Patient Privacy Concerns - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : The Minister of Health and Wellness and now the Premier are accusing the Opposition of fearmongering following discussions around the disclosure of personal health information, but these concerns are not originating from opposition members. The Premier can read as many selective letters as he wants, but we know that 35,000 members of the Nova Scotia Regulated Health Professions Network, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, sexual assault survivors, and many others have meticulously laid out their concerns about potential abuse and intrusion into patient privacy in this government's proposed approach.
My question to the Premier is: What makes the Premier so confident that he knows better than most of the health care professionals in our province?
THE PREMIER « » : Speaker, there are significant obligations under the Personal Health Information Act to keep private information private. Of course, that is going to happen. Of course, we respect that, but I just want to say, we have to move forward on this. We need data to manage the system. Now, this would be the same opposition, the same negative New Democratic Party that voted against the Patient Access to Care Act and were saying of all these things, The sky is going to fall. Guess what? The sky is not falling. That Act is working. We are hiring nurses; we are hiring doctors; we are expanding the scope of practice. Our intentions are good; the professional bodies know that, and Nova Scotians have a right to know that is true. We will fix health care, and more access to data is part of that.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : We amplify the voices of the professionals on that bill, too, because they didn't want the minister deciding who was fit to practise. Yes, there are good parts of that bill, and there are parts of that bill that are open to abuse and overreach, just like in this one. It is not clear what this bill is trying to solve. The government has the data they say they need. The explanation of why they need it now is constantly changing.
If it is really about Nova Scotians having their own information, then why does the minister need to access it? I don't care what her intention is. Why does she need to lightly touch it? Why does she need to peek at it? What will the access of private vendors be? Even doctors have expressed concern that they won't be able to explain it to their patients if asked whether their conversations are confidential. We deserve clarity here . . .
THE SPEAKER « » : Question?
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Does this proposal allow access to more than government actually needs? The minister said this morning that it was "broad." Why is the door being locked . . .
THE PREMIER « » : Speaker, here is the reality: We know that the NDP will always try to find the negative. The Personal Health Information Act is about 35 pages long and covers what the minister and other custodians can do to protect people's privacy and are required to do. That's a fact, and it is an important fact in this discussion. There is another fact that is necessary - we are committed to making sure Nova Scotians can access their health care system. The Opposition can be negative and stand in the way of that, but we are moving forward in the best interest of Nova Scotians. That is only what matters to us, and that is our focus, and we will continue to do it.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : What matters to Nova Scotians is being attached to primary care. When I ask Nova Scotians if they would prefer access to test results they can't decipher on an app or a doctor to share those results with them and walk them through them, 100 per cent say that they would rather have a doctor. The Premier referenced Doctors Nova Scotia. Doctors Nova Scotia has brought an amendment. Will the Premier pass it? Will they reconsider, and if not, why not?
THE PREMIER « » : I want to say that people have a right to have access to their health care. The NDP can find all kinds of negative reasons why people shouldn't have access to their health care. We don't agree with them. We are on the side of Nova Scotians, and we believe they have a right to have access to their health care information, and we're going to make sure it happens.