Featured, News - Tuesday, March 8, 2011 13:02 - 0 Comments

NEHTA, DoHA deaf to consumers, claim critics

A new e-health lobbying organisation has voiced its frustration at the National e-Health Transition Authority and Department of Health and Ageing for not communicating with consumers well enough.

The Consumer Centred eHealth Coalition (CCeHC) is a group of non-government organisations which maintain an interest in privacy, security and confidentiality issues in the rollout of the Federal Government’s new Australian eHealth system. Its members include the Australian Privacy Foundation, the Council of Social Service of NSW, the UNSW Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Civil Liberties Australia and the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties.

Late last week, the CCeHC wrote on its site that despite NEHTA and DOHA holding three workshops to gauge consumer views on the issue, there had not been enough transparency and scrutiny on its $467 million e-Health investment – which will provide the Australian health system with a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record.

“We are growing frustrated with the NEHTA/DoHA-led consultations process and skeptical about any useful outcomes incorporating consumer feedback,” the group wrote. “We ask for evidence the feedback has influenced a single aspect of the e-health experiment”. NEHTA and DOHA have been invited to respond to the comments.

Continue…