{"id":643,"date":"2019-01-24T16:48:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T06:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev2.e-cbd.com\/abkj\/articles\/?p=643"},"modified":"2019-11-08T11:51:26","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T01:51:26","slug":"my-health-record-potential-safety-risks-for-victims-of-domestic-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abkj.com.au\/articles\/my-health-record-potential-safety-risks-for-victims-of-domestic-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"My Health Record: Potential safety risks for victims of domestic violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most members of the general population, the Australian Government\u2019s new online health database will simply be a convenient centralised electronic catalogue, containing patients\u2019 information and histories, available for access by authorized health professionals. \u00a0The My Health Record system, which is opt-out<\/em> (meaning that all Australians who do not actively opt-out will have a personal profile created on the system) promises to facilitate more comprehensive, thorough and accountable patient file management for Australian patients. However, the concept of the system has not been introduced without criticism: growing concerns, particularly with respect to cybersecurity and patient privacy, led to a Senate Inquiry late last year. Now, with only one week until the launch of the system, further concerns have been raised.<\/p>\n

Organisations such as the Women\u2019s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) and the Law Council of Australia have expressed alarm at the safety risks to victims of domestic violence potentially posed by the system. Unless specific criteria can be satisfied, there remains the risk to victims of family and domestic violence that a perpetrator (parent or guardian) who poses a threat to the health and safety of the child or other family members may be entitled to access victims\u2019 details (including Centrelink details, locations of a patient\u2019s doctors and pharmacies, etc) as an authorized representative.<\/p>\n

Amendments passed late last year provide that the title of authorized representative is revoked in circumstances where, under a court order or other law, a parent or guardian is not permitted to be with the child unsupervised, or is found to be a risk to the health or safety of the child. Whilst this is reassuring for those victims of domestic and family violence who have obtained court orders, the reality is that many cases of domestic and family violence go unreported; and those that are reported can take many months to reach Court, let alone result in an order. The necessity of established legal evidence of a safety threat could leave many victims of undisclosed coercive or abusive relationships at risk.<\/p>\n

Patients\u2019 safeguards and security measures<\/h2>\n

In response to growing concerns, My Health Record has implemented various safeguards to help protect users of the service who may be vulnerable or at risk of harm, such as the ability to:<\/p>\n