Blog posts
Aged care

Elderly abused, while the government manipulates unemployment statistics
Disruptive students who can’t pass exams, are being qualified as aged care workers by some training providers The ‘nurse’ yanked a jacket violently over the

Twelve things the Royal Commission won’t cover
Aged care is a fragmented industry, with up to 40% of homes actually facing bankruptcy Just after Four Corners launched a two part investigation into

Abuse in Nursing Homes
Abuse is more common that most people realise. Aged care training courses are paid to accept AND pass students, no matter how unsuitable they are. The health bureaucracy blocks complaints and hides information on reported errors. The victims are elderly and frail patients.

Aged care reinvented
At a recent Peak15 meetup, aged care providers showed more interest in quality of life for their elderly clients than trendy technology. They also passion for their work and a commitment for ongoing reform.

Aged care voices
Aged care problems and startup solutions were discussed at the latest Peak15 meetup.

Closed circuit TV in nursing homes
87% of relatives support the use of closed circuit tv in nursing homes. We all need to face the issues of elder abuse, and seek out solutions.

Nursing home death ignored
An elderly man was admitted to a private nursing home. One month later he was dead. After five years of investigations, no one has been held accountable.
Featured posts

The next unicorn – concierge medicine
Concierge medicine is really a return to old fashion family medicine. It also meets ‘unicorn’ standards.

Schools, STEM and Startups
Are you an overseas student studying technology courses in Australia? Or are you interested in Australian education, particularly in the technology sector? If the answer

Vale Sally Crossing
This article is a tribute to Sally Crossing. She was a tireless advocate for cancer patients, and lobbied for greater accountability of the health industry.
Founder interviews

Baby Boomers are Revolutionising Entrepreneurship
Using technology and entrepreneurship to find a new start in life What is the fastest growing age group of entrepreneurs? Senior entrepreneurs, or people over

Interview with Simon Carter from PredictBGL
A concerned parent with expertise in data analysis, creates an electronic solution for type one diabetes management I’m Simon Carter, and I’m here to tell you

Praxhub – just what the Doctor ordered
A new networking and clinical education platform for Doctors Delia: Steve, you’re co-founder of Praxhub, a platform for doctors to share educational information and to

Eight things you didn’t know about dentistry
A craft, vocation and small business all rolled into one Delia: Hi, I’d like to introduce Warren Antoff from Lifestyle Smiles. Warren, welcome to Wikihospitals.

Keeping workers safe with internet of things
Pioneering wearable stress monitoring devices for emergency workers Delia: I’d like to introduce Craig D’Souze, co-founder of Ion Systems. Craig, welcome to Wikihospitals. Craig D’Souza: Hi Delia,

Staying in touch with Cliniq Apps
Social media style communication tools for modern physiotherapy clinics Delia: Good afternoon and welcome to Wikihospitals. I’d like to introduce you to Hassan Mounzer, the

South Australian Accelerator brings technology to General Practitioners
A unique Accelerator program designed specifically to support technology services for GP’s Delia: I’d like to welcome Atif Majeed to Wikihospitals. Atif is the Senior

Staying engaged with Physitrack
Telehealth for physiotherapists Delia: I would like to introduce Marijn Kortekaas, the general manager for Physitrack. It’s a platform that promotes four key areas, which

Making Lyfe easier for Doctors
No more ‘no shows’ from patients Delia: Dallas Mayne, welcome to Wikihospitals. Dallas: Oh, thank you. “Delia: To introduce you, Dallas, you’re the CEO and co-founder

Who cares for the Carers?
Supporting families and sharing wisdom Delia: I’d like to introduce Martina Clark, the founder of Carers Couch. Martina, welcome. Martina: Hi, Delia. How are you?

Meet MUVi the hospital cleaning robot
Killing hospital bacteria with ultraviolet light Delia: Good afternoon. I’m interviewing Murray MacDonald from Duplex Healthcare. Murray, welcome to Wikihospitals. Murray: Thank you very much,

Donald McPhail interview
Building bridges with technology Wikihospitals – Donald McPhail, thank you for joining us. We’re here today to talk about several health startups, including Becon Health

Interview with David Lester
A better way to diagnose epilepsy Wikihospitals – Today I’m introducing David Lester from NIESM, an Australian entrepreneur. David, welcome to Wikihospitals. David, perhaps you

Interview with Kunal Kalro
Making pre pregnancy genetic screening relevant for non caucasian groups Wikihospitals: I’d like to introduce Kunal Kalro, co-founder of Eugene and serial founder of many other

Paul Rylance from JKM Care Solutions
Helping hospitals manage Emergency Department congestion Paul, you’ve developed a wonderful tool to help doctors give their patients the care that they need to help

Health Delivered shows the future of health software
Health Delivered shows the future of health software When Pete Saunders finished his Masters of Visual Communications and Graphics Arts at the University of Tasmania
Guest post

Australia’s First Patient Resource For Health Technology
Founded by local entrepreneur & physiotherapist Barry Nguyen (Chief Executive Officer) and GP Dr Khurram Akhter (Chief Medical Officer), HealthAide.com.au is a free Australian health

I am a clinician… I have an idea for an app… so what now?
Combining physiotherapy with entrepreneurship As physiotherapists, we are often working at the coal face of healthcare in both the private and public sectors. This gives

Real-world data is the new currency in healthcare
Future proofing physiotherapy In the context of physiotherapy today, we are directly competing in market share against professions such as osteopaths, chiropractors, exercise physiologists, acupuncturists
Indigenous, rural, remote

MMEx and Indigenous health services
The key to good rural and Indigenous health is internet-based records, good coordination and staying focused on community-based care.

Remote Area Nursing violence and bureaucratic coverups
Covering up violence with politically correct phrases or layers of bureaucracy, only perpetuates it.

Untrendy, 19th Century killer stalks media-obsessed 21st Century Australia
Rheumatic heart disease is a deadly yet easily preventable disease.
Industry issues

Secrets and healthcare
The Australian media is currently running a campaign against secrecy, called ‘Your Right to Know’ On Monday 21st October every newspaper in Australia published a

The Healthcare Nanny State
Do government handouts work? Even when designed with the best intentions? I’m sorry but the answer is always … No. Not for left wing causes

Bring back hospital training for nurses
Nurse training has been taken out of hospitals and putting it into expensive, out of touch universities, at the expense of basic patient care.

Electronic Hell Records
Endless keyboard clicks The promise of ‘easy to use’ Electronic Health Records has evaporated. Instead, hospital wards echo with the angry pounding of keyboards. Thanks

The Red Light District of medicine
Confused children being drawn into a world of private profits A recent investigation into UK private hospitals have revealed that two fifths of them, have failed

Three ways blockchain will reform healthcare
Eliminating errors, securely managing payments, at minimal cost “At the Melbourne Senior Entrepreneur meetup group on Wednesday 18th October, two guest speakers broke the topic

Sexism, Sleaze and Silicon Valley
A book about alcohol and drug fuelled sexism in many tech startups A series of stunning revelations have been made in a book published early

Three things you didn’t know about health technology
You are more likely to see a unicorn, than an Australian hospital using modern technology Some major hospitals are still running departments on DOS. Many

Sex appeal, startups and scammers
How Silicon Valleys obsession with success led to the biggest financial scandal since Enron Who is the young Stanford grad with long blond hair, a

Anxious parents and children at risk of sudden death
Parents of children with type one diabetes don’t sleep well When children are born, parents don’t foresee spending their nights waking up every two hours,

The line between complementary and quackery
Complementary Alternative Therapies (CAM) were once laughed at by Western medical groups as scientific fraud. Today they are accepted as the norm by many members

Inadequate nursing levels in private clinics
There is sometimes a conflict of interest between business profits and clinical safety In one Australian private day clinic, patients were being pushed through theatre,

Spinning our wheels
‘No ROI for health technology’ warn’s experienced investor Rob Coppedge, CEO of Echo Health Ventures announced in a post on the 6th September 2017 that ‘Digital

Australian’s have courage
Australians have courage. Especially under fire. Gallipoli is one example. Whistle blowers are another.

Cover ups, cocaine and damaged patients
Australian patients are denied access to information about prior complaints, restrictions on practice or Coroner’s reports.

Hospital errors and secrecy
8,000 people may die every year in hospitals from hospital errors Australia. So why don’t we have a national reporting system?

Greek tragedy
Governments and private insurers are struggling with hospitals. These powerful institutions are driving up costs while resisting transparency and reform.

Nurses education and hospital errors
Hospitals that cut back on nurses education run the risk of increasing their incidence of errors.

Best practice has no clear legal status
‘Best Practice’ has no legal status. Clinical standards and staffing levels can vary substantially from one hospital to another.

Sexism in surgery
Is sexism in surgery linked to the broader issue of bullying in hospitals? And how to we support junior staff to feel safe and well supported in hospitals?
Patient stories

Heart attack a long time coming
Men need health information in a language they can relate to.

Basic blood tests could have prevented cardiac arrest
Trying to force elderly people’s vital signs into rigid guidelines is not always sensible, or safe A seventy year old women had a fall in

Open heart surgery is not always the best option
Over servicing is unkind, unnecessary and unethical An eighty nine year old man ended up in the Emergency Department of his nearest hospital, gasping for

Syd’s story
Syd is an Australian woman who thought that having private health insurance would give her more accurate healthcare, by Australian private doctors, with no waiting

How to stand up to a Government Health Department – and win
Political promises, bureaucratic bungling and families fighting back The Phillips family are fighters. And winners. Indy was born with Rett’s syndrome, a cruel genetic disease that

Abuse in Nursing Homes
Abuse is more common that most people realise. Aged care training courses are paid to accept AND pass students, no matter how unsuitable they are. The health bureaucracy blocks complaints and hides information on reported errors. The victims are elderly and frail patients.

Cardiac Infection ignored
A severe infection after cardiac surgery was ignored. Sutures were incorrectly removed. The private patient was left with the bill.

Pregnant woman not told about about potential birth defects
Drugs with well known side effects are still being given to young women, who are trying to fall pregnant.

Social injustice in hospitals
Is there different medical treatments being given to patients depending on whether they have private insurance or not?

Taking risks in Recovery
Hospitals should not take unnecessary risks by cutting nursing staff in critical areas like Recovery.

Basic tests, unnecessary errors
Better nursing assessments and cheap blood tests could help pick up potential hospital errors.

Small hospitals and chemotherapy protocols
Small hospitals and chemotherapy protocols don’t always mix well. Unqualified nursing staff and a lack of medical standards can lead to problems.

Bad discharge planning and emergency readmission
Bad discharge planning and poor patient education is often linked to unnecessary emergency department readmission.

Overzealous treatments and a bad death
Sometimes keeping people comfortable and dignified, is better than aggressive medical intervention that has a small chance of success.

Mental illness and street violence
Having a mental illness should not mean being homeless and bullied by thugs. We need long term community housing.

Nursing home death ignored
An elderly man was admitted to a private nursing home. One month later he was dead. After five years of investigations, no one has been held accountable.

Medication errors and poor handovers
Medication errors and poor handovers often go hand in hand. Patients suffer unnecessarily. But hospitals are never forced to change.

MS patient left waiting in Emergency
This women presented with an exacerbation of multiple sclerosis, to the nearest Emergency. She was left for 12 hours in pain, with no plan and no review.

Homeless, psych patients and ICU
What are homeless, psychiatric patients doing in Intensive Care beds? Some road trauma patients are really psych patients left without community services.

Obesity and surgery
Morbid obesity and surgery don’t mix. Patients should be made aware of the dangers of poor healing, and be encouraged to lose weight before major surgery.

Stroke patient misses out
Stroke patients should never miss out on essential treatments, because of mix ups in busy Emergency departments. We need better monitoring systems.

Delayed treatment for a broken leg
Delayed treatment for a broken limb can lead to unnecessary complications.
Startup events

Startups events and back to basics
An upmarket pitch night Last week I attended a health tech event called Pitch Night: HealthTech and MedTech. It was held at the Goods Shed

Schools, STEM and Startups
Are you an overseas student studying technology courses in Australia? Or are you interested in Australian education, particularly in the technology sector? If the answer

Shark samples, Social ventures and SheStarts
Balancing the numbers of women in technology Last Tuesday evening, as the light faded to Autumn dusk, a group of women met in Melbourne. They

Founders and Investors – a Marriage that Requires Work
Long term relationships are based on trust and honesty In one corner you have a startup founder, who wants to set the world on fire

Can technology help improve medication compliance?
‘Pill shaming’ instead of helping people stay out of hospitals Non compliance with medications is one of the most common topics to come up at

I’m not ‘old’, I’m you in 40 years
Rethinking Technology to make sure it is relevant for older people A group of entrepreneurs, nurses and aged care reformists crammed into the first floor

From international genetic research, with love
Using big data to manage big genetics At the Melbourne healthXL day, held at the Royal Children’s Hospital on the 22nd February 2018, the second

New models of care
An international health reform organisation comes to Melbourne The HealthXL event was held at the Murcock Children’s Research Institute, set in the Royal Children’s Hospital,

“Let’s just prevent readmissions…”
With chatbots, gamification and combination drugs Last Tuesday’s meetup was dedicated to one of healthcare’s biggest problems. Over 50% of people prescribed medical treatments by

Opioid overdoses (especially in white, rural areas)
International Overdose Awareness Day started in Melbourne, Australia The 31st of August is International Overdose Awareness Day. This movement originated 16 years ago in Melbourne,

The final pitches
Reforming healthcare for patients and families The final participants of the Melbourne Health Accelerator Program winter program, are those who’s end customer is ultimately the

Duplex and Adyuvo
Preventing hospital infections and integrating data for renal patients The winter Melbourne Health Accelerator program is over half way through it’s Winter curriculum. The pitches

‘Take this app’
Take this app and call me in the morning As part of Melbourne Health Research week, the event ‘Take this app and call me in

The first pitch
Reforming hospitals from the inside out. Australia’s first health startup accelerator, situated inside the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Week one
The 2017 Melbourne Health Accelerator Program has begun.

A new beginning
An abandoned Intensive Care Unit becomes a Startup Incubator

Aged care reinvented
At a recent Peak15 meetup, aged care providers showed more interest in quality of life for their elderly clients than trendy technology. They also passion for their work and a commitment for ongoing reform.

Melbourne Health Accelerator now taking applications
Melbourne Health Accelerator Program startups up in May 2017

Agnes’s spirit lives on
Agnes Health was named after the feisty daughter of the first Governor of Victoria. A recent event was advice on how to become a successful entrepreneur.

Intensive Care looks into the future
The Bits ‘n’ Bytes of Intensive Care: Data That Matters! Last night Peak 15 held their first meetup for 2017 at the Alfred Medical Education and

Intensive Care transformed into Startup Lab
Convergency Science Network and HealthTech promote Australian Health Startups.

Aged care voices
Aged care problems and startup solutions were discussed at the latest Peak15 meetup.

HealthXL Melbourne conference 2016
Health tech pitches from Lab 14 A great workshop was held today at Lab 14, 700 Swanston Street Carlton. There were 11 health startups presenting