Pittwater Life August 2018 Issue

Business Life: Law
Business Life
Privacy concerns over
new ‘My Health Record’
Last month readers will
have likely seen headlines
or heard television and
radio commentary concerning
My Health Record, being an
online summary of individual’s
health information, such
as medication prescribed,
medical conditions diagnosed,
treatments received, allergies
noted and pathology test
results as for example blood
tests to be held in an eHealth
record.
It is the Federal
Government’s aim to have a
My Health Record for every
Australian at the end of 2018.
So how has this come
about? And why has there
been so little information
available to warn people that
My Health Record is a system
involving every individual who
on consideration of the issues
involved may choose to ‘opt
out’ of the system but can
only do so between 16th July
and 15th October 2018?
The government has
not conducted a formal
advertising or information
campaign about this major
change to our health system.
In 2012, the then Labor
government introduced and
passed My Health Records
Act and My Health Records
Regulation. Subsequently
the Coalition government
introduced and passed My
Records Rule in 2016.
ONLINE RECORD: The Government is pushing a digital database model.
The scheme as devised by
the Labor government was to
roll out a voluntary, shared
digital health record for all
Australians. The then Attorney
General, Nicola Roxon said “I
want to make sure we bring
consumers with us in the
e-Health journey by adopting
an ‘opt in’ model allowing
them to choose when to sign
on. I believe that the benefits
of giving the Australian public
the choice as to whether they
participate will be key to the
successful implementation...
I think moving to an ‘opt out’
position would be a serious
mistake.”
At the National Press Club
in May this year the CEO of
the Australian Digital Health
Agency (ADHA), Tim Kelsey
spoke on ‘Your Health in your
with Jennifer Harris
hands – the digital evolution of
health and care in Australia’.
He said that last August,
the Council of Australian
Governments unanimously
agreed on a new National
Digital Health Strategy.
This involved three
overriding principles:
n Participation: empower
people to take more control
of their health and care;
n Collaboration: co-design
services with care
professionals and the
community – so that they
serve real need. Always be
evidenced-based and always
listen; and
n Innovation: create platforms
for industry, developers,
entrepreneurs, and
researchers so that their
creativity and businesses can
flourish and health outcomes
in Australia benefit.
In the years since Nicola
Roxon suggested that it
would be a serious mistake to
move to an ‘opt out’ position,
that is precisely what has
happened – and unless you
do so by 15th October 2018
you will automatically have
a digital health record by
the end of the year. Such a
record will be available to your
doctors, hospitals and other
health care providers… such
as physiotherapists to view
your health information, in
accordance with your access
54 AUGUST 2018
The Local Voice Since 1991