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HEALTH LEGISLATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2003

                                                               Health Legislation (Amendment) Bill
Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents




                                                                              Circulation Print

                                                                   EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM


                                                                                   Clause Notes
                                                    Clause 1    sets out the purposes of the Bill to make miscellaneous
                                                                amendments to various Acts relating to health care and services.

                                                    Clause 2    is the commencement provision. The provisions of the Act come
                                                                into operation as follows--
                                                                  ·      section 6 of the Act comes into operation on the day to
                                                                         be proclaimed or 1 June 2004 if not proclaimed earlier;
                                                                         and
                                                                  ·      the remainder of the Act comes into operation on the
                                                                         day after the day it receives Royal Assent.

                                                    Clause 3    inserts a new section 14(3) into the Drugs, Poisons and
                                                                Controlled Substances Act 1981, to provide that if the Nurses
                                                                Board of Victoria imposes any conditions, limitations or
                                                                restrictions on a nurse practitioner's endorsement to obtain and
                                                                possess and to use, sell or supply certain Schedule 2, 3, 4 and 8
                                                                poisons under the Nurses Act 1993, the authorisation under
                                                                section 13 of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances
                                                                Act 1981, in respect of that nurse practitioner is limited to the
                                                                same extent.

                                                    Clause 4    amends section 141 of the Health Services Act 1988 which
                                                                provides that information must generally be kept confidential if a
                                                                patient could be identified from that information, except for a
                                                                number of specific authorisations.
                                                                It replaces the term "person to whom this section applies" with
                                                                the term "relevant person", for ease of reading and
                                                                comprehension.
                                                                It makes clear that section 141 applies only to the giving of
                                                                information to third parties and not to communications between
                                                                staff of the same health service as these are governed by Health
                                                                Privacy Principle 2 of the Health Records Act 2001.

                                                                                          1
                                                    551041                                          BILL LC CIRCULATION 1/5/2003

 


 

It clarifies that where a patient consents to the release of identifying information, that consent may be express or implied, reflecting current law. Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents Section 141(3) is amended to specify the details of 4 of the circumstances in which a health service can disclose patient information. These disclosures are necessary to enable health services to carry out and exercise their statutory functions and powers. Three of these circumstances are drawn from the Health Privacy Principles of the Health Records Act 2001. The circumstances are where the disclosure of patient information-- · is for a secondary purpose, directly related to the primary purpose for which it was collected, and the purpose is one for which the patient would reasonably expect the information to be used (Health Privacy Principle 2.2(a)); · is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of a legal claim (Health Privacy Principle 2.2(k)); · is in circumstances that are prescribed by law (Health Privacy Principle 2.2(1)); · relates to a notification or a claim to be given to a person or body providing insurance or indemnity. Clause 5 inserts a new section 231 in the Health Services Act 1988 to provide that the Order in Council amending Schedule 1 of that Act to delete the Numurkah District War Memorial Hospital and insert the Numurkah District Health Service as a public hospital was deemed to be published on 2 October 1997 exactly as it was made by the Governor in Council on 30 September 1997. Clause 6 inserts a new section 39A in the Human Tissue Act 1982 to allow prescribed tissue banks to recover reasonable costs in relation to certain activities undertaken in accordance with that Act and that offence provisions in that Act relating to the buying or selling of human tissue do not apply in those circumstances. Clause 7 inserts new section 46(2) of the Human Tissue Act 1982 enabling regulations made under that Act, including those prescribing tissue banks to prescribe matters generally or in particular circumstances. Clause 8 amends section 11 and section 12 of the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund Act 1986 to allow members of the Fund's Board to have a term of office of two years rather than one. 2

 


 

Clause 9 inserts a new section 34 into the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund Act 1986. This new section enables the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund, for the first year of operation of the new Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents membership provisions, to appoint half its Board for a 2 year period with the remainder of the Board being appointed for one year. Thereafter, it enables half the Board to be reappointed for each subsequent year. This will ensure that sufficient continuity of Board membership is maintained to assist in the management of the fund. Clause 10 amends the Mental Health Act 1986 to provide that in exercising the power of apprehension under section 10 of that Act, in addition to acting on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, Victoria Police may also act on the advice of a mental health practitioner. Clause 11 amends section 120A of the Mental Health Act 1986 to make similar provision relating to patient information for psychiatric services as for other health services. The amendments-- · replace the term "person to whom this section applies" with the term "relevant person"; · clarify that consent includes both express and implied consent; · amend section 120A(3) to specify the details of 4 of the circumstances in which a psychiatric service can disclose patient information in line with the amendments in clause 4(3) for other health services. These disclosures are necessary to enable psychiatric services to carry out and exercise their statutory functions and powers. Clause 12 substitutes two new provisions in the Nurses Act 1993 related to qualifications that may entitle a person to be registered in Division 2 of the register of nurses kept by the Nurses Board of Victoria. Clause 13 contains certain statute law revisions to the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981, and the Health Practitioner Acts (Further Amendments) Act 2002. 3

 


 

 


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