The Privacy-Related Challenges Facing Medical Research in an Era of Big Data Analytics: A Critical Analysis of Australian Legal and Regulatory Frameworks.

This article examines the Australian approach to handling the complex privacy issues raised by Big Data analytics in health research. It analyses the privacy challenges posed by Big Data analytics and considers the privacy-related issues pertaining to the secondary use of health data for research purposes. It also examines the Australian regulatory regimes governing secondary uses of health data for research purposes contained in privacy legislation and human research guidelines, and includes a critique of a new criminal offence for re-identification of de-identified datasets proposed by the Australian Government.

The CDM-Net Project: The Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Broadband-Based Network for Managing Chronic Disease.

Background. In Australia most chronic disease management is funded by Medicare Australia through General Practitioner Management Plans (GPMPs) and Team Care Arrangements (TCAs). Identified barriers may be reduced effectively using a broadband-based network known as the Chronic Disease Management Service (CDMS).

Electronic care plans and medicolegal liability.

Background: Government policy encourages the use of care plans in general practice, and developments in information technology have the potential to facilitate their use via a shared electronic care plan. Sharing a comprehensive set of patient data raises privacy issues and questions about the nature and extent of potential liability.

Methods: A round table discussion was held with participants purposively selected for expertise in their fields.

Patients rarely detect breaches of confidence.

Objective: To measure the prevalence of patient reported breaches of confidence emanating from health services in South Australia.

Methods: A community household survey with follow up telephone interviews of those reporting unauthorised disclosures. Recruitment interviews were conducted during October and November 2001 with 3037 South Australian residents over 15 years of age.

HealthConnect and privacy: a policy conundrum.

A shared electronic health record is intrinsically privacy-invasive because it creates a comprehensive record for information-sharing. The author explains the significance of information privacy and why it is that health information warrants special protection. She also provides an overview of the existing regulatory framework and an evaluation of suggested options and proposals for addressing privacy-related issues.

Health Privacy: The Draft Australian National Health Privacy Code and the Shared Longitudinal Electronic Health Record.

An explicit distinction between shared electronic health records and those at the point of care is required when referring to electronic health records. The former raises particular privacy issues discussed in this paper in relation to Health Connect and the Draft Australian National Health Privacy Code. In addition to a number of revisions to the code, the analysis recommends that related legislation such as archival and freedom of information law should be reconciled as much as possible within the code, so that a long-term view of the uses, retention and preservation of the longitudinal electronic health record is balanced with privacy, confidentiality and public interest.

Disclosing health information breaches of confidence, privacy and the notion of the "treating team".

The authors utilise cases collected during a randomised population survey to illustrate some of the legal and policy issues concerning routine transfers of information between treating practitioners. Their analysis suggests that implied consent for many routine uses of health information should not be assumed. An important part of consent to health information disclosure is the patients' ability to tailor its scope and content.