A guide to understanding your My Health Record

By the end of 2018, a My Health Record will be created for every Australian, unless they choose not to have one.

WHAT IS A MY HEALTH RECORD?

A My Health Record is an online summary of your health information that you can access and allow access to your healthcare providers.

There is a lot to remember day to day and important information can sometimes get forgotten or lost in translation.

Whether it's remembering medical information for yourself or someone you care for, utilising technology to help streamline is a great move forward for us all.

A post-it note with the medicines your taking, an email jotting down your allergies, a calendar mark of the last therapy appointment or your medical conditions and results in a notebook.

Wouldn't it be great if all your medical information could be in one place?

My Health Record is the answer.

HOW DOES MY HEALTH RECORD BENEFIT ME?

Collating all of your specific details; your GP can see your records for a check-up, or an emergency room team can access vital and possibly life-saving information if you're unable to communicate.

Authorised health professionals can securely connect with your My Health Record resulting in more efficient advice and care for you.

"As more people and their healthcare providers use the My Health Record system, Australia’s national health system will become better connected."1

IS MY HEALTH RECORD SECURE?

You control your My Health Record and can set privacy and security controls as you wish.

This will mean that you maintain privacy and control access, as My Health Record explains, for:

- individuals – allowing people you trust such as family members, friends or carers to view and help manage the information

- healthcare providers – changing the default setting to apply restrictions for an entire healthcare organisation

- documents – restricting access to specific documents relating to visits to healthcare providers, or medicines that you are taking or have taken.

You can also restrict access to clinical documents that you consider sensitive, or all or specific types of Medicare documents.

You can also:

- add notes about your allergies and adverse reactions, an advance care plan or custodian details

- set access controls to restrict who can and can’t see your health information

- review your own health information, seeing everything your healthcare providers can see

- set up SMS or email notifications so you know when a healthcare provider first accesses your record.

I DON'T WANT A MY HEALTH RECORD

If you don't want a My Health Record, you will be able to opt out of having one created for you during a three-month period in 2018.

If you have any questions or for further information regarding your My Health Record, please visit the My Health Record website or speak to reception.