Legal issues relating to a cardiac surgery database

The proposed Cardiac Surgery Database project is a venture shared between the Victorian Department of Human Services and the Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ASCTS). The aim is to provide a readily available and comprehensive information base on cardiothoracic procedures carried out in Victoria, with a view to raising the standards of cardiothoracic surgery, and to facilitate long-term patient care. Important issues for consideration are ownership and protection of the Database and the information within it, as well as the patient consent process, privacy and patient access to data, commercial use of the Database for ongoing funding, risk management, and protection of the ASCTS and surgeons from litigation.