GOVERNANCE, SAFETY AND QUALITY OF DIGITAL HEALTH PRODUCTS
With
Chris Boyd-Skinner,
Chief Executive Officer
Digital Health Standards Council of Australasia
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney | August 2026
Chris Boyd-Skinner is Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Health Standards Council of Australasia (DHSCA). He is an experienced digital health and governance expert, having led national and international clinical governance in digital health and AI initiatives for the Australian Government.
He is practicing registered nurse with over 15 years’ experience in critical care and consults to the World Health Organization’s Greece Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety Office. As a founding member of the IEEE Standards Association Ethical Assurance of Data-Driven Technologies for Mental Healthcare sub-committee, hosted at Cambridge University and the Alan Turing Institute, his interests span AI governance, patient safety for healthcare technologies and clinical governance in health and care settings.
Chris led implementation of Australia’s National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health (NSQDHM) Standards, and holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in nursing alongside a dual Master of International Public Health and Health Management from UNSW.
In 2022, Chris was the recipient of the distinguished Winston Churchill Fellowship, exploring global models for safety and quality in digital mental health technologies.
Source: Supplied
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Nuclear medicine funding a win for men with prostate cancer
Australian men with higher risk prostate cancer now have access to a nuclear medicine scan to help detect and treat metastatic disease, after it was listed on the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) from 1st July 2022.
In 2021 over 18,000 Australian men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, resulting in over 3,000 lives being lost – and making prostate cancer Australia’s second most common cause of cancer death in men.
Australian Health Journal spoke with AANMS President Associate Professor Sze Ting Lee and Dr Geoff Schembri on the MBS listing and the efforts to get it listed.
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Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Synopsis, including modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors
Talking to the Australian Health Journal, Professor Russo states there is a particular concern in joint operations, such as hip or knee replacements, as infections in these areas can have severe consequences, including the removal of the infected joint, prolonged treatment, and significant costs for both hospitals and patients. Despite the substantial impact of surgical site infections, Australia lacks a national surveillance program for these infections, making it challenging to obtain accurate data. However, an estimate suggests that around 45,000 surgical site infections occur annually in Australia, resulting in approximately 900 deaths.
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Intervention in hearing loss for patients
In her role as an audiologist and trainer, Lauren McNee emphasises the urgency of addressing sudden hearing loss, highlighting the time-sensitive nature of available treatment options. She advises healthcare professionals, including GPs, pharmacists, primary care nurses and specialists, to remain vigilant for subtle signs of hearing loss in their patients. Such signs may include difficulty following prescription guidelines, miscommunication during conversations, or non-verbal cues like a tilt of the head or asking for repetitions.
