Does the Health Records Act abrogate copyright ownership in documents?
Claiming copyright on a document would not protect it from access by the individual that it is about, in view of the statutory duty to provide access and it being a term of the contract. The Act states that an organisation holds health information if it is in a document which is in the possession or under the control of the organisation, whether alone or jointly with others. The Act does allow, under s 98, an organisation to obtain and act on expert advice in order to perform a function under the Act. There is a need to examine the information before granting access to ensure that there is not requirement for it to be withheld because of serious threat to the life or health of the person seeking access or any other person. If a GP file contained specialist letters/reports the Act would allow the GP to talk to the specialist about the request and discuss whether there is any need to exempt it.
Related Questions
- The Commonwealth Privacy Act differs to the Health Records Act concerning some issues that are specifically addressed by the Health Records Act, which Act will apply?
- How does the Copyright Act apply to the ownership of government information?
- Does the Health Records Act abrogate copyright ownership in documents?
