Health privacy concern
New online record system
AUSTRALIANS are being asked to trust the Federal Government with their deepest medical secrets as a new $1 billion online health record is rolled out nationwide.
Every Australian will have a My Health Record that will reveal if they’ve had an abortion, mental illness, sexually transmitted disease or drug addiction — unless they tell the Government they want to opt out from next week.
The Government says the My Health Record will reduce medication errors and the duplication of medical tests and make it easier to keep track of your health, but some privacy and IT security experts are urging people to opt out.
“I will personally be opting out because I don’t think the Government has demonstrated the security of the My Health Record system,” University NSW privacy expert Dr Katharine Kemp said.
There will be no national advertising campaign informing people about the record, nor will there be a letter to every home providing information.
People wanting information about the system should check government websites, visit a public library or ask their GP.
Consumers will be able to opt out of a My Health Record by visiting the My Health Record website or calling 1800 723 471 for assistance.
The vast majority of doctors are not using the records and some are reporting it crashes their computers, the many documents uploaded on the record can’t be labelled and searching for a particular test result is very difficult.
Very few of the 5.7 million records created so far have a shared health summary uploaded by a GP and most specialists have not registered to use the record.
If you don’t opt out by October 16, a My Health Record will be automatically created for you and even if you later decide to cancel it, the information will be stored online until 30 years after you die.
The Government will own the record and the System Operator, the ADHA and doctors can attach other unspecified information from other sources to your My Health Record without your permission.
Once it is activated, a list of all the Medicare-funded doctor’s visits, medical tests and subsidised medicines you’ve taken for the last two years will be added to the record.
The ADHA warns this list “may indicate diagnosed conditions or illnesses or symptoms and tests”. You will have to ask your doctor to put a shared health summary on the record, which lists your medical conditions and you can put notes in indicating any allergies you suffer.
The record is set on open access so unless you take action to set up a PIN to protect the information, any health professional — including your physiotherapist, optometrist and podiatrist — will be able to see information about your medications and health conditions.
The Government will also share the information from your health record with third parties such as researchers unless you take action to tick a box to prevent this.