Review of the Medicare and PBS Privacy Guidelines issued under section 135AA of the National Health Act 1953

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• Implementation
• Report
• Consultation
• Issues Paper
• Submissions Received

Implementation

A revised set of Privacy Guidelines for the Medicare Benefits and Pharmaceutical Benefits Programs was issued by the Privacy Commissioner on 6 March 2008 and comes into effect on 1 July 2008. These revised Guidelines implement the findings of the Report. Until the revised Guidelines come into effect the existing guidelines apply.

Report

1 August 2006

Report of the Privacy Commissioner's Review of the Privacy Guidelines for the Handling of Medicare and PBS claims information is now available - HTML, PDF, Word

Media Releases and announcements

• Privacy Commissioner Releases Review Report For Medicare And Pbs Privacy Guidelines (1/8/06)
• Review of the Medicare and PBS Privacy Guidelines issued under section 135AA of the National Health Act 1953 (8/11/04)

Consultation

The Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, is asking organisations, agencies and individuals to give their views about the operation of the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Programs Privacy Guidelines. All interested parties are invited to make submissions to the review.

The Privacy Guidelines apply to the handling of information obtained by any Australian government agency in connection with a claim under the Medicare Benefits Program or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program. Currently, this involves the Department of Health and Ageing and the Health Insurance Commission (HIC). The Privacy Guidelines are intended to ensure the functional separation of the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits claims databases.

The Privacy Guidelines are made under s.135AA of the National Health Act 1953 and are a function of the Commissioner under s. 27(1)(pa) of the Privacy Act 1988.

The Privacy Guidelines address issues such as:

• limiting how long the HIC may retain information which identifies individuals;
• restricting the circumstances under which the Department of Health and Ageing may receive identified information from the HIC; and
• limiting the extent to which information from the two databases can be linked.

Issues Paper and Submissions

An Issues Paper has been released to assist those interested in making a submission toward the review. The Issues Paper is now available - HTML, PDF, Word

Individuals, agencies and organisations may make a written submission to the Office or they can put their views verbally by attending open forums to be held around Australia during November and December. The dates and venues for the open forums are provided below.

The closing date for submissions is Friday 4 February 2005.

To assist OFPC planning, please confirm your attendance at an open forum by emailing to glreview@privacy.gov.au

More information

If you would like more information about the Issues Paper, the review process or the open forums, please contact:

Telephone: 1300 363 992