The Kids Research Institute Australia welcomes the Australian Government’s commitment to invest $65 million to transform the nation’s data system and the way data is made available and used.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Patron Professor Fiona Stanley said it’s an exciting development for the medical sector.
“Australia’s data is a major national resource. These reforms will provide better opportunities for innovation in the medical sector, as well as improve our ability to stay at the forefront of medical research and innovation, while protecting individual privacy,” Professor Stanley said.
“The reforms will streamline access to data, to increase our knowledge about child health, and inform policy and services around treatment and prevention.”
“The ability to share data across government agencies at both a federal and state level will enable more rigorous evaluation of services and allow us to truly develop evidenced-based policies to improve health.”
Professor Stanley said an exciting example is the linking of all prescriptions to all health outcomes via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
“This will enable rapid detection and then avoidance of adverse drug reactions. It would also reduce the costs and anguish of painful, preventable diseases and deaths.”
Professor Stanley said linked data has been used in all states and territories with excellent outcomes whilst protecting individual privacy.
“With the benefits of modern technology and processes to protect privacy in data linkage, there hasn’t been a single privacy breach in WA in 35 years,”
“Surveys show consumers are very supportive for their data to be used in this way to improve services and health outcomes.”
The reforms are the result of recommendations by the Productivity Commission following a comprehensive inquiry into the benefits and costs of making public and private sector data more accessible for approved purposes.
The reforms include a new Consumer Data Right to give citizens greater transparency and control over their own data, new legislative and governance arrangements to enable better use of data while ensuring appropriate safeguards, and the establishment of a National Data Commissioner to oversee more efficient data sharing.
You can read the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission Data Availability and Use Inquiry here.
