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PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDIES
eMediSafe Secure E-mail Pilot
eMediSafe is a secure PKI based communications Government sponsored system utilising generic email systems and publicly available
communications infrastructure to promote cost-effective service electronic referral links within Australia's health sector. It
provides cost-effective electronic authentication and data encryption that guarantees personal and data integrity.
eMediSafe communications electronically link health sector coal-face workers, that is general practitioners (GPs), with other health
service providers including hospitals and pathology, radiography, pharmacy and other practices. The dual elements of low-cost and
high security make it ideal for adoption within any on-line community seeking authenticated and encrypted communications for
electronic commerce applications.
Each of the pilot practices and service providers is equipped with a smartcard
reader, and each authorised user within the organisation, a smartcard. These
tools enable the participants to safely communicate with other members of the
service network.
That is, only authenticated users are able to access confidential messages
such as Patient electronic referrals, discharge notices and pathology test results.
eMediSafe Communications is safely delivered over existing publicly available Internet infrastructure. For instance a service
request originating from a GP will be immediately available to the service provider to whom it was sent. The diagnostic report
(pathology test results), once developed by the service provider, can be returned to the originator in a similar timeframe and
appears in electronic format that can be immediately input into the patients electronic health record (EHR).
eMediSafe was the first publicly available third-party validated, public key infrastructure (PKI) system deployed in Australia.
eMedisafe is deployed in two States (Queensland and Victoria) over some 500 users. Internet Commerce Australia is the prime contractor
with the Commonwealth Government. We put together the grant submission, did the pilot procurement plan, undertook the marketing and
recruited the participants, set up the eHealth steering committees in Victoria and Queensland, did all the system architecture design,
managed all sub contractors and project manages the regional administration of the pilot service. We also undertook a series of
national marketing seminars to promote the pilot. Technology and services for the pilot were procured and supplied by Siemens,
Nexor, SSE, Utimaco, Cable & Wireless Optus, and eB2Bcom.
After eMedisafe's initial deployment, it was further enhanced by the specification and development of S/MIME v3 based Java applets
into two applications (the most widely used General Practioner Practice Management Software, and the most widely used Community
Health application software). These applets enabled seamless integration of PKI enabled secure transmission of the Electronic
Health Record referral from the GP to the Community Health organisation and vice versa.
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