Senate to debate e-health records security

Privacy concerns over the government's electronic health records system will be debated in the Senate after draft laws to protect patients passed the first hurdle of parliament.

The draft laws ensure police and government agencies need a court order to obtain patient data from the My Health Record system, which 900,000 people have opted out of since mid-July.

Although Labor supported the measures as they passed the lower house on Wednesday, the opposition says they do not go far enough and have flagged a debate in the Senate after an inquiry.