Privacy concern as authorities tackle issue of military suicide

AUSTRALIAN Defence Force personnel and veterans may be singled out in an electronic health record system being rolled out across Australia, as authorities look to reduce the number of military suicides.

With My Health Records set to go national next year on an opt- out basis, automatically registering people unless they say otherwise, the departments of health and defence are discussing how best to support ADF personnel and veterans.

In 2014, before the decision to make records opt- out, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs negotiated the inclusion of an ADF indicator on the My Health Record, allowing individuals to self- identify their military status.

While the unique arrangement sought to help patients access government support, it has added another privacy consideration to the challenge of making the My Health Record all but compulsory.

The Australian Digital Health Agency, which is managing the rollout, has already held talks with Defence officials. A Health spokeswoman said the talks were aimed at “supporting Australian Defence Force members in deciding whether to opt out of the expansion”.

The ADF also has its own digital health records, and by 2020 will have transferred all paper health records to its internal system.

A Defence spokesman said officials were discussing with ADHA “ongoing collaboration between the agencies in relation to future projects including the exploration of information exchange and interoperability with the My Health Record”.

A parliamentary committee is ex- amining the issue of military suicides and has heard concerns veterans are going without help for mental health issues. Defence and DVA officials, however, have told the committee of ongoing reforms aimed at providing the help members need, when they need it, and ensuring a successful transition back to civilian life.

A landmark study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in November found that between 2001 and 2014 there had been 292 certified suicide deaths among people with at least one day of ADF service.