2501B - networks IV ? privacy and e-health I

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2501B



The national e-health transition authority (NEHTA) has been set up in Australia to facilitate the move to an e-health system. This move is one of the key drivers behind the proposed National Broadband Network.


Microsoft and Google already have online tools for managing an individual’s health record. NEHTA has decided that these market-based solutions are not appropriate for the Australian context, but some UK politicians have recently suggested it would be a good approach. In America, representatives from these technology giants have criticised the Obama administration’s plans for health information technology, as they involve large connected databases instead of a web-based cloud computing solution.


Trust of the patient in the privacy of their potentially sensitive health information has been highlighted as the main issue in all these cases. Unauthorised access to their medical records is a concern for most people and if a digital record can be retrieved from anywhere across the network, as opposed to a paper file located in only one place, the opportunities for a breach of privacy are greater, while health care workers are looking forward to having the entire medical history of a patient easily accessible in the one place, slashing duplication of unnecessary tests and ineffective treatments.







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