The number of Australians joining up to My Health Record is growing daily, with more than 5.8 million people registered.
My Health Record is an online summary of your health history. Unless you opt out of the system between 16 July and 15 October 2018, a My Health Record will be automatically generated for you by year’s end.
My Health Record is now posting weekly statistics showing who’s joining, and in what numbers. It’s a fascinating snapshot of this national effort to ensure everyone’s health summary is online and easily accessible. You can have a look here:
https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/about/my-health-record-statistics
Of course it’s not just consumers My Health Record wants to sign up – it’s also the health professionals and their stores of health data.
Partyline has heard recently a South Australian health practice is advising clients to opt out of My Health Record - including the active Tweeter and doctor from Kangaroo Island, Tim Leeuwenburg.
The Medical Republic is an online magazine/newsletter. At the recent inaugural GP Down Under Conference on the Gold Coast, it did a quick whip around survey about the intentions of GPs to put their own personal health summary in My Health Record.
63 per cent of GPs said they would be opting out. http://medicalrepublic.com.au/63-gps-might-opt-mhr/14843
The survey is stirring some debate.
The Australian Digital Health Agency is relying on GPs to be front-line advocates for selling the worth of My Health Record to their patients. But if a GP doesn’t trust the system, how can they effectively advocate its worth?
A few days later The Medical Republic admitted, in a second article, that its poll “was hardly scientific and had a very low sample (124) – but it was an interesting question.”
The magazine has since started asking a lot more questions about this topic and is surveying GPs again here about their reasons for opting in, or out: http://medicalrepublic.com.au/will-opt-health-record/14991
We’ll keep you updated.
But Partyline would love to hear your experience of the opt in - opt out debate.
Do you know health consumers, or health professionals that have a strong stand one way or the other?
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