Shared Digital Health Record — data, privacy and security

The Shared Digital Health Record will comply with the:

• Privacy Act 2020, including the incoming Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A) – requiring consumer notification when their data is being collected indirectly
• Health Information Privacy Code 2020
• Health Information Governance Guidelines 2017
• Government Chief Digital Officer Information Sharing Standards.

Criteria for protecting patient privacy

Healthcare organisations accessing the Shared Digital Health Record must meet certain criteria to protect patient privacy.

• Only healthcare staff with a valid reason can view a patient’s record.
• Access to the system is restricted based on a user's role within an organisation.
• Data can only be used for individual patient care, not for performance monitoring or planning health services.
• Organisations must allow and agree to checks and reports on who accessed data, and identify and correct any instances where access to information was unjustified.
• All access is logged, including the system used, the organisation and facility, and identity of the system users.

Keeping data secure

There are multiple layers of protection to keep data secure.

• Access to data is controlled through secure application programming interfaces (APIs) managed through Health NZ’s Digital Services Hub.
• The database is hosted on Amazon Web Services and is independently tested to make sure it complies with the Health Information Security Framework, the New Zealand Information Security Manual (NZISM) and the Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) guidelines.
• Authentication and authorisation are managed by the Health NZ Connector Plane which applies security policies to all requests and includes robust logging and auditing of all access to health records.

PMSs and SEHRs will need to show they have strong security controls and standards that apply to data collected and shared through the Shared Digital Health Record.