Unlocking the Power of Digital Signature Legality for Healthcare in Australia

How to eSign a document: digital signature legality for Healthcare in Australia

foreign TF Health what's the future health I'm talking to the who's who of Health Tech and Healthcare Innovation here in the digital Health studio and joining me right now I have Amanda catermole she is the CEO of the Australian digital health agency Amanda it's great to have you here thanks so much Jessica it's lovely to be here all right so we are going to get what I've been waiting for which is like a big overview top level look at what is going on in digital Health in Australia so you're the lady who's gonna she's gonna give us all Trends and things that we need to be watching when it comes to Australia so start us off and let us know I mean what's the state of play right now for digital Health here in Australia lots of uptick like what's what's happening the right question it is going to be question um and I think we're at a real inflection point is what I would say I think we've we have been on a journey that's gone if you if you sort of roll back a decade I would say you know we we laid down the foundations so we we introduced a consumer-based electronic health record that is in the hands of Australians um we set up all of the consent models and the privacy rules that support that system but what we found and this you know you've got to bear in mind this is 10 years ago now longer actually nearly 12. um is that we we as Australians as a national dialogue there was work to be done on on really Illuminating what that would mean for People's Health their Better Health Care and really critically Australians sitting at the center of their own health care but if you then think you think about what we've kind of the journey we've been on since then obviously you know fueled by the exigencies of the pandemic but if we if we kind of come out the other side now we are suddenly finding ourselves at the at the cusp really of the next Frontier the next conversation the next wave of change and I think there's a range of reasons for that so one is we do have the foundations in place and we've had them in place for a while and I think people have over time really started to be involved in in those those foundations and covert really lit a fire under that because what we saw is people realizing they needed their health information they needed things at their fingertips at crucial points in their lives we've also really you know really confrontingly over the last two or three years in Australia come through Bushfire and flood Seasons yeah again suddenly knocked out some of those traditional ways people got them engaged with their health and their health information and they found themselves drawn to the to the digital environment they were able to get things they couldn't have otherwise got so suddenly you have this illumination of what people want and need and then of course you see around the world people suddenly saying you know what I want more of this in fact I expect it to be like this how come it's not like this right and so we've had this what I would almost flip of where we were 10 years ago and even five years ago where we laid foundations down they were cautiously engaged with possibly reluctantly in some cases and I think there was really um not the same Dynamic about what how this would help really change the face of healthcare to where we are now where consumers are saying we want more you need it to make it happen I I want to be at the center I want my information it's mine and how are you going to wrap around me for my better care and so we're Suddenly at this inflection point where I think um consumers are driving the conversation and that's an extraordinary shift and a really powerful and exciting one and we've got Good Foundations so nice to have laid those down now we need to bring them to life I love it and we need to take the next steps forward of something that is going to be it's going to support modern ways that Healthcare is being delivered so virtual care multi-disciplinary team care linking water care services not just traditional Health but broader their broader care environment and Illuminating that for Australian Healthcare consumers when and where they want it and they need it so it's sort of we've gone on this journey and suddenly it's this point of acceleration that's right in front of us that's really exciting to hear I feel like in the US we're experiencing something similar the conversation is kind of changing and it seems to be rapidly taking up let's talk about some of the specifics within that conversation so curious to hear about how Telehealth is going over here I know in the states we've you know obviously off of the pandemic high of it we've hit like okay we've kind of settled but we're not nearly as low as as use was back before the pandemic and so in in the states what we're seeing is this kind of acceptance of no this is actually actually a significant you know place where people can get care virtually yeah so what's going on here in Australia do you feel like um whether it be the Health Care system or whether it be consumers what's the appetite for Telehealth now that the pandemic is over yeah it's a really great question and very similar story okay so absolutely you know Telehealth was a really marginal part of the health system hotly contested suddenly warm it becomes ubiquitous yes and even as we move into this sort of you know post-co co-coded World whatever we call it now um definitely coming off a bit but but absolutely now I would describe it as an integral part of of the way that Healthcare is delivered I think the conversation's now turning to um what model of care is right and what circumstances what kind of Telehealth do we mean so we've seen a lot of telephone Health Less in their video enabled where you're starting to get that other dimension yes um how do we support um practitioners to move into that and think about that differently and and that's really a question of how do they uplift in their digital enablement of which Telehealth is going to be a key component so I think Australians are in a really similar place it's very much a part of the system but they also want to pick and choose there are some days when they want to sit in front of a practitioner in a more traditional way because of the kind of issue they're dealing with they might have you know be in a different place or whatever and others they want to be able to engage in something that is going to deliver for them in the moment they're in where Telehealth becomes such a you know a key component in Rural and Regional Australia you've got different conversations exactly what what does Telehealth mean in this environment and what's virtual care mean um and the other one that's a really interesting indicator is electronic prescribing so alongside Telehealth the other thing that was stood up rapidly at the beginning of the pandemic again had been debated for years was electronic prescriptions six weeks it got stood up in after years of debate six weeks from start to finish and again suddenly a ubiquitous part of the way people are engaging in scripts doesn't mean they don't have paper scripts many people still want them they're available but about one in five um dispense scripts are now electronic that's exciting um so again and I love what I love about the next wave of this debate which sounds like you're having the states too is it's deepened now to I want to be able to choose I don't want you to channel me just here or just here but I I want a an integrated multi-faceted system where I have the care I want in the way I want it and that is really exciting yeah we keep hearing the the freeze there as Omni channel so just the same way you would go shopping and you can shop online or in the store and the healthcare that mirrors that experience yeah I wanted to ask you um so here in Australia digital Health also includes a huge Health informatics component a data component yeah what's what's new there I mean I've got a lot I've had a lot of conversations about AI about shifting policy what are you seeing you know in your role about what's next for Health Data in all of this because it's kind of the operating system exactly it's the engine room all of this you know consumer choice and how do we enable that but we need to have that information so yeah for you what's at the form Forefront of the data conversation in digital Health right now oh I think so aside from Ai and all you know that huge debate the one that I'm really um that I think is our Game Changer in Australia which you have been on this journey in the states and and I've been hearing from colleagues from the states in a range of ways and it's just so interesting to listen to and we need to learn as we go on this journey is for the first time I think we have all the building blocks in place for an interoperable system so we've talked about this forever as everyone yes suddenly we have all the pieces in place so we've now got a national agreement on interoperability so that literally landed yesterday fantastic uh so suddenly we've got an agreement across States and territories because of course we've got that Federated model that you do as well um so we've got we've got a shared Enterprise at a national governmental level we have industry saying we want to be part of this just give us guard rails like we under we want to innovate but please tell us directionally where we need to go because we will get there um we've got consumers and others expecting the linking of the data so you've got that drive to come on we need to do this um we've also got you know I think the um the community the standards Community is enlivant in a way that I think we've never seen um and we are trying to support that by ensuring that we've got more people trained and engaged in data standards fire enabled standards work um and that we are so we need to train people we need to deliver the standards and we need to drive the prioritization of that standards environment and suddenly all those building blocks are lined up okay and I reckon that is that's the kind of next Horizon that we are staring into and and the thing I love about it aside from it being feeling so um so ready is that I'm not we're not looking at 10-year Horizon suddenly we're looking at two three four year Horizons where you can see that if we can lay this out properly we will transform the ability for data to be shared properly around the system to to move with Australians when they are moving to be to be at the right place at the right time and then to start those next big conversations yeah about when you use Ai and you use you know machine learning for the purpose of examining information and learning things we can't learn now and feeding that back into people so they can start thinking more about prevention all right Amanda let me ask you this so in the U.S a big part or a significant part of our health Innovation digital Health Community is made up of startups and Venture capitalists and those who are kind of you know emerging and right and so it's new ideas new companies new businesses what's the what's the sentiment here like what's going on in this is there a big digital Health startup Community here in Australia is there a big um climate from of investment going into this space from kind of those a traditional players I mean what are you saying yeah it's interesting so we always look to the states for that you know such a dynamic part of the way it works in the states yeah of Enterprise in the US I feel like a lot of my startups who watch are going to be like Australia seems like a great market for us to get into yes so um so what we're seeing more and more of it here um but we're also seeing I think the other disrupter aside from startups and new players and there's loads of that going on we probably don't have as strong a tradition as you see in the States but it is definitely there but he's also um other organizations that have not traditionally been in healthcare Banks starting to think about it you're seeing a really different role for health insurance health insurance in Australia are starting to think about their own role in things like prevention how do they move the dial down you know sort of Upstream if you like um and you're seeing other you know retailers and others starting to think you can see that they're starting to ponder on how they might as well as the big you know Googles and yeah how what how might they play a role in health and um what I'm surprised and fascinated by how many of those conversations we're starting to have that's exciting yeah we're having we're seeing a lot of retail health and yeah exactly in addition to those disruptors that are entering and I'm curious to know you know because I do have a big you know audience in the U.S and also in Europe a lot of startups what's the climate like to do business here like I mean if if somebody did have something that they're listening to you and they're like I could all right you're early on e-prescribing wait till you see that exactly if they're watching and they're interested in working in Australia what do they need to know like if you were to give some tips out there for some of these startups right questions oh thanks yeah if you were to give them some advice I'm coming into this Market what they need to know so I think I think one of the things that's really important to know is the federal Federated model okay so you know States territories in the Commonwealth you've got and so it's just understanding the architecture of the investment because it really matters there are different intersection points you've got the states obviously driving you know hospitals and essentially the tertiary system you've got the Commonwealth as the key funder in the Primary Health Care system and you've got a wonderful Federation uh but obviously that you know that comes with that intersection is really important being able to navigate across States and territories in the Commonwealth um is really important what I would say if everyone's thinking oh dear that sounds complex it is no more of course and the way you have to engage in the state so you know but um never before have I seen as much um forward motion and Synergy between States territories in the Commonwealth on digital health and health then then I've then I reckon we've ever seen before and and it's the same sort of dynamic you'll have seen in the States you know the the pandemic kind of really unified what needed to be done you've got a national cabinet for example that brings ministers together across those that that Federation and you so you've got Unity of purpose I think and a recognition that these are National Enterprises now so whilst it's complex and needy and understanding it navigating it's important I think the forward motion is really unifying at the moment so that's one thing um the second is uh it's a pretty I think that's a real dynamism to the environment at the moment so it is a good time you know just saying everyone really good time to be thinking about about kind of investment here and engagement here and I reckon the bit that I love the most and this the environment we're in at the moment together is is underscoring that and that is never before have I seen so much International sharing and learning yeah so I love the fact that we're having conversations you know hoovering up the best and the learnings yeah from all the different environments we know we're talking in the trans-tasman environment without New Zealand colleagues there's so much to be learned from countries you know like we've heard a lot about the the kind of work that's been done in countries like Hong Kong the work that the US has done in data sharing is just you know we are listening and learning so much given we're on that Journey um and so that's really powerful pain too because I think a lot of us in the US are like we're doing a terrible job we've been listening a lot oh that's fine I mean we should definitely all be sharing perspective yeah all right last thing for you give us a sense of what's happening at the agency here like what what are you guys doing like what's that what's on the road map for you yeah the big priorities for the next couple years so the agencies um it has an interesting role in all of this so so our job we've got a few sort of several chunks if you like so one is we're the steward of the consumer health record so our job is to make sure it's safe and secure held by all Australians and that we grow and develop it so there's a whole stream of what does it need to be to meet the needs of Australians now as distinct from when it was stood up over a decade ago right the second is we are the stewards of the interoperability across the system as a National Enterprise and for me that is going to be the engine room of our work in the coming one two three five years that really enlivening that and making that a genuinely interoperable system so we don't own all of it but we Steward it okay and then the third piece is we own the National Assets and infrastructure that join the dots um and so how do we make sure that they those things not only are working now but we invest in the kind of infrastructure that will connect the system for the future and in doing that we obviously collaborate you know part of our job is to be the collaborators across the system to bring the community with us to engage governments to engage across industry and to really work with Healthcare Providers to kind of bring the system along so in fact that's my favorite part of our role it's the convening power the collaboration dynamism yeah to when we don't own most of it neither should we but we help directionally take it in the place that we think is going on for Australia the good stewardship it's the most exciting part awesome well Amanda thank you so much for dropping by and sharing it's such a broad overview I feel like we covered a lot of great conversation thank you so much I think it's it's helpful for our for those who are abroad to just understand what's going on here and also to hear you know not only the challenges but the opportunities that liar had so thank you again dude all right for more interviews with those who are changing the way that we do Healthcare head on over to my YouTube channel it's youtube.com WTF Health talk to you guys real soon thanks bye