Backlash around the My Health Record database is building, with some doctors reportedly threatening to boycott the scheme to safeguard their patients’ confidential information from privacy infringements.

For Janet Albrechtsen, the scepticism and privacy paranoia around the program is not only rife, but justified. She fears the online initiative, which will gives doctors access to the health information of their patients, is all too susceptible to unauthorised intrusion.

“The notion that this can’t be breached is just silly,” she tells Michael McLaren.

“There is just so much nonsense going around. The Prime Minister and others told us that it’s military-grade security, that the privacy concerns aren’t warranted, that it can’t be hacked into. That very same day that Turnbull was assuring us that our most private information would be safe, there was a major cyber-attack on the Singapore digital health system, where 1.5 million people had their private health information stolen by a hacker.”

This has Albrechtsen calling for the opt-out nature of the scheme to be changed to opt-in.

“People will automatically be drafted into this system by default, if they don’t opt-out. A lot of people won’t be aware of it, a lot of people will understandably, not be wanting to involve themselves with the bureaucracy and going through the steps of getting out.”

“This is the coercive element in the system.”

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