After a successful trial, the Institute — which pioneers the prevention and cure of melanoma through world-class research, treatment and education programs — is deploying the software to enable researchers to securely share critical research data and patient records in a heavily regulated environment, ultimately helping in the advancement of skin cancer research.   

BlackBerry Workspaces is being used by MIA as the secure file storage and collaboration platform for its clinicians, researchers and external stakeholders. Approved contributors in the network, such as scientists and doctors at different hospitals, can use BlackBerry Workspaces to save and share data from medical histories and clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of treatments and interventions.

The encrypted collaboration platform will enable researchers to share timely clinical data, reduce the risk of data leakage, improve patient outcomes and accelerate research efforts.

Ernie White, chief information officer, Melanoma Institute of Australia, said, “Our priority is to advance the treatment of melanoma, so any new technology must support the clinical journey for our clinicians, not interrupt it”.

“As we continue to expand our research network, Melanoma Institute Australia is accelerating how our researchers can freely collaborate in a very regulated environment, while maintaining data integrity. BlackBerry Workspaces strikes that balance between security and ease-of-use, while helping to meet data compliance and our own digital transformation goals.”

New data from the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Globocan 2018 database shows that Australia and New Zealand had the highest risk in the world.  

The data shows that melanoma accounts for 75% of all skin cancer deaths in Australia, and costs the healthcare system $201 million every year, but this is not isolated.  Invasive melanoma rates have also increased by annually by 3% in the US, UK, Sweden and Norway.

Sara Jost, Global Healthcare Industry lead at BlackBerry, said, “BlackBerry works with health and research organisations around the world, protecting data, managing risk and improving efficiencies to help doctors, clinicians and researchers treat patients and save lives. We are excited to see how BlackBerry Workspaces will support the world-class Melanoma Institute Australia to securely connect its network to advance research outcomes in Australia for a growing global health issue.”   

John Paitaridis, managing director of Optus Business, said, “Healthcare is regularly in the spotlight as one of the most vulnerable sectors to data breaches here in Australia.

“Optus wants to help change that by partnering with industry-leading organizations to help our customers to shore up defences and provide secure and trusted solutions that help them make that leap from legacy systems to digital transformation. We’re pleased to partner with BlackBerry and Melanoma Institute Australia to implement BlackBerry Workspaces to mitigate security risks, increase collaboration and accelerate outcomes.”