VICDOC Winter 2022 - Magazine - Page 93
H E A LTH L EG I S L AT I O N A ME ND ME NT
BACKGROUND TO THE ACT
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On 9 March 2023, the Health Legislation
Amendment (Information Sharing) Act
2023 (the Act) was passed by the Victorian
Government and received Royal Assent
on 28 March 2023. The Act was developed
following recommendations from the
Targeting Zero report to support the
Victorian hospital system to eliminate
avoidable harm and strengthen quality
of care.
The Second Reading Speech noted that
most Victorian patients will visit more
than one health service for health care
and treatment, which has led to:
> Sharing clinical health information in
Victoria being outdated;
> Treatment often becoming fragmented
and inconsistent with modern health
record sharing including that performed
by other states;
> Clinicians not having a complete
and integrated picture of a patient’s
history; and
> A failure to correctly identify patients
across health services, leading to
poor health outcomes for patients.
The Act establishes a centralised
Electronic Patient Health Information
Sharing System (the System) for
participating health services to share
certain health information for the purpose
of improving patient safety, decreasing
avoidable harm and deliver person-centred
care.1 It will enable hospitals and health
services to quickly access accurate patient
information in one centralised location.
The System will include health
information, including but not limited
to medical images, laboratory results,
medication lists and patient allergies.
Pursuant to s6C of the Act, the System
will be accessible by ‘participating health
services’ including:
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Ambulance services;
Denominational hospitals;
Metropolitan hospitals;
Multipurpose services;
Public hospitals;
Registered community health centres;
Residential care services; and
Mental health services.
The System can only be accessed by a
participating health service and clinical
staff for the purpose of providing medical
treatment. Insurance companies will not
have access to the System, and there
are penalties for unauthorised access
to the System ($44,300 or two
years imprisonment).
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