Health networks are struggling to take responsibility for the safety of patients’ data, as their own customers increasingly seek to access sensitive medical information.
Key points: Health networks have to make more use of data privacy laws to ensure it is protected from misuse and fraud, and are already having to change how they use itA new wave of data breaches are threatening to shake the foundations of the health network, with patients and insurers worried about their privacy and the quality of care.
Key points:Health networks have been under pressure to make use of the data privacy law, which allows hospitals and other healthcare providers to share patient records with one another, to ensure patient safetyThe new wave is prompting health authorities to reconsider the use of personal data in the network, while the Australian Medical Association is calling for changes to the way healthcare is delivered.
As hospitals have become more sophisticated about using data, it has become increasingly difficult for hospitals to take a proactive approach to protecting patient data.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has reported that there are now three times as many data breaches than there were in 2013, as breaches at Australian hospitals were reported to the NHMRC.
This has resulted in hospitals increasingly using data for other purposes.
For example, patients and their families may want to access their GP’s medical history, and so data collected by the GP could be used by insurers and doctors to improve care.
But it is also increasingly important to keep patient privacy in mind, as patients increasingly want to know who is accessing their data and what it is being used for.
The Australian Medical Practitioners Association (AMA) has said it is not happy with the “very lax” privacy policies of hospitals, which it believes could lead to patients being “surprised and distressed” when they find out their medical records have been accessed by others.
Dr John D’Alesio from the AMA’s Health and Wellbeing Policy Advisory Group said that hospitals had to take action to make sure that patient privacy was not compromised, including using new measures like requiring doctors to disclose when they have used data, or sharing personal data with insurers.
“It’s not just the health networks that are struggling with this, it’s the broader health care sector as well,” Dr D’Alesio said.
“I’m worried about this happening to other sectors too, where data is being misused and the privacy of the patients’ health information is being violated.”
This is what we’re seeing in the GP and hospital sector, as well as the tertiary care sector.
“Health networks are under pressure and it’s going to be difficult for them to take that step, but it’s also a question of ensuring the data is protected and that the patients are protected.”‘
Health data should be protected from the breach’Dr D’Ansario said that even if the health industry could secure the privacy rights of patients, that was not necessarily enough.
“What is the right way to use a patient’s data, and how can you make sure it’s protected?” he said.
While the AMA and other organisations have called for data privacy legislation, there is a debate about what exactly should be in it.
Dr D”s view is that it should be much more of a framework than just having a few laws, and a very, very stringent set of regulations,” he said.
“The current laws are not strong enough.
They’re not strong in the way they protect patients, and the regulations have not kept up with what’s happening.”
The government has to do something to protect patients and protect their privacy, because that’s really where the health data should really be protected.
“Dr D”s group is also calling for a new approach to data security in the health sector, which they believe should include the sharing of patient data with health insurers and third parties.
The new push is a response to a wave of new data breaches, as more and more patients and patients’ organisations are becoming more sophisticated in how they share and use their data.”
There are a lot of organisations that have very good and strong privacy protections in place, but now the data breach situation is getting more serious,” Dr C”sao said.”[They need to] develop a framework that’s better, more robust, and better able to protect the privacy and protection of patients data.”
Topics:health,health-policy,privacy-and-security,technology,law-crime-and‑justice,community-and%E2%80%93-50,australia
