Information collected in Canberra Script is a health record and is protected by law under the Health Records (Access and Privacy) Act 1997. The Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 outlines acceptable use and offences related to this information. Strict penalties apply for any person found to be inappropriately accessing or using Canberra Script information.
Each time a record is viewed in Canberra Script, a log is created and this is monitored by ACT Health. If unauthorised use is detected, a health practitioner may face penalties as outlined in the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008.
A Privacy Impact Assessment has been undertaken to ensure the implementation of Canberra Script is compliant with privacy laws.
Canberra Script is based on the National Data exchange (NDE) which collects information, including personal information, from prescribing and dispensing software, and a range of other external data sources, to produce real-time detection and alerting information for regulators, prescribers and dispensers. The Commonwealth does not have access to personal information in the NDE. Find out more information about how personal information is protected in the NDE.