Achieving digital health transformation through the creation of a fully interoperable data ecosystem is nirvana for health systems around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In particular, as part of the recently announced reforms to the New Zealand health system, Health NZ will ensure health services will be integrated and linked so that consumers can find it easier to access different parts of the system, and not have to share their information numerous times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But with a fully integrated and interoperable healthcare system comes a crucial component: data sharing. It\u2019s impossible to achieve the kind of ideal we envisage without provision for data sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, with data sharing comes the profound responsibility for protecting the detailed personal health information of thousands, if not millions, of patients. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) recently published their first four months of results since it became mandatory to report serious breaches in December 2020. The health care and social sector tops the list<\/a> for the highest number of serious privacy breaches since that date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst it’s likely this is the case because the industry understands its obligation to protect precious patient information and report any breaches, an article<\/a> published in The Lancet last year revealed that there is significant public concern regarding the risks involved in data sharing. In particular, when, why and how health data are shared in the context of data sharing for contact tracing and vaccination roll out during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The COVID-19 public health emergency has undeniably demonstrated the value in data sharing \u2013 arguably, New Zealand owes its globally lauded pandemic response to the rapid collection, analysis, modelling and reporting of health data; reporting that our own data science team has contributed to. Such a swift and effective public health response simply could not be achieved without data sharing of the highest security and privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe problem is the risks posed by data sharing <\/h4>\n\n\n\n