An article from www.ots.at shows the rejection of the amendment to the Health Telematics Act by the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The FPÖ health spokesman and chairman of the parliamentary health committee, MP Gerhard Kaniak, expressed in his contribution to the debate that he was confused about the complexity and ambiguities surrounding the implementation of digitization in the health sector. He particularly criticized the fact that, according to the amendment to the law, personal health data should be stored in the Ministry of Health, although in his opinion it has no place there.
Another aspect of the amendment, which Kaniak described as absurd, concerns the storage of vaccination reminders for 30 years. The system is supposed to automatically trigger a reminder if a recommended booster vaccination is not given on time and is therefore not entered in the electronic vaccination record. This would mean that vaccination reminders could be stored for a period of up to 30 years after the patient's death. Kaniak questions the sense of such an approach and asked what actual benefit it would bring.
The FPÖ health spokesman also criticized the restriction of access to health data for places such as public pharmacies. Currently, access is limited to 28 days after the patient's e-card is introduced. Kaniak argues that this period is not sufficient for longer vaccination schedules, as certain vaccinations take place over a longer period of time. He advocates extending the access period to one year to enable correct recording of vaccinations.
Finally, Kaniak stressed that it was obviously only about the collection of health data in the Ministry of Health and that the actual benefit and functionality of the system were not apparent. The FPÖ therefore rejects this amendment to the law.
It should be noted that the information comes from www.ots.at and is based on the FPÖ's rejection of the amendment to the law. Gerhard Kaniak's criticisms were expressed in his contribution to the debate on the amendment to the Health Telematics Act. The aspects mentioned relate to the storage of personal health data in the Ministry of Health, the long-term storage of vaccination reminders and the restriction of access to health data for certain bodies.
Source: die-nachrichten.at
