Chief Finance and Corporate Officer: Alister Whitta

As a Hospital and Health Service we collect and use huge amounts of personal information every day.

To deliver excellent clinical care, we need patients to be comfortable sharing their personal health information. As we move more information into digital systems, it becomes even more important that the public can be confident that we handle and store their information with care.

Privacy Awareness Week is an annual event designed to raise awareness about the importance of protecting and respecting personal information. This year it will be held from 2 to 8 May and the theme is ‘Privacy: the foundation of trust’.

Every day we can contribute to a foundation of trust by performing simple actions when we collect, use, store and share personal information. For example, we should be able to tell a member of the public why we are collecting their personal information, how their information will be used, and who will have access to it.

To officially launch Privacy Awareness Week, former Human Rights Commissioner Professor Edward Santow is delivering an address on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Privacy: can they be friends?’ If you are interested, you will be able to watch it online from 3 May.

Metro North Health’s privacy resources are hosted on QHEPs and privacy training is also available via TMS. If you have any questions about privacy please contact PrivacyMetroNorth@health.qld.gov.au or refer to our privacy policy and privacy procedure.

Regards,

Alister