The Victorian government has bowed to crossbencher pressure, signing off on changes to its controversial health information sharing legislation.
Amendments to the Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill have been agreed to by the Andrews government after debate began in the upper house.
The bill will enable public hospitals and other health services to more easily share patient information through a centralised database.
Domestic violence survivors, legal practitioners, civil liberty groups and cyber experts have voiced fears personal information could fall into the wrong hands if the database is hacked or inappropriately accessed by health staff.
Several crossbenchers have flagged they cannot support the bill in its current form ahead of a final vote expected on Thursday.
Facing the prospect of defeat, the Andrews government has agreed to amendments to mandate a privacy management framework following talks with the Greens.
The framework, the Greens say, will protect the identity of patients who may be at risk of harm, guarantee patients can obtain information on who has accessed their health information, and set up a process to safeguard more sensitive health information.
In addition, an independent review of the database would be set up to ensure it is managing privacy concerns once operational.
Victorian Greens acting health spokesman Tim Read said the party was set to support the bill, pending further government assurances.
"Our public hospital system is struggling with staff shortages and delays, but giving them this system will mean staff waste less time on the phone and can spend more time seeing patients," he said.
"But trust is also important and patients need to have confidence their information will be protected."
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas had previously said the government would not change the bill despite Labor needing the support of at least six crossbenchers for it to pass the upper house.
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier moved amendments on Tuesday to create an opt-out clause, similar to the federal government's My Health Record scheme.
During an at-times fierce debate, Liberal MP Wendy Lovell noted there have been high profile cases of officers inappropriately accessing Victoria Police's central database.
"We don't want that happening with health records in Victoria," she said.
Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said her support for the bill doesn't hinge on the addition of an opt-out provision but instead better privacy protections.
She was waiting to read the government's amendments before committing her support, while David Ettershank said he and fellow Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne also shared concerns on patient confidentiality.
The Victorian government has been contacted for comment.
