Australia defines national access model

Thurs 9 Sept: NEHTA is leading the development of Australia’s first national security and access framework (SAF) to strengthen community confidence in the way e-health information systems, and their operators, handle patient data. The project will identify the standards, technical controls and business procedures needed to protect privacy and safeguard clinical information from unauthorised access or distribution. The first stage is currently underway with clinical, consumer, policy and technical experts working together to identify an initial concept that will be used as the base for more extensive community consultation.

The SAF project addresses two fundamental concerns that underpin the successful adoption of e-health in Australia, demonstrating that standards and controls are in place, to protect patient interests, and giving clinicians confidence, from a legal and accountability perspective, in the way shared information is managed as it travels between different healthcare providers and organisations.

SAF will align with international standards for risk management and information security providing cohesive, integrated rules for security policy, organisational security, asset classification and control, personnel security, physical and environment security, communication and operations management, access control, system development and maintenance, business continuity management and compliance.

Version 1.0 of the framework is expected later this year. It will cover the full information management lifecycle, from information capture and business transaction, to local storage and archive requirements, with guidelines and principles that meet clinical business needs. Key issues include:

  • Data privacy - ensuring patients’ medical data can only be accessed with their consent.
  • Data confidentiality - ensuring confidentiality and preventing unauthorised access and improper use of information.
  • Data handling - clinical data quality and integrity are major compliance challenges for organisations subject to stringent regulatory guidelines and certification processes.
  • Data integrity - referring to the validity, accuracy and reliability of data after it has been stored, transferred, retrieved or processed.  

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