ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRY HEALTH ALLIANCE TACKLE TOMORROW’S NATIONAL HEALTH CHALLENGES TODAY Trends report identifies prototyping targets for breakthroughs in digital and hybrid futures
With
Vishaal Kishore,
Professor of Innovation and Public Policy
RMIT University &
Executive Chair, RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab &
Director – Impact, RMIT University, Melbourne
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH JOURNAL SEGMENT
Filmed in Melbourne | June 2025
Vishaal Kishore, a Professor of Innovation and Public Policy at RMIT in Melbourne, serves as the Executive Chair of the RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab and RMIT’s Director of Impact. Led by the RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab, the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN) Health Alliance combines the best minds, technologists, industry capabilities and academic resources to solve pressing industry and social challenges through technology-driven innovation. The NIIN aims to pool insights and expertise to address national health challenges, marking its first vertical focus on health.
Last year a “Sandbox” was established to serve as a digitally rich collaboration and prototyping studio designed for privacy and security, ready to innovate in aged care and healthcare. The “Sandbox” housed at RMIT-Cisco’s Health Transformation Lab is a digitally-enabled mock care setting where researchers, startups and health system professionals work together on prototypes for the future of health. The Sandbox enables a frictionless pipeline from idea to implementation. The inclusion of autonomous robotics, has created a space where the most futuristic visions for health can be trialled, tested, and translated into practice.
The Health Transformation Lab emphasises user engagement, prioritising the voices of clients and clinicians to design solutions based on their needs rather than assumptions. This practice aims to ensure that any technology developed gains traction in health systems only if it genuinely reflects user requirements.
The NIIN Health Alliance has identified urgent needs in the healthcare system, considering the rapidly evolving technological landscape. As part of their strategic planning, they reviewed nearly 10,000 articles and reports to outline pivotal trends for the future in the publication “Health x Digital Transformation Report 2024-2025”.
In this report, a significant focus has been on the implications of augmented intelligence, remote patient monitoring, digital simulations, adaptable systems, and leveraging advancements in biotechnology, aiming to prepare the healthcare sector for emerging challenges and opportunities in the coming years.
Source: Written from transcript and health transformation lab website by AUDIENCED
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New horizons in unified oral health care
The Oral Health Association of Australia (OHAA) is the peak professional association representing Oral Health Practitioners (dental hygienists, dental therapists and oral health therapists) to support and promote the continued growth and development of oral health across Australia.
In October 2025, OHAA held its inaugural Congress as a new association entity to celebrate and advance the shared goals of the oral health workforce and community. This year’s Congress was held to foster learning, collaboration, and growth in the field of oral health.
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WA and QLD RSV Immunisation programs show drops in infant hospitalisations
RSV is the number one cause of hospitalisation of Australian children under five years of age, according to the Immunisation Foundation of Australia (IFA). There are mounting concerns that Australians at greatest risk of severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV will miss out on protection against the lung infection, with the Federal Government failing to commit to a national RSV immunisation program.
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State of Private Hospitals sector in Australia
During Mr Roff’s working career at APHA he has represented the private hospitals sector to nine different Federal Health Ministers and eight Prime Ministers. He believes the government should take steps to regulate the health insurance industry to protect consumers and ensure that Australians have access to affordable and comprehensive healthcare services.
