New chair at HL7 Australia

HL7 Australia has appointed David Rowlands as its new chair, replacing Dr Isobel Frean after three years. It has also named Dr Andy Bond to its board. 

Rowlands served the board of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, to which he is also a fellow and honorary life member. He is also certified in health informatics by the Certified Health Informatician Australasia program. 

"I look forward to supporting Australia’s vibrant and growing HL7 community during the modernisation of Australia’s health sector," Rowlands said.

Meanwhile, Dr Bonds, an interoperability architect at health IT company Magentus, is expected to contribute his perspective on sustainable FHIR investment to the company. 

Dr Frean will stay as non-executive director of HL7 Australia's board, according to a media release.

ADHA names nursing adviser

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has appointed Karen Booth as its first chief clinical adviser for nursing.

"She has been a key contributor to the advancement of digital health in the nursing profession and played a pivotal role in the future of the Australian healthcare system as a member of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce," ADHA CEO Amanda Cattermole said about Booth in a statement. 

"I have always been dedicated to enhancing health outcomes for Australians, especially in primary and preventative care settings. Nurses play a crucial role in providing safe, high-quality, person-centred care, and I know first-hand that digital health technologies and capabilities can improve their abilities, knowledge and practice," Booth shared. 

She will commence in her role on 30 September.

Booth's appointment follows that of Dr Amandeep Hansra as the agency's chief clinical adviser for medicine. 

Guide launched for implementing home aged care IT

The non-profit National Ageing Research Institute in Australia has recently published a guide for home aged care providers to deliver technology-enabled services. 

Developed in partnership with home care provider Silverchain, the Framework for Enabling Technology Supported Aged Care at Home offers a step-by-step guide on implementing digital technologies as part of home aged care providers' service delivery. 

The framework – said to be the first of its kind in the country – also has information on reducing technology implementation barriers and a checklist of considerations in creating an implementation plan. 

Its development has been backed by the federal government's Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia grants program.  

Five Faces announces tech integration with Indonesian partner

Health IT provider Five Faces has entered into a technology integration collaboration with Privy, a digital identity and signature solutions provider from Indonesia.

As part of the partnership, Privy's digital signature technology will be integrated into Five Faces' digital front door solution. This, according to a media release, will provide users of Five Faces the option to use authenticated signatures for medical and financial consent forms when required. 

Meanwhile, Privy will assist in introducing Five Faces' solution in Indonesia. "[T]he digital evolution of Indonesia’s healthcare system makes it an ideal time to introduce Five Faces’ as a proven patient experience player from a world-class healthcare market," said Privy CEO and co-founder Marshall Pribadi.