Proposed national registration system raises privacy concerns for doctors

The system will be considered at the Australian Health Ministers' Conference (AHMC) in Canberra on 23 April 2004.

Dr Glasson said the AMA supports a system of national registration but it would backfire if the Health Ministers endorsed a flawed system.

"A major problem for doctors is the proposal to allow public access to a wide range of private and personal details of doctors through an unrestricted Internet website," Dr Glasson said.

"We accept that patients may from time to time want access to essential information about their medical practitioner, but creating open slather on the Internet is crazy.

"Not only would it be an invasion of doctors' privacy, the proposal holds no relevance for doctors in public practice who do not have an exclusive relationship with patients.

"We are not opposed to information such as name, practice address, and year of registration being readily available to the public but other details should remain private.

"It would be counter-productive to rush ahead with this proposal when there's no urgent need to, especially when it is unacceptable to doctors.

"With proper discussion and consultation, a workable middle ground can be reached to satisfy all parties.

"But if the Health Ministers go ahead with this ill-advised requirement, the medical workforce will become further demoralised.

"This issue should be taken off the agenda until there's been an opportunity for far more extensive consultation with the profession to develop an agreed process for access to personal information," Dr Glasson said.

CONTACT:         John Flannery                       (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761