Health and medical research in Australia
64.3 The Hon Tony Abbott MP, former Minister for Health and Ageing, noted in 2004 that:Australia is a world leader in health and medical research. On a per capita basis, our research output is twice the OECD average, even though we spend much less, per capita, than the UK or the USA.Investment in health and …
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Read moreAccess to health information
Background63.107 In Breen v Williams,[98] the High Court of Australia unanimously held that health consumers do not have a right of access to their medical records as a matter of common law. Consequently, health consumers must rely on legislation, including the Privacy Act, to provide them with a right of access to the health information …
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Read moreManagement, funding and monitoring of health services
63.176 In its submission to the OPC Review, the NHMRC stated that health information was important in three areas: the provision of health services; management activities related to the provision of health services; and the conduct of research. The NHMRC noted that management activities include, for example: quality assurance; quality improvement; policy development; planning; evaluation; …
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Read moreCollection of health information
Collection of family medical history information by health service providers63.3 NPP 10.1 provides that, subject to a number of exceptions, an organisation must not collect sensitive information without consent. This requirement is also included in the ‘Collection’ principle in the model UPPs.[5] On 21 December 2001, the Privacy Commissioner made two Temporary Public Interest Determinations …
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Read moreUse and disclosure of health information
Use and disclosure for primary and secondary purposes63.63 IPPs 10 and 11 and NPP 2 regulate the use and disclosure of personal information. IPP 10 provides that information, including health information, may be used for the purpose it was collected or a directly related purpose. If it is to be used for any other purpose …
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Read moreConsent
62.72 Consent is a central concept in the Privacy Act—as it is in health ethics—and is of particular importance in dealing with health information because of the sensitive nature of that information. Consent provisions allow individual health consumers a measure of control over the collection, use and disclosure of their health information. This contributes to …
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Read moreDefinition of ‘health service’
62.21 Another definition that is central to the way health information is handled under the Privacy Act is the definition of a ‘health service’. The term ‘health service’ is used in the Privacy Act in a range of circumstances. These include: as part of the definition of ‘health information’; as a limitation on the scope …
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Read moreDiscussion Paper proposals
Electronic health information systems61.21 In the Discussion Paper, Review of Australian Privacy Law (DP 72), the ALRC expressed the view that the collection of health information into electronic health information systems does not necessarily require specific legislative control if the Privacy Act is updated and amended, as proposed in DP 72. The collection of health …
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Read moreMedicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits databases
61.36 The Australian Government databases containing personal information collected in connection with claims under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program and the Medicare Benefits Program are examples of national electronic health records. These databases are subject to specific privacy controls over and above those set out in the Privacy Act, including binding guidelines issues by the Privacy …
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Read moreIntroduction
60.1 In 2004, the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA) stated that:Privacy is a fundamental principle underpinning quality health care. Without an assurance that personal health information will remain private, people may not seek the health care they need which may in turn increase the risks to their own health and the health …
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