The healthcare identifiers legislation is due to be debated in the Senate tomorrow. Establishing a unique healthcare identifier is an important piece of the architecture for e-health and will help drive improvements in patient safety and medical communication.
The Federal Opposition have indicated that we support e-health and support the principle of the legislation which will establish a unique healthcare identifier and the healthcare identifier service.
However, as Coalition Senators highlighted in the Senate report on this Bill, the current legislation as drafted is too broad and has the potential to lead to ‘function creep’. The Rudd Government has done too much by way of regulation, instead of by legislation.
The Coalition amendments seek to:
- Prescribe the requirements for assigning a Healthcare Identifier to a healthcare provider or recipient as a Schedule in the Bill;
- Confirm that the operator of the health identifying service can only be changed by legislation;
- Provide a guarantee of a right of appeal or review under section 9 of the proposed legislation; and
- Delete the provisions which allow the healthcare identifier to be released if permitted under any other law.
The Health Minister has significantly backed down from the original legislation but the Coalition believes the Rudd Government need to go much further to ensure important privacy protections and prevent function creep.
The Coalition believes these amendments significantly improve the legislation and urges the Rudd Government to support them. A copy of the amendments is below.
2008-2009-2010
The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia
THE SENATE
Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010
(Amendments to be moved by Senator Fierravanti-Wells on behalf of the Opposition in committee of the whole)
(1) Clause 6, page 5 (lines 10 to 12), subclause (2) TO BE OPPOSED.
[remove power to prescribe service operator]
(2) Clause 9, page 7 (lines 6 and 7), omit paragraph (a), substitute:
(a) individual healthcare providers who are registered by a registration authority as members of a health profession; or
(aa) individual healthcare providers who are members of a professional association that:
(i) relates to the healthcare that has been, is, or is to be provided by the members; and
(ii) has uniform national membership requirements, whether or not in legislation; or
[legislated definition of healthcare provider]
(3) Clause 9, page 8 (lines 3 to 6), omit subsection (5), substitute:
(5) The service operator may request an individual healthcare provider to provide the following information before assigning the healthcare provider a healthcare identifier:
(a) identifying information about the individual healthcare provider;
(b) information that shows that the healthcare provider is in a class of healthcare provider mentioned in paragraph 9(1)(a) or (aa).
Note: Identifying information is defined in section 7.
(5A) The service operator may request a healthcare provider organisation to provide the following information:
(a) identifying information about the healthcare provider organisation;
(b) information that shows that the healthcare provider organisation is in a class of organisation mentioned in paragraph 9(1)(a) or (aa);
(c) information identifying its responsible officer and organisation maintenance officer, including the person’s name, work address, work email address, work phone number or work fax number.
(5B) A healthcare provider or healthcare provider organisation must give the information requested by the service operator under this section in the form in which it is requested.
Example: A healthcare provider may be asked for original documentation, or for the information to be given in writing or in a statutory declaration.
(5C) If the service operator is not satisfied by the information given in response to a request under this section, it does not have to assign a healthcare identifier to the healthcare provider.
[requirements for assigning identifier]
(4) Clause 9, page 8 (after line 6), before subsection (6), insert:
(5D) Applications may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of:
(a) decisions of the service operator under subsection (1); and
(b) decisions of a national registration authority under subsection (2);
in relation to the assignment of healthcare identifiers.
[review of decisions]
(5) Clause 12, page 9 (lines 23 and 24), paragraph (2)(c) TO BE OPPOSED.
[remove power to prescribe data sources]
(6) Clause 15, page 10 (line 30) to page 11 (line 5), omit subclause (2), substitute:
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the person uses or discloses the information for the purpose for which the information was disclosed to the person.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (2): see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.
[limit disclosures of information]
(7) Clause 26, page 17 (line 22 and 23), paragraph (2)(b) TO BE OPPOSED.
[limit disclosures of information]