Haventec develops digital patient consent platform

Australian digital privacy company Haventec is developing eConsent for Genomics, a digital health consent solution that allows healthcare providers, service providers and patients to securely store and consent to share personal health information.

The eConsent for Genomics solution allows individuals to store and share that genomics data and prevent it from being stolen and misused. The solution will be built on Haventec’s patented privacy platforms (Authenticate and Sanctum) which protect digital identities and sensitive data.

This innovative capability comes at a critical time for the cyber industry as current models for storing personal health information are consistently failing. In addition, there is a global push for openness, an acceleration in the introduction of electronic health records and an increased regulatory focus on privacy and consent within the sector.

eConsent for Genomics is a 12-month project that has funding from AustCyber, a non-profit organisation that is tasked with growing a local cybersecurity ecosystem and facilitating its global expansion. The AustCyber Projects Fund is an AU$15 million, three-year federal government initiative, designed to help the Australian cybersecurity industry grow locally and globally.

AustCyber CEO Michelle Price said Australia’s economy is now digitally geared and it’s important we have digital trust in the eHealth systems we use, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Price added that the project is critical for the healthcare industry, which has been forced to undergo rapid digital transformation due to the pandemic.

“AustCyber’s Digital Trust Report 2020 identified the rapid digitisation of the eHealth sector as both a risk and opportunity for Australia’s cybersecurity ecosystem. It is important to support Australian cybersecurity companies through the Projects Fund program to create innovative cyber secure products that benefits all Australians and ensures that our personal data is kept secure,” Price said.

Haventec CEO Dave Maunsell said that eConsent for Genomics will provide individuals with more control over how their personal health data is used and shared, without compromising their right to privacy.

“In simple terms, Haventec’s platform reduces the exposure to risk. We have solved the paradox of keeping sensitive data safe, while supporting increasing demands, and consumer expectations, for openness, connectivity, performance and privacy,” Maunsell said.

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