[LINK] Contract signed for national health ID system

[Stephen Wilson]

Holy innumeracy!

A "$51 billion contract" would match the annual expenditure of the 
entire Australian health sector.

Reminds me of a story told by an astronomy lecturer.  After telling the 
fate of our solar system, a student asked for clarification: "Excuse me, 
how long did you say till the Sun expires?".  The lecturer repeated the 
figure, something like four billion years.  To which the student 
responded, "Oh Phew! I thought you said MILLION years!".

Cheers,

Steve.


Stephen Wilson
Managing Director
Lockstep

Phone +61 (0)414 488 851

www.lockstep.com.au
-------------------
  * Lockstep Technologies: ICT Secrets of Innovation Finalist 2007
  * Lockstep Technologies: Anthill / PwC Cool Company Finalist 2007
-------------------
Lockstep Consulting provides independent specialist advice and analysis
on authentication, PKI and smartcards.  Lockstep Technologies develops
unique new smart ID solutions that safeguard identity and privacy.


Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> Contract signed for national health ID system
> ABC News
> http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/12/2137148.htm
> 
> The Federal Government says a new national healthcare identifier service 
> is one step closer, after a contract was signed to develop and test the 
> scheme.
> 
> The service is designed to improve the transfer of patient information 
> between health providers.
> 
> It will identify a person's name, date of birth, address and the names 
> of their practitioners, and is the first step towards establishing a 
> shared electronic health records system.
> 
> The $51 billion contract between Medicare and the National E-Health 
> Transition Authority will take around two years to implement.
> 
> Federal Minister for Human Services, Joe Ludwig, says it is not an 
> access card and people can decide whether or not they want to be part of 
> the service.
> 
> "Privacy is a great concern to Australians, particularly in relation to 
> the collection and handling of personal health information. A new 
> regulatory framework would be required," he said.
> 
> "This system would be built over approximately two years or thereabouts 
> and it has been developed in consultation with the Office of the Privacy 
> Commissioner."
> 
> Senator Ludwig says the program will potentially save lives.
> 
> "One of the challenges out there is actually health care providers 
> transferring information confidently to another health care provider so 
> that they can provide services," he said.
> 
> "At the moment, there is a range of electronic paper based systems and 
> there is the potential for those things to get confused, or in fact lost 
> in the system."