The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has provided formal comment on the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Bill 2011 and the associated Consequential Amendments. The College’s submission is now available at www.racgp.org.au/reports/45606.
The Bill details the legislative framework required to support implementation of the design and operation of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) system as described in the Draft Concept of Operations which the RACGP responded to in June 2011.
Dr John Bennett, Chair of the RACGP National Standing Committee – e-health, said the RACGP highlights in its submission that GPs will need to be confident that the PCEHR system and the legislation that supports its function will be robust, secure, and function as designed.
“The RACGP is committed to the uptake of e-health initiatives within the health sector and we continue to strongly support the PCEHR and the foundations of electronic communications. However, the PCEHR must meet the needs of clinicians and patients.
“GPs must have confidence in the PCEHR system for it to be successful. Currently, there are still a number of issues that we would like to see addressed in regards to the legislation including the consequential amendments,” he said.
As outlined in the submission, these issues relate to 1) the provision of a clear governance structure; 2) the administrative burden on general practice; 3) the professional and financial risk of breaching the system; and 4) the governance in relation to the Health Identifiers Act amendments.
“Clinical leadership and strong clinical engagement are required for the successful uptake of e-health initiatives and we encourage the inquiry to address the RACGP’s concerns,” Dr Bennett concluded.