The mere fact that you’re absorbing these words right now is evidence that you, dear reader, are a web-savvy com-connected individual living a go-go digital life mobile something wearable tech something something MySpace.
And thus you are probably both very familiar with a) the government’s proposed digital health database My Health Record, which will keep all the details of your medical history in a centralised place rather than spread around the individual services you’ve used over your life, and b) the idea of the internet knowing stuff about you.
Indeed, you’re probably not terrified by the idea of digital data, since you’ve been harvested for it for decades and found it to be pretty benign, even helpful. And on the face of it having a centralised repository of your health data has obvious advantages for a population that’s more mobile and transient than ever and probably can’t rely on seeing the same GP for the next thirty years.
How… how’s he making it get back in the syringe like that?
You might have been a little concerned when the Health Minister himself, Greg Hunt, announced that OK, fine, there were some problems with the system which had been absolutely fine as recently as last week and that he’d remove the provision where the police and other government agencies could access your health information without a warrant or court order, and possibly extend the opt-out period.
Yet there are still people saying that it might be wise to opt-out right now, while you still can.
Sure, doctors have said it’s not as useful as you’d assume such a thing would be, and government MP Tim Wilson has already admitted that nah, he’s out.
And given the way that confidential Centrelink information was weaponised against blogger Andie Fox by the Department of Human Services, you might think that anyone with anything more serious than a routine checkup on their record – an STI, a pregnancy termination, a cancer scare, an antidepressant prescription – might find their details “leaked” if they’re proving a bit annoying.
And it’s not even The Government that’s the problem. Heck, 13 Health SA staff illegally checked out the hospital records on Cy Walsh after the murder of his dad, Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh. Imagine what the papers would have done with Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s health data if it had been available in the wake of her ANZAC Day tweet?
Basically, there are risks – and it’s one thing to accept them and another to have the choice made for you without discussion.
“It’s great that cops and government agencies won’t be able to access people’s medical histories without a warrant, but for the government to truly address people’s concerns they must make the record opt-in,” says Change.org’s executive director Sally Rugg.
“The last few weeks has seen thousands of people opt-out of the government’s MyHealth Record scheme and then loudly raise the alarm within their communities of the significant threat to their privacy.”
“We’ve seen medical peak bodies, digital privacy experts, health professionals and activist organisations across the board alert people to the gross government overreach of MyHealth Record in its original state, and the government have listened,” Rugg insists. “We must never forget the power we have as ordinary citizens when we take action together.” Which is why there’s a Change.org petition calling on the government to make the system opt-in.
Still, there’s no reason to panic about this stuff. It’s not like hackers got into the Singapore government’s medical database and got 1.5 patient records, including those of the prime minis… what?