Media Release: Dental Association rewarded for good privacy

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27 August 2008

The Australian Dental Association, NSW Branch, was named tonight as the winner of the Community and NGO Award category in the inaugural Australian Privacy Awards program.

"When people go to the dentist, or any health service provider, they expect their personal information to be safeguarded by the dentist and staff," said Karen Curtis, the Australian Privacy Commissioner.

"Our community attitudes surveys consistently show that people value their health information highly.

"The Australian Dental Association has performed an invaluable public service by assisting dentists to meet their obligations in this area."

The Award was presented at a gala dinner held in Sydney.

The Australian Dental Association’s Privacy Legislation Information Kit is tailored to NSW and ACT members. It discusses applications of privacy legislation in a dental practice environment, including:

1. collecting information about a patient and clinical notes taken while the patient undergoes treatment
2. how this information should be securely stored.

Other winners of the Australian Privacy Awards included: Medicare (Grand Award), Telstra (Large Business Award), Child Support Agency (Symantec Government Award), and Data Solutions Australia (Microsoft Small-Medium Business Award). High Court Judge Michael Kirby was named as the recipient of the Australian Privacy Medal.