eHealth News
AGPN eHealth Conference (updated 1 July 2010)
Melbourne 16-17 June 2010
To read Greg Holden's summary of the conference click here.
To read Dr Oliver Frank's comments on the conference click here.
Presentations from the eHealth Conference can be found at:
http://agpn.com.au/programs/ehealth-and-information-management/agpn-ehealth-conference-2010/1.1
For the most recent details on eHealth in Australia check out this website:
http://www.ehealthinfo.gov.au/. This is an information rich website.
National eHealth Strategy (updated 30 Nov 2009)
In 2008 the Australian Health Ministers commissioned Deloitte to develop a strategic framework and plan to guide national coordination and collaboration in eHealth. The full version of the National eHealth Strategy is now available on the DoHA website.
Previously only a Summary of the Strategy has been publicly available.
Other essential reading is the NEHTA Strategic Plan 2009-2012
eReferrals and Medicare (updated 12 Nov 2009)
The legal standing of electronic referrals has been under question in recent times with regard to the Medicare requirement that an electronic referral be digitally signed with an individual PKI key.
Here is a little background regarding the recently announced changes to the Medicare Australia PKI Notices.
Medicare Australia has recently reviewed its PKI Notices and identified, under the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) 1999, that Medicare Australia does NOT have the authority to mandate how health professionals communicate with each other (provider-to-provider). Medicare Australia is only able to specify how health professionals communicate directly with Medicare Australia - if they wish to do business electronically. The two PKI Notices now more accurately reflect this position.
It appears there still may be some confusion within the health community as to whether this means a health professional is still required to use a Medicare Australia Location Certificate for these message types. While it is not a specific Medicare Australia requirement, discussions with vendors on this topic indicate that the majority are already using Medicare Australia location certificates to secure these message types.
While NEHTA is yet to establish its specific requirements in this area, the use of PKI as the underlying security solution represents "good business practice" and should be encouraged.
In other words, e-referrals should always be encrypted, and best practice suggests a recognised secure messaging system is the way to achieve that. They do not have to be digitally signed with an individual PKI key and Medicare cannot set the rules on how provider-to-provider (i.e. GP to Specialist) communications should work. In accordance with the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 an electronic referral between a GP and a Specialist can be in any format mutually agreed between the communicating parties.
Please Note: Sending patient information via *unencrypted* email breaches medical ethics and the Privacy Act, because unencrypted messages can potentially be read en route at one of the Internet Service Providers through which the message passes. Special purpose secure clinical messaging systems such as Argus and Medical Objects automatically encrypt the message and deliver it into the recipient's clinical software package, eliminating the need for a practice to print, post or fax the referral. These same packages deliver incoming reports into the practice's own clinical in-box in the same way as pathology and medical imaging reports are received, and eliminate handling by practice staff and the need for scanning. Practices should be encouraged to install and use a secure messaging system acquired from a NEHTA Eligible Supplier.
The notices referred to above can be found on the Medicare web site at: http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/business/online/referrals.jsp