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Why responsible general practice tech disposal matters
Dr Rob Hosking discusses how digital waste is not only a risk to the environment, but potentially patient privacy.
Failing to properly delete data before disposing of any electronic device breaches patient information privacy and security requirements.
General practice must take action to minimise the environmental footprint we generate.
As well as the very important considerations of our carbon footprint from power efficiency in our practices and trying to reduce our medical and general waste, we must consider any digital waste – both from an environmental perspective and to prevent potential privacy breaches.
In my experience, working to provide high-quality healthcare requires regular technology upgrades to keep pace with the changing digital landscape. But this also means we must dispose of our digital waste, such as computers, mobile devices, batteries and hard drives with care.
Otherwise, the consequences can be disastrous, from exposing sensitive patient health data to the environmental impacts.
Environmental sustainability
The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts there will be 250,000 additional deaths globally from climate-sensitive diseases (such as heat stress, malnutrition, vector‑borne diseases and injury) from 2030 onward.
Australia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including species loss, floods, heatwaves, drought, storms, bushfires and risk of zoonoses.
The RACGP recognises that GPs play a key role in identifying, reducing and managing the adverse health effects of climate change and there are many options, tools and resources available for you to start your journey towards more sustainable general practice.
The important thing is to pick an area that resonates and make a start. For me, that began with a focus on reducing digital waste.
Secure destruction and de-identification of data
As we know, unnecessary health information needs to be destroyed securely to prevent unauthorised access. There are a few important considerations before your practice takes this step.
For example, before destruction, consideration needs to be given to the relevant retention requirements under any applicable health legislation (refer to the RACGP Privacy and managing health information in general practice resource).
Secure deletion occurs when the relevant records can no longer be accessed through normal or forensic processes. Typically, deletion from a database does not totally erase a record or remove the record from the hard disk or other storage medium.
Unless data is erased and overwritten multiple times, the data may remain on the storage medium and be accessible forensically – a fact that is concerning when you consider how sensitive the data is that we hold in general practice.
Deleting individual patient records may not be possible due to practice software limitations and where relevant, advice should be sought from software vendors or other professionals. Additionally, hardware and devices that once held sensitive patient information must be de-identified before they are disposed of.
Environmental considerations
Personally, I have found the RACGP Environmental Sustainability in general practice resource to be incredibly helpful in explaining various types of environmental sustainability considerations directly related to general practice, including the disposal of ‘e-waste’.
The resource outlines ways to reduce the amount of e-waste your practice creates. These include:
- Avoid purchasing new electronic products that can’t be reused or recycled
- Reduce your consumption of electronic devices by repairing broken equipment before purchasing new items
- Re-use your electronic devices by donating items to charity, friends or family
- Discard e‑waste responsibly, including by engaging a recycling company to collect various types of e‑waste for recycling or dropping off your e‑waste at organisations that offer recycling free of charge – see Tech Collect, Recycling Near You, Mobile Muster or Clean Up
- Develop an e‑waste recycling policy using the RACGP template
As mentioned, before discarding any electronic equipment, make sure all data have been removed from the device.
Privacy and security
Failing to properly delete data before disposing of any electronic device breaches patient information privacy and security requirements. Simply deleting your files does not fully and permanently delete information from your storage device’s hard drive.
I cannot stress enough, before disposing of any equipment, make sure all data have been properly scrubbed from the device.
World Environment Day (June 5) is a campaign I support to promote the importance of strong privacy foundations and emphasise the fundamental role we as GPs play in safeguarding patient health information.
Now is the time to refresh our practice policies on discarding e-waste to protect our patients and the environment.
RACGP resources
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