On the show today is part 2 of George and Louise’s talk with Bernard Salt AM, Founder of The Demographics Group. They have a conversation on shifting populations, shifting priorities and what that means for the health sector. 

Australia’s election delivers a result no pundits foresaw.

The FDA is mandating the use of AI for their scientific reviews. What could this mean for stakeholders?

Friend of Pulse Rachael Dunscombe suggests healthcare’s complexity means that for AI governance to be successful we need to adopt principles espoused by cybernetics guru Stafford Beer in the 1950s.

UK Q1 VC funding report stats are in and the results are not what you’d expect.

George & Louise give a run-through of the 6 Megatrends impacting the health sector, according to a new report by NSW Health and CSIRO.

Connect with Bernard on LinkedIn | Instagram | The Demographics Group

Resources:

What is Digital Health? Whitepaper by David Rowlands Link

Health Megatrends Report, NSW Health & CSIRO Link

Call for Disclosure when using AI for patient comms Link

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Listen for your chance to go the Digital Health Festival on us – with thanks to the DHF team. #Muchlove💗

On the show today George and Louise talk with Bernard Salt AM, Founder of The Demographics Group. We have a conversation on shifting populations, shifting priorities and what that means for the health sector. Part 1 drops today and part 2 will be in our next episode.

A virtual first telehealth service has received bipartisan support in the Australian election. Woo-hoo! Is this going to change things or will it turn out to be just a rebrand? What does this mean for consumers and our health sector?

Friend of Pulse Dr Tina Purnat is back with her take on the social media paradox for young people getting their health information from non-health experts.

Global health interoperability rankings are in. How does your country rate?

Connect with Bernard on LinkedIn | Instagram | The Demographics Group

Resources:

Dr Tina Purnat & The Social Media Paradox Link

Health Systems Interoperability Ranking Link

Acquired Pod covers Epic Link

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On the show today George and Louise talk with AMA Victoria President Dr Jillian Tomlinson on the GROSS initiative to get rid of stupid stuff like waste and duplication in healthcare.

Can AI help researchers advance our understanding of dementia and potentially prevention, delay and treatment?

The worlds of consumer tech and medical grade tech are merging. George and Louise discuss the opportunities and implications of this with examples of the femtech pregnancy research Oura Ring is embarking on, the EpiWatch app for seizure monitoring.

What does the future hold for the health app ecosystem, given Apple’s Mulberry project?

What does the closure of NHS England mean for the digital health workforce? George and Louise discuss the announcement of the formation of the Health Data Research Service. Should other jurisdictions also start to think of health data as a national asset?

Connect with Jillian on LinkedIn

Resources:

Learn more about GROSS and sign the petition: Link

ANDHealth's Rising Giant Report: Link

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Guest of Pulse is Janette Hughes, Director of Planning and Performance at Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI). Janette joins our hosts to discuss personal data stores – giving patients not just access but putting them in control over their own data.

Bill Gates is predicting AI will replace doctors. Do George and Louise agree with him?

The liquidators have moved into 23andMe and millions of customers are rushing to delete their data. What are the lessons learned on protecting personal health data from the personal genomics company's collapse?

Research shows 1 in 5 Australians skip specialist appointments due to cost concerns. Will the Australian Health Minister mandating that 11,000 medical specialists are transparent with their fees help?

A new meta-analysis of 83 studies shows AI and doctors perform similarly in diagnosis. Bu George wants the comparisons to stop already!

The cost of not using AI in healthcare. Will we soon see arguments, regulations and legislation mandating the use of AI in the name of patient safety?

Connect with Janette on LinkedIn

Resources:

Allied health $10K grant Link

Nature Digital Medicine paper AI vs Drs Link

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Bringing you Part 2 of our chat with Dr Karen DeSalvo, Chief Health Officer at Google. We cover designing systems that align with the needs of clinicians and patients; the sustainable development goals and preventative health, use cases for AI in public health, resources for healthcare start-ups and others.

Follow Karen on LinkedIn Link

George has just wrapped up the ECH Alliance conference in Barcelona, and the IT in Aged Care Conference in Melbourne. 

Louise is in London where everyone is talking about NHS England getting ‘doged’.

Telemedicine from 40,000 feet, coming to an Emirates flight near you soon.

OECD Health System strategies review – who came out on top?

Advanced analytics for chronic disease

And, allied digital health is so hot right now.

Google Resources:

AI in Action: Accelerating Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals Link

Transforming Public Health Practice with GenAI. Health Affairs Link

Google Open Health Stack Link

Google for StartUps Growth Academy Link

The Keyword Blog: AI and Health collection Link

The Check Up with Google Health Link

Other links:

National eHealth strategies: a comparative study of nine OECD health systems Link

Multi-omics approaches for understanding gene-environment interactions in noncommunicable diseases: techniques, translation, and equity issues Link

Australian Aged Care Data Landscape Report Link

One London Framework for AI Implementation Link

Visit Pulse+IT.news to subscribe to breaking digital news, weekly newsletters and a rich treasure trove of archival material. People in the know, get their news from Pulse+IT – Your leading voice in digital health news.

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Google's Impact on Health Report 2025 reveals the company's extensive influence on global digital health, including their Nobel Prize-winning AlphaFold 2 AI system. 

The value of watches that detect falls and raises the alarm just got a significant upgrade with Google receiving FDA clearance for "loss of pulse detection" technology for wearables that can identify sudden cardiac arrest signs remotely. 

New Australian study finds social media influencers driving demand for unnecessary health tests with limited clinical evidence. Commercialisation, misinformation and the rise in health equity gaps. Reporting by Pulse+IT. 

Tina Purnat’s BMJ Opinion Piece is a must read for those interested in the proliferation of misinformation

Was Chris Longhurst right years earlier than he predicted – the US has proposed legislation that would classify AI as a "practitioner licensed by law" with prescription capabilities, raising significant ethical and regulatory questions. 

The UK is exploring implementation of a single digital patient record system across health and social care, promising better continuity but facing logistical challenges. Will they pull this off?

Check out the Global Digital Health Partnership’s digital health repository Link

Our guest of Pulse is Dr Karen DeSalvo, Chief Health Officer at Google. Part 1 of our chat covers Karen’s impressive career trajectory and personal motivations, AI, and how Google is focused on getting correct health information into the hands of everybody. 

Follow Karen on LinkedIn Link

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Disinformation and misinformation is the topic of the moment – join George and Louise as they discuss these issues with Dr Tina Punat, consultant in global health and digital public health (ex-WHO).

Find Tina at her website on LinkedIn and say hello when she visits Australia in June for the Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference

We also celebrate Australia’s Share by Default Legislation being passed by parliament and the Act coming into play. Yay!

An update from New Zealand – will a law suite against the government save Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s Data and Digital Directorate?

We round up the state of investor funding for start-ups in Australia and the US.

Resource Links

Dr Purnat in the BMJ Link

Kara Swisher: Burn Book Link

Future AI International Consensus BMJ Link

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So it turns out that 2 weeks is a long time in the world of AI. Louise and George break down a heap of key stories and developments. AI is quickly becoming a commodity, but it will still be some time before it becomes old news. 

The European Health Data Space legislation is coming into force. What does that mean for the health sector, clinicians and citizens throughout Europe?

And we bring you part 2 of our chat with special guest of Pulse, Dr Alain Labrique, Director for the Department of Digital Health and Innovation at the World Health Organization for an exploration of the transformative role of digital health on a global scale.

Follow Alain on LinkedIn

Resource Links:

European Health Data Space Legislation Pulse+IT

New Zealand’s Public Service AI Framework Pulse+IT

PatientSeek built on DeepSeek Pulse+IT

OpenNotes Guidelines for Patient-Centered Documentation in the Era of Open Notes Link

JAMA+AI Link

NEJM+AI Link

The Lancet Digital Health Link

Nature Link

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In this episode, hosts Louise Schaper and George Margelis dive into the latest advancements in health and biomedical sciences, exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming our understanding of viruses, proteins, and more. Key stories include AI-driven viral evolution predictions, groundbreaking research on the human proteome-phenome atlas, and the role of AI in designing life-saving antivenoms.

The hosts also discuss global telehealth developments, patient engagement strategies, and highlight the inherent challenges of direct-to-consumer health tests. 

Special guest of Pulse is Dr Alain Labrique, Director for the Department of Digital Health and Innovation at the World Health Organization for an exploration of the transformative role of digital health on a global scale.

Follow Alain on LinkedIn

Resource Links:

Plasma Proteome atlas Link

AI and virus evolution Link

Ai and anti-venom Link

Christchurch telehealth pilot Link

AI and predicting breast cancer Link

Action Plan for the Digital Patient have Link

Direct to consumer tests Link

Visit Pulse+IT.news to subscribe to breaking digital news, weekly newsletters and a rich treasure trove of archival material. People in the know, get their news from Pulse+IT – Your leading voice in digital health news.

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Join Louise and George as they run through some of the hot stories in the Australian and New Zealand health sector this year.

01:31 Virtual Care and Telehealth

15:08 The biggest topic of the year - AI

24:40 New Zealand Year in Review

References for Pulse+IT 2024 Year in Review:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

New Zealand Year in Review

Visit Pulse+IT.news to subscribe to breaking digital news, weekly newsletters and a rich treasure trove of archival material. People in the know, get their news from Pulse+IT – Your leading voice in digital health news.

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