When the Federal Government's My Health Record system was launched back in 2012 by the Department Of Health as the "Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record", the system back then was touted as a secure repository of documents and data relating to patients' healthcare. The concept at the time was something seen as a bit of a godsend for those of us who lack paranoia of using digital platforms to access this information, often wanting the peace of mind that comes with having digital transport of data between medical providers to enable better communications and health outcomes. This was the concept when it was launched at the time, but as I type this post with some time of using the system under my belt, the implementation even with some subtle changes in more modern times is still lacklustre from the consumer point of view.
I personally do understand the challenges given my experience in the ICT Industry. It's more than just getting into it and using it as often the original implementation required overhauling age old systems to drive digital contributions - lots of medical practices were using computers but still had folders of patient info that was more often collections of printed data that you would scan and keep in this day and age. Some practices needed to upgrade to new hardware to facilitate the changes, get new Internet connections, train staff not to mention training the patients in the fact that there was positive outcomes rather than another scary implementation of an "online" system.
Let's take a look at where it is from the point of view of being a patient and where my current frustration is set. Since 2012 we've been encouraged by medical professionals and the government to opt in to facilitate the free flow of information, which is something I have actively done. I can login to my data through the appropriate portal via MyGov, but what is it that I can currently actively see?
Here's an idea of what you might be able to currently find with an active My Health Record:
There is a distinct lack of the following features being used in the treatment of my health through this government platform:
Inadequate data sharing via this platform is rife amongst Radiology providers from my personal experience, my preferred provider in the Riverina-Murray Region more often than not fails to upload the information into My Health Record and what is on the record is currently scattered - requiring me to request the information that I am openly happy to sign on having loaded to these platforms.
Out of the information that I can get access to, I am still treated with contempt for my interest in my own health. It's assumed by practitioners and the system that if I have my information straight away then I might jump online and use Dr Google to determine my outcome and impact the level of treatment I might receive if I had not visited the doctor straight away to get the information, which for most of us means a second and third visit since raising the issue which caused the test request in the first place - another fee to the doctor and only partial return from Medicare for the visit, unless of course you have hit the threshold of claims and you get most -or- the entire visit back.
Currently the standard waiting period for being able to access your own test results on My Health Record is 7 days. This is 168 hours from the results being uploaded to the digital platform, not from the tests being taken or the request being made. There is a chance that you may even wait longer if the provider "forgot" to upload the information and had to process it later -or- you had to chase them to make the information available in the system.
Discussions commenced prior to the last federal election back in 2024 with Minister Mark Butler making public record that upgrades would come to my health record to save time and money, which at the time of the release the minister expressed agreement with the consumer sentiment he had noted regarding accessing records automatically and in some cases quicker. Some of the discussion also stemmed from needing better access to information during COVID, because traditional processes at this time were not ideal for handling information in the traditional ways.
As it currently stands, the government has pushed forth with the concept of enforcing the need for providers to upload information that should be on the file through the process of withholding or asking for repayment of Medicare payments should the providers continue to drag the chain - but they continue to fall short of the ultimate improvement to patient accessibility of data with no changes to the 7 day consumer access delay. This delay as you can see by reading this FAQ document continues to claim that there are suitable reasons for the delay and that any further discussions and actions on the subject lay at the table of the Clinical Reference Group, comprised of a collection of Doctors, Professors, Directors, Radiologists and Board Members that would not find any reason in their mind for a consumer to have the power to access information quickly.
In my personal experience I've also found that the industry as a whole is heavily weighted with professionals that have contempt for patients requesting information to be made available to them on request, something recently experienced with a family member requiring copies records from a GP recently - the initial request was met with a positive confirmation from the receptionist at the original request with instructions to deliver the request in writing, which was delivered. After a week of waiting and a goose chase of speaking to receptionists and admins, the practice manager made the claim that the request was not going to be actioned as they "were not entitled to the information", a statement which was refuted by myself and people in the legal profession who have been involved in trying to access the information. This has caused extra time and effort with the practice being served with a legal letter to push through with the process.
I completely understand the concerns that are raised by medical professionals on some of the public not being able to make heads or tails of information, but being able to touch any personal information collated about yourself with a system like My Health Record should not be this hard - especially now we have 13 years under the belt of the service being provided.
If you are passionate about this subject, I do empower you to make regular contact with the Federal Health Minister, the Clinical Reference Group and even local members of Parliament to push this case...because if we don't, then the same status quo will continue.