Skip to main content
Digital Health & Innovations

Allied Health Link Round Up Blog – August 2021

We here at ALLIED HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES are looking to save you time wherever we can … on that note, here is our monthly LINK ROUND UP BLOG for your perusing pleasure!

Anything you want to be featured or chased up?  Let us know!  We produce this awesome round-up blog at the end of every month…

Featuring DIGITAL HEALTH & INNOVATIONS this month..

Why is digital technology important in healthcare?

Healthcare professionals see and feel the need to switch to digital but often they don’t have the tools for this shift. Check out these useful resources & learn more about Digital Health… 

Leadership

VCU researchers are using VR ‘games’ as exercise therapy for individuals with Parkinson’s – VCU NEWS

You’d call them games. Researchers call them interventions for patients with movement disorders. 

Thomas leads a team of multidisciplinary researchers at VCU’s Motor Control Lab in the College of Health Professions who are developing immersive VR games to help those with trunk control impairments caused by orthopedic or neurological conditions to get moving.  Read the full article here…

VR ‘games with parkinsons
Image credit to Jeff Kelley

Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control

Prosthetic enables a wide range of daily activities, such as zipping a suitcase, shaking hands, and petting a cat. The researchers found the prosthetic, designed with a system for tactile feedback, restored some primitive sensation in a volunteer’s residual limb. The new design is also surprisingly durable, quickly recovering after being struck with a hammer or run over with a car. Read more..

52 Women-Led Startups Driving The Future Of HealthTech And FemTech

The increased visibility of women in technology leadership roles is a positive first step in transforming the ways we think about, build and apply emerging technologies to improve health and wellbeing. Check out these inspiring women leading the way in HealthTech.

As described in the draft WHO 2020–2024 Global Strategy, the term “digital health” refers to “the field of knowledge and practice associated with any aspect of adopting digital technologies to improve health,” and incorporates the subdomains of eHealth, medical informatics, health informatics, telemedicine, telehealth and mHealth, as well as data analytics, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Resources

Coordikids

CoordiKids is a digital course for parents to use at home to complement their child’s therapy. Providing digital courses are convenient for busy parents, and offers accessibility to rural families.  CoordiKids Courses are recommended by allied health professionals to engage the child at home in developmentally sequenced exercise courses which includes posture, balance, bilateral integration and sequencing, eye movement control, hand and finger exercises, lip and mouth exercises towards improved fine and gross coordination, motor planning and subsequently working memory and executive functioning.  Improved attention and emotional regulation are seen in most participants.  Click to find out more.. 

CoordiKids Post

Theratrack

Theratrak is a digital application dedicated to making it easy to prescribe effective home programs. The platform offers Allied Health therapists a mobile app to create customised home programmes for clients.  Using a database of over 200 preloaded paediatric and common occupational therapy activities, therapists can log on and immediately begin prescribing therapeutic programmes tailored to each client’s needs and goals – done in the comfort and convenience of their own home. Their programmes are completely secure and confidential within the clinicians’ portals. Progress monitoring tools are included within the platform, making it a valuable tool for digitizing healthcare across multidisciplinary teams.  Learn more…

Resources for Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and other Allied Health Professionals

Umbo is an online platform that connects allied health professionals to children who struggle to access them. Umbo provides a FREE online training course for allied health professionals who want to learn the latest evidence-based practices for delivering therapy online. It’s suitable for any healthcare professional who wants to transition from face-to-face to online, and is written by Umbo Co-Founder Ed Johnson, one of very few experts in the field. Learn more…

DevaWorld

Deva World was built from the ground up with a residential community receiving full-time memory care, informed by dementia therapy best practices.

The caregiver/player relationship is integrated at the design level. This joint experience is key to players’ improved mood and sense of wellbeing.

The project was developed by Australian creative media-maker and social-scientist, Mandy Salomon PhD, who, while researching online virtual communities at Melbourne’s Swinburne University, observed that people can be more themselves in a virtual world than they can in the actual world.

HealthTech

Reimagining Healthcare is a podcast series about innovation in the healthcare industry hosted by Yianni Serpanos.  Tune in to listen and learn from the healthtech and healthcare innovators about how they’re reimagining and building a world of seamless digital healthcare experiences.

APPS

Autism Apps

This website has been developed by the Autism Association of Western Australia in response to the many parents, teachers and individuals who have asked us how to effectively use technology to support a person with Autism. Find an app now!

First Aid App

The Red Cross First Aid app is a free, comprehensive pocket guide to first aid and CPR, giving you access to the most up to date first aid information anytime, anywhere. 

While I’m Away App By EMERGING MINDS

The While I’m Away app has been designed by Emerging Minds to help parents support the mental health and wellbeing of their child, should they need to be cared for by someone else (e.g. if a parent needs to go into hospital, travel for work, or is separated from their child for any period of time). The app guides parents through a series of questions that captures the most important information about their children including key people, daily routines, interests, hobbies, medical information and more.

Responsive Behaviour App By Dementia Training Australia

This FREE Responsive Behavious App is suitable for health professionals working with people with dementia. Underpinned by a person-centred approach, this app will help you look up common responsive behaviours, find approaches to help you problem solve and address responsive behaviours and help prevent them.

Allied Health Support Services has a library of FREE resources, including webinars and presentations, for health professionals! Topics range from business and marketing to neurological rehabilitation and paediatrics.  Sign up today to access amazing resources, podcasts, webinars and blogs for FREE! 

PRIVATE PRACTICE

WHAT VIDEO PLATFORMS ARE SUITABLE FOR TELEHEALTH? BY KAREN FINNIN

Why is platform quality important?  Ensuring security and confidentiality of patient data has always been a legal requirement for health professionals. With the health industry’s rapid shift to telehealth, this principle remains unchanged. As we introduce video consultations to our practice, the selection of a safe and secure video platform is therefore paramount. Karen Finnin, Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist and Director of Online.Physio have listed platforms which appear to be good options for telehealth. Find out more…

TRANSITIONING TO YOUR OWN PRACTICE BY AUGMENTUM CONSULTING

When you’re interested in starting your own Medical or Allied Health practice, where do you start? What information do you need and what initial decisions do you need to make? After working with lots of clients looking to transition from healthcare employee or associate to practice owner, Augmentum Consulting put together some points to help you kick things off. They’ll help no matter what stage you’re at, and set you up to successfully take the next steps. Read more… 

5 WAYS TO RESTRUCTURE YOUR PRIVATE PRACTICE BY THERAPYNOTES

There is no doubt about it: we have all experienced A LOT of change over this past year. COVID, social distancing, and masks are the norm nowadays. We are interacting with others in much different ways, and it has caused a lot of us in private practice to rethink how we deliver our services and the structure of our practices. The possibilities can seem overwhelming, so where do you start?  TherapyNotes have shared the 5 ways to consider restructuring your practice.

Therapy For Your Money Podcast

A podcast about money and finances for therapists in private practice. The podcast is hosted by Julie Herres, the CEO and Senior Accountant of GreenOak Accounting. Julie discusses financial topics with a wide variety of guests, and helps her listeners make data driven decisions to help their businesses. Check out the podcast episodes here. 

Peruse our blog offerings of interest for those working in the Allied Health community… click here!

Research and Literature

Use of digital healthcare solutions for care delivery during a pandemic – chances and (cyber) risks referring to the example of the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to highlight the needs and sharpen the awareness that decisions regarding the adoption of digital health systems should be based on a comprehensive/ holistic assessment of both costs and risks. The researchers therefore give an overview of the chances and risks arising from the adoption of digital technologies with a special focus on healthcare during pandemics. 

Kaiser, F.K., Wiens, M. & Schultmann, F. Health Technol. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-021-00541-x 

Health & Wellness

How to Restore Depleted Energy And Get More Done by Love Grow Be Happy

Do you often feel tired and wish you could be more energetic and able to take better advantage of your time? Read on for ideas you can try to get your energy back. 

Five Ways to Reduce the “Have To’s” in Your Life by Becoming A Minimalist

We make choices, we decide what our priorities are, and we give up certain things to gain others. Adding more and more to our list of “have to’s” is killing us. Because if everything matters, then nothing matters. Here are some ideas from becoming minimalist guest blog that you can try to eliminate many of the “have to’s” in your life.

Allied Health Events

31st World Congress

The IASP World Congress is the primary global collaborative opportunity for expert thinking related to suicide and suicide prevention, bringing together academics, researchers, practitioners, those with lived experience, diverse backgrounds, and innovators associated with suicide prevention efforts or working within suicide prevention related topics. 

Date: 21st – 24th September

2021 SMA e-Conference

In a first for SMA, the e-Conference will be delivered in a new and innovative way online seeing the conference feature two elements, Summit and Showcase. The e-Conference will be available to delegates all around the world for the first time in SMA history!

Date: 8th – 9th October 

2021 Learning Difficulties Conference

The Biennial 2021 Joint Conference for Learning Difficulties is hosted by Speld Qld, LSTAQ and LDA. The theme for this year’s Conference is Relevance and Revelations: Responding to Learning Difficulties. The conference will consist of both formal presentations and a series of interactive workshops.

Date: 16th – 17th September

SDA Conference 2021

As a result of the pandemic, the SDA Board and the 2021 Conference Committee have transitioned the conference to a completely virtual event in October. The great news is that our programmed speakers will continue. Find out more…

Date: 15th – 16th October 

FEATURED EVENT

Australian Allied Health Awards

As a result of the pandemic, we have had to transition our gala to a completely VIRTUAL PLATFORM to ensure everyone’s safety … It is NOW that we must, more than ever, show UNWAVERING SUPPORT for each other and RECOGNISE all the INCREDIBLE LIFE-CHANGING work that is happening across the Australian Allied Health community!

Join us for the Allied Health night of nights, now from the comfort of your own home OR we encourage you (as able!) to get together with your teams to celebrate! Grab your ticket here.

Allied Health Support Services FREE weekly NEWSLETTER provides you with information related to professional updates, events, research, resources and links to help broaden our collective knowledge … sign up today! 

Sarena Jones

Director @ Allied Health Support Services

Founder @Australian Allied Health Awards

sarena@alliedhealthsupport.com.au

Like & Follow Us

Follow Allied Health Support On Facebook   Follow Allied Health Support On Twitter   Follow Allied Health Support On Instagram   Follow Allied Health Support On LinkedIn

Share This Article

Leave A Comment

Recent Post

Archives

Archives
Digital Health & Innovations