Initially, only Medicare would operate a secure website or portal that would allow patients to retrieve their personally controlled electronic health records, she said.
But she left the door open for other service providers, such as health insurance providers, to manage patients' e-health records in future.
A 16-digit healthcare identifier, issued by Medicare, forms the backbone of an e-health records system.
Medicare is equipped to start issuing the unique healthcare identifier number to every Australian, doctor, hospital, healthcare organisation and allied health provider from July 1.
Legislation to establish the healthcare identifier service was rushed through parliament late on Thursday, the day Julia Gillard deposed Kevin Rudd as prime minister.
A Health Department spokeswoman said the identifiers would be allocated to patients and providers after receipt of royal assent, expected today. Regulations then must be drafted that will allow healthcare providers to access the healthcare identification service, she said.
In Sydney yesterday, Ms Roxon said the decision has been made to use Medicare to manage the portal.
"There is the opportunity in the future for that platform to be run by another service provider.
"Medicare is a trusted provider and the decision has been made at this early stage" to use it, she said.
"We have a difficult design task ahead of us to make sure that we are confident that patient records are secure and are accessed by only those people who have permission to do so," Ms Roxon said.
People who choose not to use the e-health service would still be able to make Medicare claims.
"The government is not going to put conditions which say you can't get your Medicare benefit unless you use your electronic health record," Ms Roxon said.
"The patient will decide whether or not they want their specialist to see the records of their doctor or whether they want a new doctor to see the records."
The medical services sector is waiting with bated breath for Health to release a tender, which is likely to set out the minimum standards, definitions and access models for the personally controlled electronic health records system.
The National E-Health Transition Authority had engaged a number of IT companies to help develop the health identifiers service in conjunction with Medicare.
About $467 million was allocated in the federal e-health budget to develop the e-health records system.
CSC Australia was one company engaged by Nehta for security consulting, unique health identifiers service and related technology architecture advice, said Lisa Pettigrew, its health services director.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Fran Foo, Mitchell Bingemann
Quelle/Source: Australian IT, 29.06.2010
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