Addressing concerns about possible unauthorised access to the My Health Record system, the North Coast Primary Health Network is reassuring the public that code setting restricts access to those healthcare professionals who receive patients’ consent to put their details online.
The PHN is also stressing the benefits of providers having fast digital access to information such as allergies, current conditions, medicine details and pathology and lab reports in the event of accident or medical emergency.
This is particularly valuable if people are away on holidays or business and might need emergency care.
Addressing the security issue, the PHN points out that healthcare professionals can only access My Health Record if they have been given permission to do so. In addition, the system has a history capability whereby patients can monitor who has looked at their health details.
It is an offence for an unauthorised person to collect health information from an individual's My Health Record, with penalties of up to $108,000 for an individual or up to $540,000 for a body corporate, or up to two years’ imprisonment.
“You can control who can see your e-health record through setting a record access code and only giving the code to those health professionals you wish to access your history,” it says.
This consent extends to emergency department staff who might need to urgently access medical histories.
To protect their privacy, patients can, in consultation with doctors, control what information goes onto My Health Record, so that only those conditions, medications or past operations they wish to be displayed are made accessible.
MyHealthRecord website or phone 1800 723 471
