18-Jun-15 The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) was officially signed on 17-Jun-15. ChAFTA increases Australian investors’ ability to own medical facilities either wholly or by majority JV, enables some Australian physicians to offer services in China, permits wholly Australian-owned aged care institutions, and promotes cooperation in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine. [image: The Conversation]

10-Jun-15 The number of patients consulting with their doctors online in south-western Queensland has tripled in just three months. At one hospital users jumped from eight to 40 a month. The increase is attributed to recently appointed coordinators, who show patients how to use the telehealth service, thereby avoiding hours of travel. [image: MEDAXS]

27-May-15 Most Australian doctors believe they are more proficient in using electronic medical or health records than they were two years ago even though half consider their system hard to use, a new survey shows. However, 45% per cent believe that the increased use of technology has decreased the amount of time they spend with patients. [image: Getty Images]

18-May-15 Australian developers have launched a fully cloud-hosted electronic medical records system called Clinic to Cloud, aimed at specialist practices, and featuring access on mobile devices and a patient portal. “We believe the market is ready for a true cloud solution and we will be well received by... well-established specialists [and] new ones,” said CEO Rafic Habib. [image: Getty Images / Sean Gallup]

15-May-15 Australia is seeking closer business ties with China in areas such as medical devices, aged care, health information technology, clinical trials, hospital management, pharmaceuticals and health foods. But Australian companies will need to prepare themselves for strong competition as the Chinese government pushes hospitals to use more domestically made medical devices. [image: The Conversation_Lukas Coch / AAP]