A step closer to e-health
The government has introduced a bill that would see every Australian receive a healthcare identifier
The federal government has introduced a bill to parliament that would establish individual healthcare identifiers (IHIs).
Under the proposed legislation, every Australian person and healthcare provider would receive a 16-digit number by the middle of the year.
IHIs will form an important precursor to an e-health system by enabling the secure and accurate exchange of health information between providers.
“IHIs are essential in creating a single process to accurately and consistently identify patients and healthcare providers,” said health minister, Nicola Roxon.
“For example, when a patient visits their GP for a checkup, the identifying number on their health record is different to the number at the pharmacy where they have their prescription filled or the pathology laboratory where they have their blood tests done.
“The establishment of IHIs spells the end of this fragmented approach which causes inaccuracies and inefficiencies in the health system and puts patients at a higher risk of mismatched records and duplicate medical tests.”
The government will make amendments to the Privacy Act to give the Federal Privacy Commissioner the authority to act against people or corporations which misuse IHIs.
Ms Roxon said the expansion of the Privacy Commissioner’s powers demonstrated the government’s determination to uphold privacy and security under an e-health system.
