Quilty fears new health law

Liberal Democrats Member for Northern Victoria Tim Quilty says he is ringing the alarm bell

about legislation that will allow the private medical information of Victorians to be

shared without their consent.

In a release today, Mr Quilty said:

The Health Information Sharing Bill is due to go before the Upper House either this

Thursday or in the next sitting week. It will allow a single point of access to medical

notes provided to doctors or psychiatrists over the last five years without requiring

any patients’ consent or notification.

Mr Quilty said the Government appears to be using the cover of the Federal election

to sneak through this legislation that breaches the long-held doctrine of patient-

doctor confidentiality that is part of the Hippocratic Oath. In addition, the decisions

doctors make will be up for scrutiny by other doctors.

“The word ‘sharing’ is usually associated with nice things and that’s why the

Government is using it in its title - the Health Information Sharing Bill. But in this

case, sharing is anything but caring,” Mr Quilty said. “This legislation is an

outrageous breach of privacy.

“The Government cannot be trusted to keep your details safe, but the bigger issue is

that they are taking away the consent of Victorians. Personal details about your

mental state, your birth control, your fertility, your abortions, any disabilities, will be

put in one handy place where it can be shared with anyone who can access the

program.”

This week, Mr Quilty presented a petition to parliament opposing the Bill and is

making a last ditch bid to amend the legislation so there is an opt-in scheme.

“It is hard to think of any information anyone might have that is more private than our

medical information – so this must surely be one of the greatest infringements on the

privacy of Victorians in our history,” Mr Quilty said.

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