$4M for digital portal on rare cancer
A digital portal providing information on rare and less common cancers is set to be piloted in Queensland following A$6.7 million ($4 million) investment from the federal government.
The Australian Rare Cancer Portal, run by BioGrid Australia, is a comprehensive resource where patients with rare and less common cancers can receive expert opinion on their diagnosis and disease management. It also provides best evidence information, guidance on molecular testing and result interpretation, and access to clinical trials.
The Queensland pilot with Cancer Alliance Queensland will allow doctors to refer patients in remote areas to the portal. Rare and less common cancer nearly made up a quarter of cancers diagnosed in the country in 2024; it also accounts for a third of all cancer deaths.
New Zealand sets up $3M funding for healthcare AI
The Health Research Council of New Zealand has announced NZ$5 million ($2.8 million) in funding for healthcare AI research.
It started calling for proposals from investigators whose research directly addresses priority areas identified in the three-year Government Policy Statement on Health: access, timeliness, quality, workforce, and infrastructure.
Applications run until April, with results expected to be announced in July.
Northeast Health Wangaratta upgrades EMR
Northeast Health Wangaratta, a health service in Victoria’s north east, has retired its legacy EMR system and replaced it with a comprehensive solution from Orion Health.
It implemented the Orion Clinical Workstation, which provides “faster, more accurate access to information,” based on a media release. It comes with modules, including Results, Medicines Management, and Care Pathways, and new applications that were tailored to the needs of NHW clinicians.
