Information Commissioners office report on data management and security practices by adoption agencies and general practitioners. Useful insights for practices to be followed and deficiencies watched for in the Australian context.

February 10, 2014

The Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK has produced 2 interesting reports of data maintenance by independent fostering and adoption agencies and general practitioners and primary healthcare providers.  The reports highlight positives and negatives  on data handling and security processes in each industry group.  The general practitioners and primary healthcare providers seem to have been more compliant than foster and adoption agencies.

Given the soon to be expanded role of the Privacy Commissioner and a more assertive regulation of data management and data security the findings by the ICO should be noted, studied and implemented. Each jurisdiction may have particular issues however many good data management and privacy enhancing processes are universal.

Regading data management, security and privacy issues warranting concern and requiring improvement the ICO made the following comments:

Akolade seminar on Health & Aged Care Law Fundamentals Mitigating practitioners’ risks whilst ensuring legislative compliance to new changes

November 27, 2013

Today I delivered a paper on Privacy and health records.

The topics I covered were:

Patient privacy and confidential record management Read the rest of this entry »

Software firms not getting information on the Health ID Plan

February 17, 2010

In yesterday’s Australian there is a report that software writers are yet to see full technical specifications for the planned healthcare identifier regime due to start on July 1 provided enabling legislation introduced by Health Minister Nicola Roxon last week .  According to the report the Medical Software Industry Association have yet to see the system developed by the National E -Health Transition Authority.  That is a worry.  The benefits of putting medical records on an electronic system are obvious.  The privacy concerns are equally obvious. Whether it achieves the former and deals with the latter depends on its practical implementation.  Just taking about it is not enough.  A classic example was a recent episode on the ABC radio program Australia Talks.  Lots of talking by the main proponents, includng Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, but it was all just that.

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