Brendon Nafziger reports:
Australians are set to get a health ID number, laying the groundwork for a national electronic health records system.
Introduced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Labor government February 10, the legislation calls for all Australian residents to receive a special 16-digit code, called an Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI).
The number, while mandatory, will not be linked with any health records. If electronic health records do become national, they will be purely voluntary, the government insists.
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