Page 643 - Week 02 - Thursday, 23 March 2023
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MR COCKS: Minister, why did you not have stronger protocols in place, given there had been a previous breach in the same area?
MS DAVIDSON: What Mr Cocks is going to there is the individual circumstances of how it was possible for this information to be shared by a staff members within a mental health team. That is the subject of ongoing police and external investigations. I have explained to Mr Cocks previously how important it is that the police—
Mr Cocks: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker, on relevance. The question was not at all to do with the current scenario. The question was about why the minister has not put in place stronger protocols already.
MR ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Cocks. Mr Cocks has a point. If we could try to get you to be relevant to the question.
MS DAVIDSON: We do have strong processes and procedures in place to protect patient data and to make sure that all staff involved understand their obligations and how to comply with their obligations and protect patient privacy. Staff have been reminded regularly of what the procedures are, and it is possible for them to go and refresh their knowledge at any time using the material that is accessible on their intranet.
Canberra Health Services—data security
MS CASTLEY: Mr Assistant Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, if private, personal information has been provided to a union in one area of the health system over a number of years, what evidence can you provide to show that this has not occurred in other areas across the health system?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Castley for the question. There is absolutely no evidence that this has occurred in any other area of the health system. I would encourage the opposition to not engage in these scare tactics which will only create concern for people who are accessing our health services. What I can say as well to Ms Castley is that the recent implementation of the Digital Health Record has resulted in a step change in the security of health records and the traceability of any access to those records and any downloading or sharing of those records. So data export capabilities in this system, which has replaced 40 other electronic and paper based systems, are tied to the role-based model to control and the strict reporting capabilities out of the Digital Health Record. That is a step change in ensuring that patient data is protected and that if anyone were to be trying to use, download or share patient data in an inappropriate way, that would be much more easily identified and tracked.
MS CASTLEY: Have you asked CHS to investigate whether there have been privacy breaches before DHR, since this has been going on for years?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I have had a number of conversations with Canberra Health Services about the wider implications of this particular issue. As Ms Davidson has already talked about, it is a very specific issue that is isolated to a small number of staff accessing and sharing the records of a number of consumers in a particular area. There is absolutely no indication, and no reason to believe—and nothing in any other
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