Country people urged to embrace My Health Record, despite security concerns
DUBBO regional residents, along with the rest of Australia, have until October 15, 2018, to opt out of My Health Record, but health professionals feel the benefits will far outweigh cyber security risks, especially in the event of an emergency.
My Health Record is an online summary of your key health information which is scheduled to go live later this year.
You can view your health information securely online, from anywhere at any time.
Healthcare providers connected to the My Health Record system can also see your health information such as allergies, medicines and immunisations while scripts or treatments will automatically be updated.
Pharmacists will be able to check a patient’s My Health Record and can be sure the medicines being dispensed will not have contraindications with other medicines a patient is already taking.
Blooms The Chemist pharmacist Ray Masters believes the system will help. “For us it will be set and forget. The system will update your record if you’re ordering a script. I think it will reduce the chance of duplication or errors which may have occurred in the past,” Mr Masters told Dubbo Photo News.
“If you’re a doctor you will have a clearer picture of a patient’s health. Every single doctor, every single pharmacist, every pathologist, is getting the software and every physical business, surgery and staff will be connected too,” Mr Master said.
Western NSW PHN Digital Health manager Leigh Urquhart agrees the benefits of the new system are far reaching.
“For patients who need to seek treatment after hours perhaps, or have to travel great distances to access healthcare – as many in our region do – this is invaluable as they do not have to carry files with them or remember medical details,” Mr Urquhart said.
“My Health Record gives healthcare providers access to clinical information prepared and shared by other health professionals.
“Because the healthcare professionals have access to this information they will have a more detailed picture to make clinical decisions, to diagnose and provide treatment for you. In emergency situations, treating doctors can view current medications and treatments to provide the appropriate treatment quickly,” Mr Urquhart said.
“This can reduce medicine errors and means patients don’t have to rely on memory for medicine names and dosages. It’s a simple way to track medicines prescribed and dispensed.”
Security and privacy issues, however, are considerations.
The Singapore Governments’ health database was hacked on July 20 this year and details of 1.5 million people stolen. Two days prior, the former chief of Australia’s Digital Transformation Office, Paul Shelter, publicly described My Health Record as “significantly flawed”.
As an opt-out system, he says the information about each individual will still be there.
“My Health Record has defence-level security with multi-layered and strong safeguards in place to protect people’s information including encryption, firewalls, secure-login, authentication mechanisms and audit logging,” Mr Urquhart said.
“The audit log shows you who has accessed your record and when. If you notice any unauthorised access to your record, you can call the My Health Record contact centre and report it.”
Pharmacist Ray Masters said all staff will have their own login credentials, but the system will require them to log every time, protecting patient’s information.
Abuse of the system will attract large fines and/or imprisonment.
“You can set a Record Access Code, and only provide access to your trusted healthcare providers, and you can also place Limited Document Access Codes on documents in your record. Placing these codes on your records means only trusted healthcare providers who you give the code to can access either your whole record or certain documents,” Mr Urquhart said.
Australia’s peak body for rural and remote health has also urged all country people to embrace My Health Record.
“Australians living in rural and remote areas are more likely to end up in an emergency department from a heart attack, car accident or diabetic coma,” National Rural Health Alliance CEO Mark Diamond said.
“If they’re unconscious, and the medical team doesn’t have access to their health history, the team may not be able to provide lifesaving care,” he said.
“The Alliance is satisfied that the Australian Digital Health Agency is using the most robust security measures to safeguard people’s health records, and the risk associated with My Health Record is small.”
More than 5.9 million Australians already have a My Health Record and 12,860 healthcare professional organisations are connected, including general practices, hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic imaging and pathology practices.
This can reduce medicine errors and means patients don’t have to rely on memory for medicine names and dosages... – Western NSW PHN Digital Health manager Leigh Urquhart
My Health Record
www.myhealthrecord.gov.au Call 1800 723 471
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