THE Gillard government has abandoned any intention of creating
an independent oversight body for the future operation of its
controversial personally controlled e-health record system, due to
launch on July 1.
Instead, the official operator of the $500m nationwide network will be
the Secretary of the federal Health Department – mooted in legislation
currently before parliament as an interim position until key governance
issues can be resolved, including greater public accountability.
A broad range of bodies, including the Consumers Health Forum, the Australian Privacy Foundation, the Pharmacy Guild, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, the Medical Software Industry Association and individual vendors have called for the establishment of a broad-based new PCEHR governance structure.
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