Lynne Minion

After two years of astonishingly low COVID-19 levels, New Zealand is dealing with a wave of Omicron cases and a new government COVID-19 care platform has been adding to the burden for GPs. As the controversy over the Covid Clinical Care Module (CCCM) grew in tandem with the surge in COVID-19 cases, in early March the Ministry of Health conceded there were "issues with the speed" of the shared care record system used by GPs and other health providers. "Depending on demand, the links between other systems and the CCCM are not always providing a real-time view about people with COVID-19 that require support," a ministry statement said. "During the past 10 days, the increasing number of cases and multiple concurrent changes to IT systems that support the care of COVID-19 cases has resulted in intermittent delays in notifying cases." WHY IT MATTERS Originally developed to manage care in quarantine and isolation COVID-19 cases, the CCCM now allows general practices, rural community hubs and other relevant healthcare providers to access patient information to enable coordinated care. It integrates with the National Contact Tracing Solution, which automatically creates a record for every COVID-19 case in the CCCM, and the Ministry of Social Development’s Community Portal. GPs access the portal via their practice management systems. But General Practitioner Council chair Vanessa Weenink told eHealthNews.nz there had been a "cacophony of complaints" from GPs about the CCCM. "The system has not been built for the people working on the frontline and the implementation of it has very much alienated GPs," Dr Weenink said. ON THE RECORD Michael Dreyer, the Ministry’s group manager of data and digital, said in a media conference that a "large amount of new technology" had been rapidly released to help contend with the Omicron variant's spread. "These systems were designed, developed, tested and delivered at pace. However, with all new IT systems there are initial bugs and process flows to sort out." He said the ministry is "constantly refining our systems, taking on board feedback from our health workers and our health consumers". Dreyer said since the CCCM's go live in the middle of February, its capacity has been boosted from processing about 4000 cases an hour to 20,000. The Ministry of Health's primary care lead, Dr Joe Bourne, responded to the concerns of GPs by acknowledging the pressures being created by the CCCM. "We know the sharp increase in cases has caused a significant increase in workload for general practice, and that the concurrent implementation of a new digital system is challenging. This means that practices have little time for training and familiarising themselves with the tool," Dr Bourne wrote. "We also understand that much of the workflow within CCCM is additional to healthcare professionals’ requirements and, as a result, its use is seen by many primary care clinicians as limited in its current configuration. It also takes 2-4 hours from when a new positive test result is reported to generate a [CCCM] record. Dr Bourne said improvements to the system are being made. "We are reducing this time as quickly as we are able, but it is likely in the medium term rather than immediately. We are working hard to improve the system, to make it more user friendly and add to its value." THE LARGER CONTEXT The scale of this surge is certainly considerable in New Zealand terms. The nation's pandemic response has been hailed globally at times over the last two years as an exemplar for its low COVID-19 statistics – both cases and deaths – as a result of the government’s "go hard, go early" approach to lockdowns, the community's willingness to adhere to restrictions and geographic isolation. But the country’s current COVID-19 crisis continues to grow. Yesterday, ten COVID-19-related deaths were announced. More than 19,500 new community cases of COVID-19were recorded in the previous 24 hours, and 930 people were hospitalised, including 23 in intensive care. 94 per cent of New Zealanders aged 12 and above are fully vaccinated. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has this week urged Americans to avoid travel to New Zealand as a result of the surge.

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Microsoft and Vision Australia unveiled a new 3D audio app designed to give blind and vision impaired people greater independence to explore the world around them. Dubbed Soundscape, the software enables users to set audio beacons at destinations and landmarks, and through a stereo headset the 3D audio is perceived as coming from the point of interest as they walk, allowing them to build a mental image of what’s around from the acoustic environment. The app also calls out roads, intersections and landmarks, and was designed to be used in addition to mobility aids such as guide dogs and canes. For David Woodbridge, Access Technology Advisor at Vision Australia, the app helps him to create a mental map of his surroundings. “Soundscape gives me confidence in an outside environment by helping me understand what’s around me – whether it’s a restaurant, café, railway station, walking [or] bike track, park, business or even a street name. It allows me to build a mental map of my neighbourhood,” Woodbridge said. The app provides more sensory information than traditional navigation maps that give directions. “Rather than dictate what I should do, it allows me to make my own decisions based on the information it is providing, meaning I am always in control. For me, it really is about feeling stress free when I’m out and about,” Woodbridge added. “I have my own personal markers set for different locations. My local coffee shop is always a priority and the ‘coffee shop’ marker on Soundscape gets a lot of use.” Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Research team has been collaborating with Vision Australia for the last six months to test and integrate use of the app into the not-for-profit’s services for people with blindness and low vision. More than one billion people live with disabilities worldwide but only one in 10 have access to assistive technologies and products. In Australia, 384,000 are blind or have low vision, with the number predicted to grow to 564,000 by 2030. This article originally appeared on Healthcare IT News Australia.