Privacy - and Computers !

There is no doubt about the benefits of having every Australian's medical records on a national database.  When we change general practitioners a quick mouse click will put our new medico much more aware of our medical history than we could possible remember, and should we be unfortunate and end up unconscious in the hospital emergency department that information could be life saving.

The sticking point is that the hacking industry is capable of breaking through even the most secure firewall, as the Ashley Madison scandal shockingly indicated.  People using that website to cheat on their partner and arrange an " affair " had the details publicly exposed for all to see.  The privacy people warn that a similar disclosure could await each individuals medical records.

There is a big difference between national espionage, the salacious peccadilloes of men and women exchanging forbidden sex - and the boring medical records of the ops and medication very ordinary citizens experience during their lifetime.  That may be of interest when it involves celebrities but the trial of a medical database set to start in 2016 has been moved from an " opt in " to an " opt out " choice for each individual.   It will be a personal choice whether you consider the benefits worth the risk that someone could one day have a look at your medical records - and if you have privacy doubts you need to express that option.

The crime industry has reason to worry now that computers are being tasked with tracking the source of wealth.  For a long time, successful criminals flaunt their lifestyle by living in great mansions, driving exotic cars and owning " toys " that cost a fortune - but having no discernible sources of income.

All the states and territories are in agreement on implementing a national law that requires any person to explain the legal acquisition of what they own - with the outcome that it can be confiscated - if it can not be explained.   That delivers their worst nightmare to drug bosses and those in receipt of bribes in unions, industry and the public service.

In the past, criminals usually explained the sudden acquisition of money as a gambling win.  This recent running of the Melbourne cup by a hundred to one rank outsider would be a typical " miracle " win that delivered a motza, but today the computer will quickly disprove such an alibi.   The claimant would need to detail exactly what bet - placed at exactly which TAB terminal or with which bookmaker - and at what time - and have that correspond with the the computer payout records.  The net is tightening - and the tax commissioner will no doubt be just as interested as the police in determining if the appropriate tax has been paid on that income.

It seems that privacy is a double edged sword.  We are reaching the stage of accepting that no data base is secure from hackers if it has an outside connection to the Internet.  No assurance that a system is " safe " is now credible and hence when something like that medical data base becomes a reality it is up to each individual to evaluate the benefits against the " risk " involved.   In that respect, medical records are simply just another item accompanying our financial records kept in our banks database and the files of the taxation department, all of which are also vulnerable to disclosure should hackers penetrate those institutions.

The fact that putting our medical records on the Internet will be an " opt out " probably means that only those with advanced privacy concerns will bother.   The average person will rightly concede that their medical records are of little interest to others !