HealthCube’s cornerstones: privacy & security
HealthCube's services hinge on the gathering, processing, assessing, storing and managing of health information. It follows that privacy protection and data security are fundamental to its operating philosophy.
Continue reading for some frequently asked questions about how HealthCube protects your privacy, or review our Privacy Policy in full by clicking here.
Why does HealthCube gather health data?
HealthCube is a provider of dedicated clinical services to residents of Australian aged care facilities. Its core philosophy is that proactive preventive medical assessments and reviews - supported by regular, scheduled chronic care consultations - can:
- facilitate better care delivery to those in aged care; and
- improve residents' quality of life, for example by preventing unnecessary hospital admissions.
HealthCube gathers information on the health of residents in its care to help in this task. Health care at any age can only be as good as the information available to guide carers and clinicians.
How does HealthCube gather health data?
HealthCube clinical teams use portable computers loaded with sophisticated, award-winning electronic health software.
HealthCube's Comprehensive Medical Assessment (CMA) software received the 2009 National e-Health iAward. Its CMA template actually exceeds the CMA content guidelines of the federal Department of Health and Ageing.
Is HealthCube data stored securely?
HealthCube's servers are located in a secure hosting environment. Secure data transmission protocols are employed. Data is fully encrypted at all times during gathering and storage. All users of the system are subjected to a national police check.
Who may access an individual's health data?
No one except their HealthCube GP, carers and family, without the informed consent of the resident or their guardian. But because HealthCube records are kept in a common format and electronically stored, they are potentially accessible by other clinicians who may at some stage be involved in the resident's care - for example ambulance paramedics and emergency and/or clinical staff at a local hospital.
But only with consent?
Absolutely. Informed consent by a resident or guardian is a central HealthCube tenet. Before even an initial assessment takes place, the resident nominates whom they will permit to access their information.
Should residents consider allowing wider access?
The choice is entirely up to the resident or their guardian. But HealthCube believes the wider access a resident allows, the more powerful a tool their HealthCube record becomes. An ambulance paramedic, for example, may urgently need to know if a proposed emergency procedure is contra-indicated by an unconscious patient's existing medication. Need-to-know access at a few keystrokes to that patient's medication record can save valuable - perhaps vital - time.
Can residents be assured their privacy will be respected and their consent protocol honoured?
Rest easy. HealthCube's privacy policy compiles fully with the federal Privacy Act and the National Privacy principles applying to the health sector.