Health & Family My health record....

Opted out

Track record of MyGov has put me off

 

As soon as I read that similar overseas systems had sold the user's data to third parties, I opted out. I read that they were selling information about medical and mental health conditions to insurance companies. No thanks! I also don't know why the ATO would need to access the information about me, so I'm not comfortable with that either. If they need it to find out who has private health insurance, I don't see why as they must be checking it somehow already.

 

If you are taking a prescription medication, such as an anti-depressant that could interact with other prescription medications, such as sleeping tablets, then there would be a benefit for your doctor having access to your records so they can prescribe the right medication for you. If not, I don't see the benefit myself.

 

This system is not perfect; probably not for educated people who take care of themselves but may work well for patients who don't even remember which pathology that their blood tests sent to 2 weeks earlier (poor intern has to make at least 3-4 calls to hit the jackpot or just repeat all the tests unnecessarily) or patients who don't remember what medications they are on. It could also prevent patients who shop around to get for example opiates pain killers. Etc etc.
I am not aware of any health data hack in Canada. I am very impressed with their centralised health data management. Hopefully they get it right here.
There will be more and more big brother watching everywhere including your online foot prints...

 

out..

 

yes, and the Gov wants to stop prescription shopping, so that is a benefit for them...

 

The ATO already gets its medicare levy info from Private Health Insurers. They issue a statement each year in July.

 

out...

 

My Health Record: the case for opting out

1. It can’t be relied upon as a clinical record
Contrary to what many Australians may believe, MHR is not a clinically-reliable medical record, and was not designed to be. It is not up-to-date and comprehensive. As the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) points out:

The My Health Record system contains an online summary of a patient’s key health information; not a complete record of their clinical history.

If, for example, a doctor were treating a child in an emergency, the doctor could not rely on an MHR to know what medications the child has been prescribed up to that date. In an emergency, an unreliable record is a distraction, not a help.

Many doctors have in fact objected to the incompleteness and lack of utility of the MHR. A recent poll on the AMA’s doctors portal suggests 76% of respondents think the MHR will not improve patient outcomes while 12% think it will.

Notwithstanding this fundamental deficiency, the government is pushing ahead with an inherently risky scheme.

2. It creates a security risk
If you read the very long (7,800 words) privacy policy for MHR, you’ll see that the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) itself states there are risks from the online transmission and storage of our personal information in this system.

Health data is prized by hackers
We have witnessed a stream of health data breaches in Australia and overseas, and the incentives for these breaches are only increasing.

Storing records digitally with online access greatly increases their accessibility for criminals, hackers and snoopers. Health records are valuable as a means of identity theft due to the wealth of personal information they contain. They are a huge prize for hackers, fetching a high price on the Dark Web.

 

The trouble is with accuracy of the system as well. It's not guaranteed that the data will be up to data or even worse "correct".

 

True. What if it was accurate then hacked?

Or inaccurate then hacked?

 

MyGov started as a horrible mess. Now it’s a good system to use. I like it. I like the fact that everything in one place.

Two step verification seems secure to me. It’s easier to get your details via a phone that through myGov.

That said, I opted out of MyHealth. I can’t see it’s benefits yet. I can’t see how it would of be of anything more than a very general summary. If they improve it I’ll jump in.

 

Insurance nightmare, let alone privacy concerns

 

Out.

 

In two minds.
Initially I thought it would be great for me to see all my records and to provide doctors with them at my discretion.
I find visiting a doctor can be tedious as they have their own agenda as to the same old tests they want done over and over and they very rarely give time to listening to why I've come in to see them.
By having a record, I can show them that this is ok, that's ok, now can you please help my out with the real issue.
And I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees different doctors.
As long as I can control who sees what, I think it's a great idea.
However, I'm disappointed to find that it's actuslly a lot more clunky than I imagined and I still have to contact all previous doctors to ask them to upload. What about those who've retired? How long are records kept etc?
So really, it doesn't seem it's going to make much difference at all in the short term anyway.

 

What about insurance companies wanting to access the records down the track either when you apply for insurance or claiming against currently held insurance ? Doesn't appear to have been discussed that much. While there may be ways to prevent it now, changes may be able to be made (to legislation etc) down the track to allow some access. Could happen behind the scenes without anyone knowing about it (apart from legal eagles).

 

It would be good for those traveling for work , holiday etc if you should end in hospital and surgery , medications were required. Interested to understand how medicos manage on an emergency situation where the patient can't communicate.

 

I wish I could understand what the point of it is. My husband was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks ago and I thought having the my health account would help manage his health info. Instead, for every appointment we are dragging papers, scans and personal notes about having to constantly repeat the same info to each doctor/specialist.

I always make sure to ask each doctor and receptionist if the info from the appt will be connected somehow in my husbands my health and they all look at me confused and say I'm not really sure what that's about.
So I'm left thinking it's basically the same as the Evernote document I started at the beginning of this diagnosis but accessing my evernote docs is easier.
Maybe it will get better over time but for now it hasn't helped us manage my husband's health info at all.

 

I do hope your husband keeps well during this time and all the best.

I understand that the info held doesn't go that deep (scan results, diagnosis, symptoms ) but is more general health records.

 

I think this will be as successful as the census.