Telemedicine in Australia. 2: The Health Communication Network

The Health Communication Network (HCN) in Australia is reviewed. Early interest from both the government and the medical community led to the establishment of a number of pilot services. Because of the community interest in privacy issues, determined efforts to understand and build structures to cope with privacy have been made. The first HCN services began to be tested in 1995, and progressive expansion is planned. The HCN, while supported by the government, is a separate, commercial entity, and much early work has thus focused on corporate governance, so that it will be able to do what it was designed for.