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Health Minister Simeon Brown has commissioned the Ministry of Health to review the response to the recent ManageMyHealth cyber security breach involving patient information.
ManageMyHealth is a privately operated patient portal used by some general practices around New Zealand.
It holds medical information and enables patients to communicate with health professionals.
“I know this breach will be very concerning to the many New Zealanders who use ManageMyHealth, and we need assurances around the protection and security of people’s health data,” Brown says.
“Patient data is incredibly personal and whether it is held by a public agency or a private company, it must be protected to the highest of standards.
“I have decided to commission the Ministry of Health to lead a review of the ManageMyHealth and Health New Zealand’s response.
“We must learn from this incident, to avoid any repeat events in the future.”
The purpose of the review will be to:
- Assess the cause(s) of the incident.
- Review the adequacy of the data protections that were in place and the response to the incident.
- Recommend any improvements required to prevent similar incidents occurring.
“I have written to the Director-General of Health asking that the review will commence no later than January 30,” Brown says.
“While this review should commence as soon as possible, it is important that the focus continues to be on the immediate response to the incident and that we do not distract from this response.
“An Incident Management Team has been meeting daily to coordinate advice and support across government agencies.
Health New Zealand has advised there has been no impact on its systems, Brown says.
It’s working with primary care providers through General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ) to clarify the potential impact on patients and general practices.
General practices remain open and providing services.
