The federal government may be forced to go back to the drawing board with My Health Record after AMA president Tony Bartone vowed to do "whatever it takes" to safeguard patient privacy ahead of a meeting with Health Minister Greg Hunt.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Dr Bartone promised to ensure that any “ambiguity” over the conditions under which personal information could be handed over to authorities without a court order was resolved.
"Anything that gets in the way of the trust, the faith in the system by doctors will be seen as a deal breaker and be dealt with appropriately," he said.
Dr Tony Bartone, president of the AMA at the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Photo: Alex EllinghausenCrucially, Dr Bartone did not rule out pushing for the legislation governing the scheme - which allows patient information to be handed over to police, courts and the Australian Tax Office, without a warrant - to be scrapped and rewritten.
"The AMA holds the privacy and security of its patients' medical records in the most paramount and highest esteem and seriousness," Dr Bartone said. "Anything that will compromise that will not be [tolerated] by our members."
It comes after former AMA president Dr Kerryn Phelps this week warned that doctors may boycott My Health Record by refusing to upload patient data, if their privacy concerns were not resolved.
Mr Hunt, who will meet with Dr Bartone next week, has maintained that patient records cannot be accessed without a court order, because "strict policy" governing the scheme did not allow it.
However, the relevant legislation allows for much wider access, with section 70 of the My Health Records Act 2012 empowering the Digital Health Agency to disclose patients' health information for a range of purposes, including "the protection of public revenue".
Dr Bartone revealed that he had sought assurances from the Health Minister, his department and the Australian Digital Health Agency, which had provided "written undertakings" that the system would not be accessed by third parties without judicial oversight.
"I will ensure that any ambiguity in the differences between what the legislation says and what is the practicality of the interpretation, including the assurances, are crystal clear and there can be no ambiguity for our members or the public going forward," he said.
Dr Bartone, who broadly supports My Health Record but is not yet enrolled himself, said it was essential to grow the system "to a point of maturity" by boosting the number of patient records uploaded.
"And until we have enough people with a record, and until we have enough providers
uploading information ... it's going to be stuck at too little, too late," he said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called for the My Health Record rollout to be suspended, while Labor frontbencher Ed Husic said he would opt out if he did not see evidence that the government had "adequately addressed" privacy concerns.
Liberal MP and former human rights commissioner Tim Wilson this week revealed that he will not hand over his personal health information, calling for an opt-in system.
Mr Hunt said on Wednesday that My Health Record had been in operation for six years and that "not one record has been released to the police in that time".
"They cannot and will not release without a court order," he said.
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