The Australian Privacy Foundation has written to the Victorian Department of Health over reports that 500 iPads are to be provided to graduate doctors and nurses. Noting the potential benefits of such technology, APF honed in on a few key privacy and security and issues.
In a letter signed by Roger Clarke, the group asks Andrew Howard, Chief CIO for the Department of Health, whether the pilot study reportedly being conducted was ever approved by an research ethics review board. It also asks whether there’s been a privacy impact assessment, and:
APF understands that many of the staff involved are academic-clinicians and are staff of both Alfred Health and Monash University. APF further understands that Monash uses Google as its email-provider.
What consideration has been given to the proprietary nature of both the Apple and Google services and data formats, and the data security aspects of the services, in the context of inter-operable information sharing