KEY POINTS:
The Government wants to force private health services and funders to provide statistics, sparking patient-privacy objections and a demand for payment.
The Public Health Bill extends the obligation to provide statistics requested by the Health Minister, which now rests with district health boards, to "any provider or funder of services". That covers a multitude of state-funded services provided by non-government organisations (NGOs), as well as private hospitals, private surgeons and health insurers.
Auckland Women's Health Council co-ordinator Lynda Williams told MPs hearing submissions on the bill that at a recent council meeting, "it was reported that the Ministry of Health is now demanding case notes from NGOs who have contracts with them.
"This is totally unacceptable as clients/patients are likely to refuse to use such services if they become aware of the fact that their confidential health information may be passed on."
Ms Williams said later that she was referring to the Gambling Helpline.
The helpline's chairman, Peter Jansen, yesterday confirmed the ministry had requested information it held on clients and it had refused to comply. He said this was one of the reasons why its contract-renewal negotiations with the ministry had failed.
The helpline, which receives Government funding of around $1.3 million a year, announced last week that after providing services to more than 34,000 people, it would close at the end of October. Directors said the proposed deal would be "too restrictive on our ability to best serve our clients".
Mr Jansen told the Herald that giving the ministry sensitive client information would undermine the helpline's credibility.
But a ministry spokesman said last night it was misleading to suggest it had inappropriately requested the disclosure of confidential information. It had sought to bring the helpline contract into line with other organisations that dealt with problem gambling.
The Private Surgical Hospitals Association's president, Michael Woodhouse, said members would be happy to supply statistics to the Government. It would have to pay for the figures, because there would be costs in making private hospitals' data systems compatible with the ministry's.
Health Funds Association executive director Roger Styles said the insurance industry had been caught unaware by the proposed changes.
Requiring health insurers to provide information would carry "potentially quite onerous compliance costs. [Ultimately] it will be the public that end up paying".
THE CHANGES
* The Health Act 1956 allows the Health Minister to require district health boards to provide health statistics without identifying individual patients, unless they agreed to be identified or the identifying detail was essential.
* The Public Health Bill would extend the obligation to "any provider or funder of services", including those in the private sector.
* The Government says many providers already supply the figures, which are for "advancing knowledge, education and health research".
