Staff Writer

The global electronic health record (EHR) market size is proliferating, with Australia contributing to a large portion of that growth. According to a report by Global Market Insights, the EHR market size in Australia was valued at US $526.3 million in 2018 and is expected to witness over 8.5 per cent in exponential growth rate (CAGR) from 2019 to 2025. Australia’s EHR market size growth contributes significantly to global numbers expected – Global Market Insights estimates this to be US$38 billion by 2025. Global Market Insights report authors Sumant Ugalmugale and Ajay Devgire said the healthcare system in Australia is equipped with the necessary infrastructure to launch a national EHR program as 85 per cent of Australians and over 95 per cent of general practitioners have access to the internet. “In addition, healthcare associations such as the Royal College of Australian General Practitioners, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Australian Healthcare and Hospital Association (AHHA) believe that adoption of EHR systems will reduce cost and improve safety, quality and efficiency of healthcare in the country,” they said. “Government initiatives such as My Health Record, aimed at maintaining the health records of all the Australian citizens will also drive growth of various digital health systems platforms in the country.” However, they warned that the potential threats for data breaches and privacy leaks will continue to impede the Australian EHR market growth over the coming years. On a global scale, the report identified that numerous emerging countries are recognising the importance and benefits of EHRs and are increasingly investing in such technology. “EHR offers enhanced patient care and management along with significant cost savings. EHR assists the practitioner in management of patient data and streamlines workflow that should positively impact EHR market size,” the authors said. Specifically, the web/cloud-based EHR software product market is expected to have large uptake. It was valued at US $12.5 billion in 2018. “Web-based EHR provides improved speed and flexibility to the end users in terms of its operability,” the authors said. “Access to many users simultaneously and wide network access further adds to the advantages of cloud-based EHR software. Moreover, web/cloud-based EHR software considerably saves cost that should escalate its adoption over the forthcoming years.” [Read more: Opinion: Is there a smarter way for the controversial My Health Record system? | Monash Health and SCHS commence EMR rollouts] In addition, the patient management segment of the EHR market is estimated to progress at six per cent CAGR during the forecast timeframe. “EHR offers systematic and timely scheduling of patient data. It enables safe and reliable documentation with time-effectiveness. In addition, the flexibility of management of vast data points regarding the patient will offer momentous growth opportunity for patient management EHR application market,” they said. The authors also identified that clinics’ EHR usage accounted for more than 17.5 per cent in revenue share in 2018. “EHR provides seamless access and interface for clinic facilities at any location. Presence of clinic management software further enhances patient and practice management that will drive its adoption rate clinics over the forthcoming years. Furthermore, expanding healthcare infrastructure across emerging nations will increase clinics EHR end-use segmental size in the upcoming years,” they said. However, according to the authors, along with the strong growth rate of EHR, there will also be a lack of skilled professionals to handle the sophisticated technology. As such, they urged the healthcare industry to prepare for this change.

Having an EMR system brings to a healthcare organisation an integrated system. However, it may not suit individual department needs or workflows, an industry expert has warned. Speaking at the recent Australian Healthcare Week in Sydney, Sydney Local Health District Assistant District Director of Pharmacy and CPIO Rosemary Burke said in the chase to adopt EMR, many organisations end up having multiple electronic systems within an organisation. “Do you go for a best-of-breed system where the functionality is tailored to the environment where it is working, its business needs and workflow for a fairly easy for user adoption?” she questioned. “But then it gets challenging when you have a number of silos within an organisation, in addition to the silos that exist between the hospital sector and the community sector. Terminologies and functionalities can be different as well, so it can be very confusing.” According to Burke, many healthcare organisations traditionally went with best-of-breed systems as automation of care and electronic systems were about creating electronic health records and providing comprehensive views of patient data. But going forward, Burke stressed the need for systems that all talk to each other, address data leaks and provide analysis of patient data. “The use of multiple systems aren’t usually strategically planned. Some are led by clinicians, while others are led by the organisation. And sometimes, as things develop, the other groups weren’t even aware of these system developments,” she said. “Access and handover of care become a challenge. Healthcare practitioners don’t understand the complexity of the various systems, resulting in complex workflows and duplicated data in multiple systems. “There’s also fragmentation of patient information, which becomes a safety concern.” [Read more: Monash Health and SCHS commence EMR rollouts | SA Health upgrades its EMR system following review] As such, Burke suggested that EMR implementations should be done in accordance of the needs of an organisation and include: A system that speaks the same language, and have the same character-field limits  A secure, integrated system that works across the entire organisation  Staff training across the entire organisation  “What we need to do is create seamless continuity of care across the organisation; enable systems for patient safety, quality and outcomes; and have systems where we can extract data from so that we end up with better analytics, better research and better outcomes for our patients,” she said.

Artificial intelligence (AI), neural networks and machine learning can be ethereal concepts to the average punter, but when applied to the health sector their benefits come into sharp focus. When technology can save a life, it suddenly becomes meaningful. Magnetic fields and radio waves took on a new meaning with the introduction of the MRI machine, and the same will happen with the application of today’s technologies in the health sector. We’re just starting to see the impact AI and image recognition can have on healthcare, but it is poised to be the technology’s biggest contribution to society yet. Earlier this year, a group of Chinese and US researchers developed a program to automatically diagnose childhood illnesses including meningitis, asthma, gastro and the flu. This AI program works faster and, in some cases, more accurately than doctors. However, as in the early stages of every new discovery, there are obstacles to navigate. Privacy concerns, investment requirements and regulatory issues are just some of the hurdles that need to be overcome. Despite the challenges, there are potential benefits. Doctors are an invaluable part of society, but they are still human, and misdiagnoses happen. According to research, there are approximately 140,000 cases of diagnostic errors in Australia each year, with 21,000 resulting in serious harm and more than 2,000 resulting in death. Modern AI promises to solve this issue through the power of neural networks. Unlike traditional software that only does what it’s told, neural networks can teach themselves new skills with enough training data. By reviewing mammograms with and without cancerous cells, for example, a neural network can learn to identify malignant cells in new mammograms. In 2016, a research team achieved just this. The Houston-based team built a program that analysed mammograms 30 times faster than a human, and with 99 percent accuracy. More recently, Maryland researchers used AI to diagnose cervical cancer with 91 percent accuracy, vastly improving the 69 percent human success rate. These diagnoses were all made without an expensive medical professional, and without the cost of a clinic. The upshot is AI could offer better diagnosis, to more people, for less money, in less time, allowing doctors to focus on patients that truly need their care. Not only can technology improve current diagnostic methods, but it can also create new ones; neural networks will eventually identify links between symptoms and illnesses that human researchers would never have found. Unfortunately, the AI healthcare revolution has a down side, and a price many Australians seem unwilling to pay. To be effective, neural networks need the training data of many thousands of people in order to learn which symptoms correspond to which diagnoses. In the China/US study, 600,000 Chinese health records were used as training data, a feat possible thanks to the sheer size of the country, as well as China’s less stringent privacy culture. In Australia, we’re far more protective of our data and cognizant of the implications of sharing too much. Privacy aside, there are challenges around getting consistent data, both to teach programs and to feed them for diagnosis. Inconsistent standards are used across the private and public sector, even between doctors in the same clinic. While getting clean data is technically possible, it could be a regulatory and administrative nightmare. Despite the obstacles, AI’s potential benefits to healthcare are not just worth pursuing, they should be a priority. Just as governments are now (rightly) planning for the arrival of self-driving cars, we need to plan for an AI powered healthcare system today. Standards on access to data need to be agreed upon, along with a transparent and open opt-out process. A standardisation of medical data is also long overdue. More than just setting us up for the benefits of AI, patients would see immediate benefit from more consistent data recording. It’s a long road between here and a world of automated and accurate AI powered healthcare, but it’s one we should start preparing for today. Without this preparation we’ll see more noble but half-baked ideas launched before they’re ready, eroding public trust. It’s a world we can see, but one we can only reach with a clear-eyed vision of the journey ahead. Allan Waddell is the Founder and Co-CEO of Kablamo

InterSystems has included a unified provider directory as part of its HealthShare suite of connected health solutions, aiming to drive collaboration and innovation across the care continuum. HealthShare brings together health providers, patients and payers with a unified care record and the newest member of the suite, HealthShare Provider Directory – available as part of HealthShare 2019.1 – is a single source of information for provider demographic and professional relationship information. Specifically, it is a master data management solution that automates the process of collecting, consolidating and publishing accurate provider information. The latest HealthShare release also includes enhancements to its clinical viewer, expanded HL7 FHIR capabilities and out-of-the-box analytics functionality. The move follows recent news that InterSystems launched a new TrakCare clinical system that allows healthcare professionals to use touchscreen devices to create patient notes with swipes and taps, capture images and barcodes via camera, and add information by voice. According to the company, the upgrades to HealthShare enable users to more easily comply with regulations, enhance customer service and improve the efficiency of any business process that requires up-to-date and accurate provider information. InterSystems HealthShare Vice-President Don Woodlock said the latest version of HealthShare offers more functionality, scalability, communication and extended decision support. Woodlock added that inaccurate provider information has consequences for patients, payers and providers themselves as wrong telephone numbers and location information limits access to care. [Read more: InterSystems launches recruitment drive for its pioneering NT digital health system roll out | InterSystems lands $259 million Northern Territory healthcare IT project] In addition, he said inaccurate information propagated across multiple clinical and administrative systems at a hospital or integrated delivery network can negatively impact efficiency and cash flow. “Interoperability and information exchange are hot topics now, but technology can do better than simply moving data around,” he said. “If government initiatives are going to be the foundation for innovation in healthcare, organisations need to aggregate information and build upon a true unified care record – then put the data to use to improve patient care experience, drive down costs and improve the health of populations.” In addition, as part of the updated release, InterSystems has also renamed its flagship HealthShare product module, HealthShare Information Exchange, to HealthShare Unified Care Record.

ACT Health is rolling out Wavelink’s Spectralink Versity enterprise mobility solution across five of its facilities, including Canberra Hospital. The deal involves the roll out of 2000 of the Spectralink Versity handsets by July. Spectralink Versity is an Android smartphone, purpose-built for healthcare. It is durable, waterproof, and has secure messaging capabilities, in addition to personalised settings for each user. A higher-grade model has a barcode scanner, which enables integration into EMRs. ACT Health will be using a combination of both models. Wavelink Health Practice Lead Alan Stocker told HITNA that part of the evaluation criteria that it went through was a checklist of requirements such durability, being able to be used with medical gloves and a single sign-on for practitioners. “ACT Health is effectively ditching the utility belt, which sees healthcare professionals carrying a number of utility devices like hospital issued phones, pagers and barcode scanners. They carry around about five devices at any given time,” he said. “As it was managing a number of devices, this also meant that it had in place different maintenance contracts and multiple relationships with various vendors. And even with a number of devices, they weren’t delivering on what ACT Health wanted to do.” Spectralink Versity eliminates that as it integrates all the uses of multiple devices into one. According to Stocker, the units are designed to be used in an enterprise environment and also integrate with EMRs. “A medical practitioner doing their rounds can go up to a patient, load up their EMR app, scan the patient’s hospital wristband, which then brings up their information,” he said. “In addition, before we sell this to a hospital, we look at their wi-fi networks and make sure that it’s enterprise-grade. This means that we make sure of coverage no matter where Spectralink Versity is being used in the facility as if there’s a black spot, the healthcare professionals are not going to be receiving critical messages.” [Read more: ACT Health replaces outdated bedside whiteboards with digital bedside technology | Royal Darwin Hospital improves patient care with virtual desktop program] The devices connect to an electronic dashboard, which manages a number of functions, such as real-time staff whereabouts and rostering. Stocker said with interoperability and connected devices becoming more prevalent in other parts of the world, Australian healthcare organisations need to keep up to stay ahead of the curve. “In Australia, we haven’t quite seen the adoption of many smart devices in hospitals. We’re about five years behind to countries like the US. So, connected health is a huge part of Wavelink and we’re now driving this strategy to make healthcare easier for practitioners,” he added. Spectralink Versity has also been taken by Northern Hospital in North Melbourne, a number of aged care groups including Arcare, Shepparton Villages, TLC Aged Care and Townsville Aged Care, as well as in smaller quantities at a couple of other hospitals. The company is also running a number of proof-of-concept trials with hospitals and state health groups around the country.

In healthcare, fast access to critical patient data can mean the difference between life and death. If doctors can’t get the patient’s information they need when they need it, the quality of care can be severely compromised with potentially unpredictable consequences. This means that the storage and protection of data is of vital importance in healthcare. Downtime must be avoided at all costs – even in the event of a catastrophic failure, whether that’s a natural disaster or cyberattack. However here’s the problem: storing, securing and intelligently managing data has become increasingly difficult, time-consuming and expensive for healthcare organisations. There are several reasons for this. To begin with, the volume of healthcare data is growing at an astronomical rate, driven in part by necessary efforts at healthcare organisations to digitise all their patient health records. Another driver of data growth is diagnostic devices like CT scanners, MRIs and X-ray machines, which produce massive amounts of imaging data. As these technologies continue to advance, the image files they produce become better, have higher resolution and grow larger and larger in file-size. As hospitals are generally required to store medical images for seven years in accordance with disaster recovery compliance requirements, their image archives are expanding by as much as 40 per cent annually, according to AT&T ForHealth division. The Internet of Things is yet another driver of the data management challenge for healthcare organisations. Connected devices like fitness monitors and in-room sensors all produce their own streams of data, all of which must be stored and managed. Add it all up and the storage demand at even a small medical practice or hospital can quickly reach petabyte-size. However the challenge does not stop there - as the data grows, the time, budget and resources required to store, protect and manage this critical patient data grows as well. What healthcare organisations need is a data management and data protection solution that delivers constant, uninterrupted data availability. In addition to being reliable, the solution must be affordable, so it doesn’t break the budget. This is a huge ask, to say the least. The solution must also guard against ransomware and cyberattacks, because healthcare organisations are increasingly under attack from a growing list of threats. For example, ransomware can infect a hospital’s vital patient data or information systems and hold them hostage. Hospitals are particularly susceptible to this kind of extortion due to their dependence on up-to-the-minute information from patient records. Without quick access to their information systems, hospitals simply cannot do their job. For hackers, hospitals are a great target because they can’t risk the lives of their patients and are therefore much more likely to pay ransom. This is partly why healthcare suffered more ransomware attacks than any other industry in 2017, according to a report from global cybersecurity insurance company Beazley. The report found that 45 per cent of all ransomware attacks in 2017 were aimed at the healthcare sector. The good news is that the market offers solutions designed to handle the ever-increasing amounts of healthcare data securely and cost-effectively, ensuring that quality care is never jeopardised by lack of access to vital information. Here are five ways healthcare organisations can protect themselves against the triple threat of out of control data costs, system downtime and loss of data integrity: 1: Look for converged primary and secondary storage To properly deal with explosive data growth, healthcare facilities need an approach that delivers comprehensive storage and data protection services in a single, integrated and easy-to-use solution. By integrating primary, secondary and cloud data-management capabilities, healthcare organisations can eliminate storage and data protection silos while decreasing the risk of any downtime. 2: Benefit from cost-effective, scale-out storage Small and medium-size healthcare practices and hospitals face many of the same data challenges as very large healthcare providers, but they have fewer resources and smaller budgets available. That’s why they need scalable storage that will adapt to their data needs. Healthcare organisations should be able to start with a single node with a few terabytes of capacity, then seamlessly and non-disruptively scale to multiple petabytes with zero configuration or application changes. 3: Protect against data degradation Medical images, in particular, are highly vulnerable to data degradation. The silent corruption of data in medical images caused by bit rot is a significant concern. The problem is compounded because legacy systems store images such as X-rays to a picture archiving and communication system and may not detect if data has been compromised. As a result, the information read from the legacy storage system may be corrupt and unusable. Healthcare organisations need modern data solutions that can guard against this kind of data degradation. 4: Inoculate against ransomware Data protection is a top priority for healthcare organisations as they battle against the constant threat of cyberattacks. Healthcare providers need to have strong encryption throughout the data lifecycle without having undue management complexity. The answer to this challenge is immutable object storage. Modern healthcare organisations solve this issue by implementing a storage solution that protects information continuously and takes data snapshots every 90 seconds. Because the object store is immutable, these snapshots remain completely unaffected in the event of an attack. As a result, healthcare organisations can recover the most recent version of data, and thus thwart any ransomware attack. 5. Insist on a tangible ROI Cyberattacks are increasingly common and as a result, hospitals are seeking insurance policies that provide coverage in the event of a data breach or loss. As every medical record is assigned a dollar value by insurance companies as part of the risk assessment, this can quickly add up to tens of millions of dollars in premiums. However, these insurance premiums can be reduced when hospitals can demonstrate they have effective data management and protection strategies in place. Recently, one healthcare provider was facing a $22 million insurance premium, but was able to reduce this premium by deploying an appropriate data management and protection solution, thereby delivering immediate ROI on the project from day one. With the right data management solution, healthcare facilities can not only protect their data and decrease costs, they can better treat their patients and ultimately save more lives. Florian Malecki is the Senior International Director of Marketing at StorageCraft.

Two Australian organisations have joined forces in a bid to improve remote healthcare delivery and attract more doctors to rural and remote communities across Australia. Swinburne University of Technology has partnered with CSIRO startup Coviu to embed digital health technology in the classroom, clinic and research by using the latest telehealth technology to treat Australian's remotely. The partnership will see Coviu, a company which specialises in online health consultations by using AI to connect doctors with hard-to-reach patients, provide access to its technology for Swinburne students, researchers and clinical services to redefine models of healthcare. Swinburne will embed Coviu technology into the curriculum of nursing, occupational therapy, psychology, dietetics, health science, and digital health and informatics. These will be taught at Swinburne’s new Health Precinct. The technology will also be implemented into Swinburne’s new Master of Physiotherapy, and Graduate Certificate in Teleaudiology, set to launch from mid-2019. Coviu CEO and Co-Founder Dr Silvia Pfeiffer said the partnership enables Swinburne students to break down the distance and barriers between healthcare professionals and patients. “The distance between healthcare providers and those they serve can require enormous amounts of effort, time, and money to overcome. Coviu aims to knock down this barrier by making video visits the new standard of care,” Pfeiffer said. “Our goal is to bring fairer access to healthcare for all citizens, regardless of their location, and this partnership takes us one step closer.” According to Pfeiffer, research has shown that up to 80 per cent of clinician visits can be provided online with comparable clinical outcomes and that it’s essential for the next generation of medical professionals to be equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to make online consultations effective. “Beyond geographical constraints, there’s often a stigma attached to seeking support for certain health services; for example, mental health. However, for many people, this disappears when they can do it from the comfort and privacy of their own home. This makes telehealth a fantastic solution for those seeking aid, regardless of location," she added. [Read more: Deakin Uni launches Institute for Health Transformation | Murdoch Uni launches new research centre for precision medicine] Swinburne University of Technology Digital Health and Informatics Academic Director Dr Mark Merolli said health and digital technology go hand in hand, and this partnership reflects Swinburne’s commitment to leading digital health and its passion for innovation in all aspects of teaching, training and research. “Having our students prepared for a workforce where healthcare is increasingly delivered remotely, is imperative and something that is at the core of digital health’s future in Australia. We need graduates that are comfortable using this technology and Swinburne will produce them,” he said.

Having a bimodal approach to ICT operation – one that marries a predictable evolution of products and technologies with the new and innovative – has become a necessity in healthcare. Building the essence of an enterprise bimodal capability balances out current organisational needs, such as service and project delivery, and addresses the future needs of healthcare, according to NSW Health Hunter New England ICT Services Executive Director Chris Mitchell. “Health ICT certainly seems to lag behind other industries in some areas, so building capability around innovation is an important agenda item,” Mitchell said. “Top-down innovation is rare; it really needs to come from the front lines – the people actually doing the work. It’s about providing the processes and avenues for anyone in the organisation to have somewhere to suggest ideas, which are then reviewed and prioritised in line with organisational goals and strategies. “In order to facilitate this, building an innovation and architecture practice within the ICT function to focus on organisational future needs can assist,” he said. According to Mitchell, developing new models of care can deliver better outcomes and value, particularly around integrated care, ensuring that all care providers are communicating effectively with patients and each other, and placing the patient at the centre of clinical decision making. “Disruptive innovation can impact the delivery of care for health systems, providers and consumers. For health systems, innovation should be about making things easier and more efficient. From a provider perspective, the ability to review patient data remotely, as an example, or conduct a telehealth appointment can completely change the way that a provider works,” he said. “From a consumer point of view, online portals, mobile apps and telehealth can change the patient experience for the better.” Mitchell said a shift in traditional funding models is moving healthcare from volume to value. “We are now looking to pay for outcomes achieved rather than procedures performed. Traditional funding models based on the general view that any activity is worthwhile and should be funded is changing to a more value driven approach – doing the right thing at the right time and minimising wastage.” And budgets, funding and societal expectations is driving this change, he added. “Continuing with a volume-based approach will ultimately end in poorer patient outcomes as well as an unsustainable budget trajectory. We must be focused on doing things better and more efficiently,” he said. LEADING THE FRONT NSW Health Hunter New England has been leading the front by driving innovation in a number of ways. Mitchell said it is moving to more value-based care models by understanding challenges that its senior clinicians and managers face. “We have a view of moving from volume to value and assessed some of our legacy activities. One of the takeaways from an ICT perspective was reviewing our EMR system order templates to remove unnecessary tests, and potentially, add system notifications that alerts the ordering provider about expensive pathology tests where the outcomes are rarely reviewed,” he said. “Further to this, we continue to roll out electronic clinical systems with around 75 per cent of medication management across the district now digital and all major ICUs have implemented biomedical equipment integrated systems. “We have also been doing some work around ereferrals, whereby primary care clinicians can refer patients into the Hunter New England hospital system electronically and directly from their practice management systems,” he added. [Read more: Collaboration is a key part of health systems today: panel | Tech development, regulation, investment and implementation key to digital health] But this change did not come without its own set of challenges. “Funding is a perpetual challenge. There is always a significant investment cycle required for technology before payback becomes apparent. We also faced some difficulties around organisational change but educated staff about the opportunities around improving patient safety, engagement and outcomes.” In order to develop and maintain a culture of innovation, Mitchell said the desire for, and platform to, change needs to be built into an organisation’s DNA. “It’s all too easy to put together an ‘idea portal’ and dust off the hands and say “we’re doing innovation”. It’s not as simple as that,” he said. “It is a cultural thing around leadership espousing the values of innovation and driving positive change – helping people to not be scared of change and embrace it instead. It’s difficult to achieve as the pace of change is speeding up. So, to build a future where innovation is key, we need to be building the platforms for change within our organisations.” Mitchell will further discuss the topic of disruptive innovation for value-based healthcare during a CXO panel at the upcoming 2019 HIMSS Health 2.0 eHealth Summit in Singapore.

Despite increased industry efforts, healthcare is experiencing cyberattacks at an increasing rate. So what does the industry need to do to salvage the situation? According to Forcepoint Information Security Senior Director Alvin Rodrigues, the industry needs to embrace new ways of protecting data. At the recent Australian Healthcare Week conference, he mentioned that a behaviour-centric, analytics driven approach to cybersecurity is necessary. “Having just a reactive mindset to cyber threats doesn’t work anymore. Cyber attackers have expanded the boundaries of attacks beyond the horizon of just the healthcare organisation to reach other players or partners of these organisations,” he said. “Therefore, you need to consider how you get visibility of the landscape and as a result of that, how you control and manage access from a collaborative standpoint with compliance in mind. A risk-based approach ensures that cybersecurity is aligned to the way that the organisation is run.” According to Rodrigues, healthcare has been the main target of hackers who are after patient information and credentials. Hacking and malware are the first points used to get these information and ransomware is on the rise, he said. “Health information is more valuable than financial information because the shelf life of healthcare information is longer than financial information,” he said. “If someone gets a hold of your credit card information, all you need to do is call your bank and deactivate it. But if that someone gets a hold of your health records, the person can take advantage of that in multiple ways. “The lack of encryption and insider threats are also concerning. These are due to the way that hospitals are run. Many hospitals are still using outdated technology, resulting in these issues. In addition, doctors aren’t aware of cybersecurity – it’s still predominantly an IT department issue.” In addition, with healthcare becoming increasingly connected, Rodrigues said hackers are more likely to target organisations because all data sits in one pocket. [Read more: Reinventing data security with cryptographic technology | How important is medical device classification in a healthcare organisation’s cybersecurity strategy?] As such, he said having risk adaptive protection is necessary and that it delivers:  Dynamically, adaptively and automatically protects data and minimises data exfiltration Identifies intentions through alerts of anything out of the ordinary  Provides evidence for litigation  Minimises friction between security and other departments Home-required cybersecurity training and education A corporate aware security culture.  “We need to beef up our cybersecurity posture so that we can minimise the unknown threats that enter our organisations,” he added. Data scientists, through the use of AI and machine learning will be able to understand human behaviour better when it comes to cyber attacks. Organisations that embark on this human-centric cybersecurity strategy moves processes away from one that is threat based to one that is risk and analysis based.”

With an ageing population and the introduction of new technologies, the healthcare industry in Australia is, no doubt booming. But is this growth substantiated with the relevant skilled employment it requires? Australia has been paving the way for the growth in healthcare. Federal and state governments have recently been investing millions towards building and upgrading healthcare precincts, such as the South Australia healthcare precinct, and universities are opening their doors to institutes that focus on digital transformation. Most recently, Deakin University unveiled a new institute for health transformation, while Murdoch University launched a research centre at its Perth campus, with a focus on precision medicine. And according to a McKinsey Australia report, powerful new automation technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced robotics are already transforming the Australian economy, workplace, education system and community. As automation technologies and digital integrate into the workforce, the report identified that the mix of skills required in all jobs will shift. For example, it found that people will spend more than 60 per cent more time using technological skills. However, without proactive leadership to manage the transition to a steady state, automation is expected to have disruptive distributional impacts, such as an unemployment rate spike by up to 2.5 per cent during the peak of the transition. Specific to healthcare, the Australian Jobs 2018 report by the Department of Jobs and Small Business, identified that the largest numbers of new jobs were created in healthcare and social assistance over the five years to November 2017, with job numbers up by 301,600. It found that the sector employed almost 1.7 million people as of November 2017 and these numbers are projected to grow by 16.1 per cent over the five years to May 2022. “The strong growth in healthcare and social assistance in recent years is projected to continue, with this industry projected to add significantly more jobs than any other industry,” the report stated. DIGITAL-SAVVY TALENT In a Seek report, Mercy Health’s People, Learning and Culture Group Executive Director Kate McCormack said the boom in healthcare has caused a “war for talent” across the sector. “We are a people business and our doors never close. The attraction, retention and utilisation of the workforce are our greatest strategic challenges,” she said in the report. [Read more: Inability to meet patient engagement demand is “hobbling” Australian healthcare providers: study | We need to get the digital basics right and quickly: Tim Kelsey] At a recent Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) event, eHealth NSW CEO Dr Zoran Bolevich said there is a pressing need for the workforce to develop itself and substantiate this need in health literacy. “We need more data scientists, more clinicians with digital health skills, more technologists with an understanding of health and more clinicians with the understanding of technology. We need to start developing these new workforce capabilities now; it’s an urgent need,” he said. At the recent Australian Healthcare Week in Sydney, Metro South Health Workforce Services Executive Director Dave Waters said retaining talent in healthcare is a challenge. “To do that, we need to maintain and extend talent into advantageous roles such as data scientists or specialists that are moving into predictive analytics and AI. As more organisations roll out clinical informatics, in particular, we need to ensure that we have a pipeline in place for such capabilities,” he said. Waters also spoke about the need to use data to improve patient outcomes by using the former to find the right fit for a role. “Is there some way where I can fill a role that might actually improve patient outcomes? That’s where data comes in. Using datasets for workforce planning will enable organisations to identify some of those sweet spots for sustainable performance,” he said. A DIRECTION THAT WORKS Metro South Health is one of Queensland’s largest health services by population and employs more than 13,000 staff. Having completed an ambitious project to fully digitise its four major metropolitan hospitals and one rural hospital in 2018, the organisation is tackling recruitment head on. Metro South Health Recruitment Consultant Boyd Clifford said as a result of technology, there is now a wide range of digital-focused occupations within healthcare, from project managers to business analysts, all of which require a diversity in training, education and background. “Our digital systems, including the integrated electronic Medical Record (ieMR) and mobile apps, are helping us achieve more accurate, efficient and personalised care. To deliver these digital innovations, we need talent with both IT skills and an ability to improve processes and design solutions for patients and clinicians,” Clifford said. [Read more: What lies ahead for the next wave of digital health and digital hospitals? | Data analytics is the “gold mine” for operations improvement] With the uptake and continuing evolution of technologies, Clifford said there will be an emphasis on candidates being fluent in a multitude of different systems, or the ability to very quickly acquire those skills on top of the more traditional skills required for roles. “As training is critical to the implementation of digital technologies, Metro South Health has been offering its employees extensive training in the use of systems, as well as ongoing support,” he said. “We also work together with training providers and universities to ensure they are up-to-date on the latest healthcare technologies to ensure our employees of the future have the knowledge and skills we need.” Clifford also said that going digital has enabled its employees to focus on soft skills that are required for the healthcare industry. “The introduction of technology has only enhanced the patient experience, enabling our clinicians and service providers to spend less time doing paperwork and more time with patients,” he said. “You will always need that person-to-person interaction and care with healthcare; technology only enhances this. In this sense, soft skills such as communication and the ability to work as part of a high-performing team are critical capabilities in the healthcare sector.” SKILLS OF THE FUTURE Also at the recent Australian Healthcare Week in Sydney, NSW Government Health Education and Training Institute (HETI) Chief Executive Adjunct Professor Annette Solman said the future state of the healthcare workforce needs adaptive leadership that looks into the whole of health system view and data analytics. “We do need to ensure that our workforce is strong and has the right competencies and capabilities. A digital health workforce does comprise of clinical and non-clinical staff, ICT professionals, people from a range of professions, etc. They all have a critical role to play,” she said. “The roles need to focus on adaptability, creativity, teamwork and data analytics. Data analytics is driving knowledge in relation to the workforce, patient care, and capabilities of the future.” She called for the focus on skill sets that machines aren’t able to replicate. Some examples include:  People data to optimise workforce planning Maximising value of humans and machines A hyperconnected workplace reshape.  “Learning in healthcare is changing to include flexibility and blended learning. The three capabilities in demand are higher cognitive skills, social and emotional skills, as well as technological skills. The reason for that is to take people out of the traditional ways of thinking,” she said. “How we identify the future skills of the digital workforce builds our organisations. We need a continuous mindset of continuous learning and upskilling. We need to be across new technologies, emerging ideas, what patients want and what clinicians are experiencing.” PREPARING FOR AN AUTOMATED FUTURE UiPath ANZ Technical Director Luke Kelly said with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) infiltrating healthcare, an ‘Automation First’ era – an era where there will be one robot for every person – will be upon us. “For healthcare, this creates the need to recruit talent that understands not only digital requirements but also automation, RPA and how to best identify the processes fit for applying automation whether in an attended (human in the loop) or unattended context,” he said. However, this doesn’t mean that robots will be taking over humans’ jobs, according to Kelly. “Despite the fear mongering around robots and AI taking jobs, the future economy still requires professions, and every professional need to be digital literate. That literacy needs to expand to robotic literacy,” he said. The key to working amongst robots is to ensure that the machines take care of repetitive tasks, Kelly mentioned. “All those mundane repetitive actions are tasks that a robotic assistant can take care of, while the health care professional can put their considerable education and experience to good use to make a real difference, without being out of a job,” he said. “This has the power to increase efficiency and productivity, but more importantly accuracy. Incorrect data can cause major risks and issues for healthcare providers and patients alike. “An advantage of RPA is a digital workforce doesn’t get fatigued, distracted, or misunderstood, which leaves the human workforce to focus on what they’re good at – saving lives. Healthcare practitioners also have more time to work on value-added tasks that require more creativity and critical thinking.” [Read more: Does the Federal Budget lack funding to modernise Australia's healthcare sector? | What does the new Secure Cloud Strategy mean for healthcare?] With much of the repetitive work automated, Kelly said junior employees will be able to learn more skills earlier in their careers, such as analysis, consulting and evaluating. “Industry 4.0 doesn’t need more coders, it needs robot trainers. Organisations need to upskill their current workforce to thrive in this ‘Automation First’-era and improve digital literacy,” he said. “It’s surprisingly easy to learn to program or ‘train’ robots, meaning that anyone at any level can begin learning about RPA.”