health lead implementation sites and are aiming to have more than half a million Australians enrolled before the scheduled national launch of e-health records next year. The second wave E-Health Lead Implementation sites include Medicare Private , FRED IT MedView Project, Brisbane South General Practice Division, Mater Misericordie Health Services Brisbane, St Vincents and Mater Health Sydney, Greater Western Sydney e-Health Consortium (NSW Health), Northern Territory Department of Health and Families and Calvary Health Care ACT.

More information can be accessed from www.nehta.gov.au/ehealth-implementation/pcehr-lead-sites

The Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) is holding its inaugural Rural and Remote Telehealth Conference in Cairns 29 to 31 May 2011. This forum is supported by the Department of Health and Ageing, the National E-Health Transition Authority, and the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. There are four key strategies of the conference – to provide policy relevant input to Federal Government, to articulate the strategic and operational attributes of telehealth, to demonstrate operational key success protocols and practices, and to provide a forum to network with clinicians and high level executives with passion for telehealth. The themes for the event include the practice of telehealth, the clinical user experience, clinical workflow integration, and the National Broadband Network design and opportunities. More information go to http://www.hisa.org.au/telehealth

The Hammond Care 2011 conference Rehabilitating Aged Care will feature a couple of presentations on personal safety devices for ageing at home , Telecare and Telehealth . The conference runs from 23^rd to 24^th of June at Australian Technology Park in Sydney. More information can be gained from http://www.hammond.com.au/dementiacentre/pages/default.asp?pid=582

The Medical Association of Australia ( MTAA) has recommended in its response to the release of the Productivity Commission draft report “Caring for Older Australians” that the final report considerations must include strategies for assisting older Australians to remain in their own homes for as long as possible with the appropriate support from medical and assistive technologies.

MTAA has recommended developing a national agenda around technology and ageing including research, pilots, education, quality standards, cost effectiveness and commercialisation. In recent budget submission modelling by the MTAA has estimated that the government could decrease healthcare costs by $3.1 billion per year through the investment in telecare and telehealth.

MTAA recommends targeting the predictable factors that lead to hospitalisation or admission to residential care and investing in cost effective technologies to reduce these factors and high rates of healthcare utilisation.

For a copy of the MTAA submission to the Productivity Commission go to:

http://www.mtaa.org.au/pages/images/MTAA%20response%20to%20draft%20report%20Caring%20for%20Older%20Australians%2021.03.11.pdf

New South Wales Carers Association has released a Fact Sheet on Telehealthcare. The Fact Sheet has been developed as a lobbying tool for their state election campaign and promotes the need for the state government to improve health, community and aged care through the use of Telehealthcare.

The Facts Sheet outlines the international experiences and benefits of making Telehealthcare a mainstream component of health and community care service provision.

Carers New South is advocating that there is no better time to “mainstream” Telehealthcare, that the people in the state are ready and waiting, and that the pressure on the care system will be reduced. The Fact Sheet outlines the results of the NSW 2010 Carers Survey which identified the uptake of technology and calls for legislative changes to Medicare Benefits Scheme to ensure mainstreaming of Telehealthcare Australia wide.

For more information www.DontBeCareless.org.au

Three Australian companies- Community Resourcing Worldwide, Feros Care and Tunstall- recently combined forces in the national capital to highlight the importance, value and benefits of mainstream introduction of Telecare and Telehealth programs. Key decision makers from government, government departments and the Productivity Commission were invited to this leading edge event in Old Parliament House Canberra. Community care Telecare and Telehealth programs such as the services delivered in New South Wales and Queensland by Feros Care showcased the cost effectiveness and value of introducing these services. The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering presented their recent research which identified the possible impact, opportunities and benefits of introducing widespread Telecare and Telehealth.

http://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2011/03/04/article/PC-may-ignore-technology-at-nations-peril/IWWYZBKPEN.html