My Health Record weighing up the OPTions
The optional opt out period for the My Health Record has begun with a closing date of 15 October 2018. The electronic health records have been around for years, but right now it is certainly gaining a lot of media attention and creating discussion in the general population. The Australian Government has invested heavily in this technology, and with such slow and limited uptake over the last few years, they have made the My Health Record a compulsory proposition for every Australian – provided you do not opt out We have certainly had a lot of questions from our patients about the implications of opting out or staying in. So, what is My Health Record and should you opt out or stay in?
The video above is the official government video informing the public about what the My Health Record is. In basic terms, it is a patient-controlled record of your medical history. This information pertains to significant past medical history, medication history, medicare claims, pharmaceutical benefits scheme claims, pathology results, discharge summaries from hospitals, letters from health providers and important documents like advanced health directives. Information is uploaded by doctors when there is a significant change to your medical history, by a pharmacist when you get medications dispensed from a pharmacy or by the patient themselves. Being patient-controlled, you have discretion over the data that appears. You can edit it, and state what you do or don’t want on it and who you wish to be able to have access to those records.
There are many benefits to My Health Record. From a patient point of view, it means that you can go to any appropriately registered health provider and they can access important information to help in your care. It allows another way to efficiently relay your medical history to another provider. This can be particularly useful, for instance, if you have significant allergies. From a public health expenditure point of view, it means providers may quickly and easily see what investigations you have had so as not to double up on tests, which save you time and a potential adverse events from testing and saves money for Medicare in general. The importance of these points in itself is immense.
There are also downsides. Firstly, from a doctor’s perspective, being patient-controlled can mean that clinically relevant information can be added or removed by a patient. This may make the record inaccurate or incomplete. Furthermore, there is no onus on doctors to keep the record up to date either, rather a responsibility to ensure that the information that is uploaded is not intentionally inaccurate. Thus, the record is not necessarily the panacea of your health information.
Of course, the major concerns centre around the privacy and security of confidential medical information. Security infrastructure is the responsibility of the Digital Transformation Agency of the Australian Government. Patients access the record through the MyGov website, the same system that many Australians access the Centrelink, Medicare and ATO portals. Thus, potential security issues with accessing My Health Record may also be issues related to people accessing financially sensitive data and significant identification information already. The government have tried to address some security concerns after consultation with such groups as the Australian Medical Association. During the opt-out period, legislation has changed so that law enforcement and other government agencies will require a court order, coronial order or order of similar nature to access your records. The system also has an optional a two-step verification procedure to ensure only approved people are able to access your details.
In summary, it is important to weigh up your own preferences and priorities when it comes to opting out or staying in. If you have a strong concern about privacy of your health information and do not feel comfortable with assurances from the government then you can opt out online. If you want a My Health Record, then you do not need to do anything. Furthermore, the government has also allowed people to opt out at a future date with a complete deletion of their record. If you would like more information, then you can find out more at the official government website or ask your general practitioner.