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Health NZ said the new database would allow health professionals to see the allergies and medical conditions of a patient.
Photo: 123rf
Doctors are seeking more information about a national patient registration database that Health NZ plans to launch in the middle of the year.
A Primary Care Clinic in Auckland threatened its legal action software provider if it shared “even a single patient record” with Health NZ, for its new shared digital health record.
The database, which had initial financing of $ 4 million, was pointed out as a solution to electronic disc sharing problems in different parts of the New Zealand health system.
Health NZ said it would give health professionals the ability to see allergies, the medical conditions of a patient and any contact they had with health professionals.
Procare Health Supplier’s clinical director Allan Moffitt said it was such an expected initiative that – in general – he supported strongly.
However, given the deadline, he said there seemed to be lack of details.
“[Health NZ] I didn’t really have a substantial appointment with the industry, as well as some people centrally and the public.
“It is really important to take people with us on this journey and that there does not seem to have a hidden agenda.”
The shared digital health registration would help to keep patients safe, he said.
“You end up with people who don’t have to repeat their stories so much because the main information is there … it is less likely to occur in terms of accidental damage to drug interactions or allergies.”
Moffitt said his understanding was that the database would include health summaries, but not detailed GP notes.
This would be based on the shared electronic systems in Canterbury, Auckland and Wellington, and the Hira Health Information Sharing Program, which was discarded last year.
Health NZ said it would not take data without permission and, once the system, patients could choose not to participate.
But at Auckland, Silverdale Medical CEO Ranyani Perera said she was concerned about Health NZ would ignore her private office and ask for information directly from her software provider when creating the system.
“Power and control should remain with the patient, and it is the provider’s duty to protect the patient against improper damage. Many damage can reach people when their private information is made available on massive systems.”
In an email to the Software Provider Valentia Technologies, Perera said most patients opposed their data being shared.
“Let it be clear: If even a single record of Silverdale medical patients is transferred to this structure, we will consider a material violation of our contract with bravery.
“In addition, we will support our patients to follow a process of collective action against all participating parts,” she wrote.
Perera told RNZ Valentia Technologies had done nothing wrong – but she wanted to make her position clear.
She said there should be a national conversation about the system.
“My main concern is the right to control patients and engagement throughout the public about the public? Do the public accept this? The public think it is their best interest? I would say no. If it was my family, I would say I would choose not to participate.”
Perera said many patients were already uncomfortable with the administrative team accessing their records, “much less government agencies with a bad history of ensuring health -sensitive data.”
Allan Moffitt, who is also president of New Zealand’s general practice with New Zealand’s Digital Committee, said he was confident that the information would be safely stored.
But he said he would like NZ Health to do more to protect the database against unauthorized access.
“I think protection against this is an audit process. I have not seen anything from the Health NZ about what kind of audit process is happening to ensure that there is no unauthorized access,” he said.
Health NZ refused RNZ’s interview request and sent a written statement from the interim information technology director Darren Douglass.
He said Heath NZ was working to make practices and the public more aware of what he intended to do and wanted contributions from practices and suppliers about the information he would gather.
“We recognize that plans for the new system are not yet widely known and are working to make practices and the public more conscious than we intend to do,” he said.
Douglass said that Health NZ would not get data without permission and no one would be forced to provide personal information if they do not want.
“There are robust processes to manage who can access health systems, and all data access and use will be registered and retained. This will be monitored and consumers will be able to see who accessed their registration.”
Douglass said Health NZ did not ask software suppliers to share any production health information, but has been working with these suppliers for over a year “to ensure that doctors can see a patient’s clinical record to support continuity of care.”
Valentia Technologies told RNZ that it dedicated itself to protecting the privacy of clients and patients and supporting the “responsible, and necessary legal sharing.”
Technical Service President Ahmed Javad said the company formally responded to Perera “confirming our opinion that the problems raised at the letter’s address is important that they are out of our direct control and are better discussed with government organizations such as Health New Zealand in the first instance.
“While we regret how this subject has surfaced and the unfortunate involvement of our company, we accept that there are important issues for discussion among all stakeholders of the sector,” he said.
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