Commissioner Malcolm Crompton has given Health Communication Network the all-clear over concerns raised about the company's handling and onsale of personal health data collected from doctors participating in an HCN project. But Australian Medical Association vice-president Trevor Mudge said it would take more than a chat between the privacy commissioner and a big company to reassure the medical profession. The fundamental problem was that big corporations by law were required to act in the interests of their shareholders, he said. If they do something to make a buck that we would consider unethical, we can't stop them. The AMA wanted legislation with teeth to regulate the corporates, he said.
Corporations have an incentive to do exactly the opposite.
Under the private sector privacy laws due to start in December, once data is de-identified, it no longer falls under the jurisdiction of the commissioner. This is an issue the health sector is tearing itself apart over. I think lots of people would be concerned if they thought their doctor was developing a sideline based on the sale of their information, even if it was in a de-identified form. Your name, suburb and comments may be published in The Australian and on this site. We reserve the right to edit your submission.