Some 90% of Australians have a My Health Record. But even if it has health information stored on there, it might be less than informative and rarely referred to.
A Victorian government proposal to build a clinical information system for every Victorian, with no opt-out, has merits, but the many risks to privacy must be addressed.
The government can access your phone metadata, drivers licence photo and much more. And new research shows Australians are OK about it. But that might change.
The government has rejected a call to extend the My Health Record opt-out period while amendments are made to ensure the privacy and security of the system.
If we want My Health Record data to be made available for medical research we need to make it opt in, not opt out. We’ll have a smaller dataset, but at least it will be ethically defensible.
Permanently and completely deleting information from IT systems is complex. The government should consider pausing the roll-out of My Health Record for longer to properly address this issue.
The My Health Record brings a unique set of confidentiality concerns for young people under 18. These need to be better addressed to ensure teens don’t forego important health care.
Unless you take action to remove yourself before October 15, the federal government will make a digital copy of your medical record, store it centrally, and give numerous people access to it.
The Conversation published a story earlier today that was incorrect. The story, titled “We have less than three months to opt out before the My Health Record system has our details, and no-one told us…
Although there are significant challenges to making data within My Health Record useful in the management of a person’s health, the move to make it more open is positive.