Tory Shepherd reports:
Privacy fears over Federal Government plans to put personal medical details in a national health database have been ignored and personal information put at risk.
An ex-employee of the National E-Health Transition Authority says he quit in disgust after his concerns about the system were ignored.
A privacy expert says hackers will target the “honeypot” of information and the Australian Privacy Foundation warns the draft legislation contains “defects” and ignores important privacy concerns.
The Government will assign unique healthcare “identifiers” to patients, allowing doctors and other health workers to access individuals’ health information.
Software developer Peter West, who left NEHTA in September, says centralising the information will make it easier for hackers to access and increase the chance of abuse by medical staff. He says he is one of several people who have quit amid privacy concerns.
Read more on AdelaideNow.com.au.