General Practice Data

Thursday, October 10, 2024

GP information is increasingly used for quality assurance, evaluation, health service planning and research.

This new medicSA article explores the legal, ethical and social implications of using primary care data for research.

According to a community attitudes survey undertaken through the Digital Health CRC with PHRN funding support, Australians are concerned about how their personal general practice data is shared.

Study co-author, Professor Annette Braunack-Meyer from the University of Wollongong says less than half of those surveyed felt comfortable with their data being used for secondary purposes like research and health services planning.

“Patients want to know how the practice uses their data”, Professor Braunack-Meyer she says.  She suggests we need resources for the community, GPs and, probably, legislative change.

Read article here