A novel cooperative global information system for healthcare. This project will develop a global model for healthcare based on the groundbreaking Protocol Hypothesis Testing (PHT) system, allowing expert groups of clinicians to create and share knowledge across organizations. The PHT is a unique functioning knowledge management system that allows clinicians to record patient and treatment data as it is generated in clinical practice and applies scientific methods to generate clinical knowledge, ....A novel cooperative global information system for healthcare. This project will develop a global model for healthcare based on the groundbreaking Protocol Hypothesis Testing (PHT) system, allowing expert groups of clinicians to create and share knowledge across organizations. The PHT is a unique functioning knowledge management system that allows clinicians to record patient and treatment data as it is generated in clinical practice and applies scientific methods to generate clinical knowledge, all in real-time. The project will develop and test a framework for the PHT system to be used cooperatively by expert groups across virtual organizations, refining the PHT system in the process.Read moreRead less
An intelligent, user-sensitive portal to breast cancer knowledge online. Research indicates dissatisfaction with the quality of information provision amongst women with breast cancer and their families, particularly in rural and regional areas. Information and decision-support needs vary depending on disease stage, education, age, location, and ethnicity. Customised, in-time information access is critically important to BreastCare Victoria and the Breast Cancer Action Group as it impacts signifi ....An intelligent, user-sensitive portal to breast cancer knowledge online. Research indicates dissatisfaction with the quality of information provision amongst women with breast cancer and their families, particularly in rural and regional areas. Information and decision-support needs vary depending on disease stage, education, age, location, and ethnicity. Customised, in-time information access is critically important to BreastCare Victoria and the Breast Cancer Action Group as it impacts significantly on health and life-style decisions. This joint project analyses user needs, assesses and describes resources in user-sensitive ways, and designs and prototypes an intelligent portal that provides differentiated access to breast cancer resources online. It also advances general understandings of intelligent information provision.
Read moreRead less
Introducing computer-based documentation to Residential Aged Care: a multi-method evaluation of success. Improvements to quality and use of evidence-based methods in residential aged-care are restricted due to the very slow adoption of electronic information systems. This research will provide key investors, government, aged care providers and IT vendors, with tools to measure success in introducing IT into this sector. The project will create a platform with the national peak body, to dissemina ....Introducing computer-based documentation to Residential Aged Care: a multi-method evaluation of success. Improvements to quality and use of evidence-based methods in residential aged-care are restricted due to the very slow adoption of electronic information systems. This research will provide key investors, government, aged care providers and IT vendors, with tools to measure success in introducing IT into this sector. The project will create a platform with the national peak body, to disseminate lessons in successful implementation of computerised systems in residential aged-care, based on studies in two states. The studies will also benefit the international community researching technology adoption, by extending its boundary condition to a novel setting.Read moreRead less
A PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) based Point of Care (POC) e-Health Solution for Ambulatory Care Services. The proposed PDA based POC system will provide for collection, delivery and exchange of timely information at point of care. The advantage of such a system will be its high mobility and flexibility matching complex healthcare workflow requirements. Through a prototype development for Ambulatory Care Services generic reusable and scalable components will be designed. The prototype will pr ....A PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) based Point of Care (POC) e-Health Solution for Ambulatory Care Services. The proposed PDA based POC system will provide for collection, delivery and exchange of timely information at point of care. The advantage of such a system will be its high mobility and flexibility matching complex healthcare workflow requirements. Through a prototype development for Ambulatory Care Services generic reusable and scalable components will be designed. The prototype will provide an immediate solution to the problem of improving workflow and work processes within Ambulatory Care services and delivery more efficient healthcare. The development of reusable and scalable components will mean that Ambulatory Care Services will have an application that is technology independent and thus allow new technologies to be "plugged in" as they become available and other mobile healthcare community workers will be able to utilize the components for applications of PDAs at POC.Read moreRead less
Spatial analysis of a linked environmental, health and social data base. Extensive environmental, health and socio-demographic data are routinely collected by various agencies throughout Australia. To date, it has been difficult to link separate databases and investigate possible associations between the different parameters within them. In this proposal we plan to link routinely collected health, environment and socio-demographic data from a number of databases. We then plan to develop tools fo ....Spatial analysis of a linked environmental, health and social data base. Extensive environmental, health and socio-demographic data are routinely collected by various agencies throughout Australia. To date, it has been difficult to link separate databases and investigate possible associations between the different parameters within them. In this proposal we plan to link routinely collected health, environment and socio-demographic data from a number of databases. We then plan to develop tools for geo-referencing the data. Finally we plan to perform spatial analysis of the linked data, specifically investigating associations between environmental and social factors and childhood leukaemia, deliberate self harm and adverse birth outcomes. Linking separate databases and performing spatial analysis of georeferenced data will substantially improve the quality of public health surveillance and research in NSW. In addition, it will enable more detailed analysis of the effects of environmental exposures on health, using routine data.Read moreRead less
Intelligent archiving and retrieving of clinic laboratory records in pathology/radiology informatics study. Pathology/radiology Informatics has emerged as an arm for developing next-generation pathology/radiology reporting methods, databases, imagery, and diagnostics. Current report archiving systems are very primitive, restricting any sophisticated use of the reports. This proposal aims to develop an innovative pathology/radiology report archiving system capable of automatically extracting usef ....Intelligent archiving and retrieving of clinic laboratory records in pathology/radiology informatics study. Pathology/radiology Informatics has emerged as an arm for developing next-generation pathology/radiology reporting methods, databases, imagery, and diagnostics. Current report archiving systems are very primitive, restricting any sophisticated use of the reports. This proposal aims to develop an innovative pathology/radiology report archiving system capable of automatically extracting useful information from reports. This system will make a smart use of pathology/radiology data and open a new way to extend current tests and examinations from being disease-focussed to being wellness focussed. It will also significantly reduce the number of tests, i.e., associated cost for healthcare.Read moreRead less
Intelligent archiving and retrieving of clinic laboratory records in pathology/radiology informatics study. Since 80% of the critical decisions made in medicine involve a pathology test or radiology examination, Pathology/radiology Informatics has emerged as an arm for developing next-generation pathology/radiology reporting methods, databases, imagery, and diagnostics. Current archiving systems are very primitive, restricting any sophisticated use of the reports. This proposal aims to collabora ....Intelligent archiving and retrieving of clinic laboratory records in pathology/radiology informatics study. Since 80% of the critical decisions made in medicine involve a pathology test or radiology examination, Pathology/radiology Informatics has emerged as an arm for developing next-generation pathology/radiology reporting methods, databases, imagery, and diagnostics. Current archiving systems are very primitive, restricting any sophisticated use of the reports. This proposal aims to collaborate with Lossless Data Compression Pty Ltd in developing an innovative pathology/radiology report archiving system capable of automatically extracting useful information. This system will make a smart use of pathology/radiology data and open a new way to extend current tests and examinations from being disease-focussed to being wellness focussed.Read moreRead less
Understanding health information literacy in Australia's ageing population: A qualitative study. Australians need to know how to find and use information to help them age well. This research will establish a national Health Information Literacy Framework that will be an evidence-based guide for community agencies to use in creating resources and services to support the information needs of ageing Australians. Ageing Australians who are healthy and active are able to participate in the workforce, ....Understanding health information literacy in Australia's ageing population: A qualitative study. Australians need to know how to find and use information to help them age well. This research will establish a national Health Information Literacy Framework that will be an evidence-based guide for community agencies to use in creating resources and services to support the information needs of ageing Australians. Ageing Australians who are healthy and active are able to participate in the workforce, engage in the community while easing the burden on the national health care system. The research will place Australia at the forefront of health prevention and information literacy research. The research will be undertaken as a partnership between QUT, Griffith University and the Health Contact Centre. Read moreRead less
Invoking consistency of meaning in data integration and extraction for Electronic Health Records. Many governments want to implement an Electronic Health Record. Such a Record is a summary of events in an individual's medical history derived from diverse medical databases. Only some summaries are relevant to any medical condition. This project is to address these converse issues of data integration and extraction. Summaries must have variable structure according to event, and must be consistentl ....Invoking consistency of meaning in data integration and extraction for Electronic Health Records. Many governments want to implement an Electronic Health Record. Such a Record is a summary of events in an individual's medical history derived from diverse medical databases. Only some summaries are relevant to any medical condition. This project is to address these converse issues of data integration and extraction. Summaries must have variable structure according to event, and must be consistently drawn from datasets which have consistent meaning. We will extend a formal mathematical approach successfully developed for checking conformity of databases. NSW Health Department is partnering us, because the outcomes represent a step toward a practical Electronic Health Record.Read moreRead less
Unlocking benefits from digital investments. This project aims to address one of the most vexing questions in the management of information systems: how to unlock the value of digital investments. The project expects to develop new theory and evidence on how to achieve meaningful use of information systems at multiple levels of analysis. The project will especially benefit the health sector, and society, by helping health providers and vendors to maximise the value obtained from substantial inve ....Unlocking benefits from digital investments. This project aims to address one of the most vexing questions in the management of information systems: how to unlock the value of digital investments. The project expects to develop new theory and evidence on how to achieve meaningful use of information systems at multiple levels of analysis. The project will especially benefit the health sector, and society, by helping health providers and vendors to maximise the value obtained from substantial investment in digital technologies, and by developing evidence-based policies to optimise digital service delivery.Read moreRead less