Forum Discussion
My Health Record
OK good folk of the forum, what do you think?
As people with a complex health issue, with multiple specialists, this is something that directly impacts us, and could benefit us greatly (memory issues anyone?!).
However there's privacy issues (any government department can access it without your knowledge), identity theft, insurance denial, employment issues etc.
I just asked my GP about it today and she is officially undecided. She said get back to me on that one, the practice is having a meeting about it tomorrow!
To opt out or not, that is the question. Would love to hear your thoughts.
As people with a complex health issue, with multiple specialists, this is something that directly impacts us, and could benefit us greatly (memory issues anyone?!).
However there's privacy issues (any government department can access it without your knowledge), identity theft, insurance denial, employment issues etc.
I just asked my GP about it today and she is officially undecided. She said get back to me on that one, the practice is having a meeting about it tomorrow!
To opt out or not, that is the question. Would love to hear your thoughts.
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- Further to that, as someone who has been known to snatch folders and read notes while fending off indignant medicos, I've seen some stuff on my records which is of very dodgy quality. It worries me that some of that, which is occasionally poorly formulated opinions or wrong information rather than the medical facts, could become readily accessible information.
Prof Kerryn Phelps was talking about this on Radio National this morning and has had a bit to say about the legislation on Twitter.
Prof Kerryn Phelps AM @drkerrynphelps 11m11 minutes ago
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Prof Kerryn Phelps AM Retweeted Louise Smith
The opt-out period is the next three months. You can wait to see what the Minister @GregHuntMP decides next week. If you are not happy with the privacy settings on this legislation, you can opt out, knowing you can opt in at any time in the future.
As a previous president of the AMA, and a fairly sensible woman, I think she has a fair idea what she is talking about. Her concerns were mainly the amount of agencies who could request personal and currently private information, such as GP notes, without a warrant or court order by contacting the regulator, currently the Australian Digital Health Agency, and putting forward a 'reasonable' argument. The decision to release the information would then be made, without the patients consent, by a public servant.
That's uncomfortable enough, but if the Agency was ever privatised (never say never about that) it's possible those decisions would be made by a corporate entity. That's really uncomfortable. The model has changed considerably since the idea was conceived in 2012--back then it was to be controlled by the patient. It seems we cant be trusted with that. Ironic, no?
Her feeling is that GPs may stage a revolt and refuse to upload information that they consider sensitive unless the privacy concerns are addressed which could put them at risk of professional sanctions.
She's also worried about the push by the health insurance companies to have access. That huge amount of data, the health records of potentially 25 million people, is a very valuable piece of kit. Money being the root of all evil (or route if you feel like being literal) nothing should be taken for granted. I think the legislation would have to be tightened considerably for me to be comfortable with it. The cynic in me is also concerned about changes in legislation as time passes which may not be in the individuals best interests.
This story will go on for a while, but the more I'm hearing, the less I like it. There is still more than enough time to make a decision and, as Prof Phelps points out, you can always opt in later.
- Yep, I opted out. Even the tax department can have access. Don’t get that
- I like the idea of everything being held centrally but for me too many unknowns about who will have access so I opted out at the weekend.
- I'll probably not opt out but I might if I were younger, if half the world hadn't already got access to my medical records or (sorry, not my intention to alarm) if I had mental health issues. I don't care if employers have access to my physical health records, given the unsolicited approaches I get my details would appear to be well and truly circulated. But while it might help
medical practitioners to share information about my mental and emotional state, I would be concerned about any leakage elsewhere. That sort of info wouldn't be on offer until this scheme is well established and some evaluation available. - @"Kiwi Angel" Go to the ABC Radio website and listen to the stories on AM, The World Today and PM. They've been all over it for the last few days.
- @Flaneuse That's how I feel at the moment. Section 70 says any part of the government can access it. And now the police can? Technically how it stands at the moment is they don't need a warrant! How is this right??
- I've opted out on principle. There have been so many IT stuff-ups in this country (let's start with the census). Apart from that, even the federal health minister doesn't know how it's going to operate. Yes, (contrary to his beliefs) the police can demand access to it without a warrant, it seems. Is it accessible if you're overseas? They don't know yet. So many unanswered questions.
At my age, I care little who knows what about my health history; but for young people, it could be used against them for employment reasons, if it's not secure. I'm going to have to read up on this more - have only just really heard about it.
