Government backdown on My Health Record
The confusion and uproar around the My Health Record (MHR) has galvanised the Federal Government into taking speedy action, with Health Minister Greg Hunt announcing two important changes to the digital database – although it remains an opt-out system.
An outcry over privacy concerns has resulted in a promise to change the law so that police and other government agencies must obtain a court order before they can access records.
Participants will also be able to withdraw after the opt-out period ends and their entire electronic health record will be deleted from the system.
The opt-out period was due to end on 15 October, but is expected to be extended by a month.
The moves were welcomed by the Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australian College of Medical Practitioners and Digital Rights Watch.
MHR is a digital record of a person’s medical history, including medications and test results, which can be accessed by health professionals.
Will you opt-out? Do you think the Government rushed this program, just as it did its 'robo-debt' system? Are you tired of being a government guinea pig?
Maybe, Sophie - the way I see it is it could and should be mutual..... but thus far it seems the MyHealth idea is to accumulate an individual's records, and not at this stage to include 'genetic predispositions' etc.
Can't see a problem in that sense.
Many young ladies were forced to give up children - I know - and I often wonder what their feelings are now... I'm certain they would want to see their own children, but then - who knows how it would work out.
I know I, for one as a man, would find it nigh impossible to give up my own, so I wonder howit must have felt.
I take your point Trebor..however.. when it comes to health records..all adopted children should have access to this..
By the way your print is almost illegible..for anyone wanting to read your post..highlighting the text makes it more visible..
TREBOR - change the text colour!!!
I guess the arrogant public servants who put this together got the message. Solution: employ public servants with a brain. Now that might be more difficult than meets the eye.
I am glad they are making these changes because the system in essence is not a bad thing and could be very useful in some cases. An example being ..children whose parents have died and they need to know their family health history..or adopted children etc.
I shall certainly opt in when I'm satisfied there is enough security..
Sophie - adopted children most definitely should NOT have access to their birth parents records unless the parents wish it to be so and the parent or parents can send the child a copy if they choose. That is not the government's perogative.
This is exactly the breach of privacy some of us fear. Its this historical never ending linking, breach of privacy and civil rights that is so alarming.
Yes that steady flooding of water onstone without your permission is perhaps the longes term and gravest danger to the individual and rights in our society. In 200 odd years this nation hasn't shown too much of the spark of humanity in many way when it comes to 'City Hall'and its handling of rights etc.
'The power of government is abused and directed to an end for which it is not constituted when employed to promote rather than to detect crime and to bring about the downfall of those who, left to themselves, might well have obeyed the law. Human nature is weak enough and sufficiently beset by temptations without government adding to them and generating crime'.
- Justice Felix Frankfurter, US Supreme Court.
'Whenever we leave principles and clear positive laws we are soon lost in the wild regions of imagination and possibility where arbitrary power sits upon her brazen throne and governs with an iron scepter' .
- John Adams, 2nd President of the United States.
(If) Watergate taught us nothing else, it did teach there is no greater threat to society than illegal abuse of power by those sworn to uphold the law.
- New York Times editorial, October 3 1974.
I lovew to collect quotes... I use them often in book writing and some of them are straight to the point and sometimes from several hundreds of years ago...
Rosret...
I totally disagree..but everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Why shouldn't adopted people be able to find out about their birth records like everyone else? It is their right!
They are not apples that fell off a tree..they have a right to know about their own life.. to deny them this is morally wrong .
All adopted people should know that they're adopted from an early age, and be able to confront their past, and their birth parents if they so desire.. of course one has to take into consideration the age of the person when such information is made known..
There is no question in my mind that everyone needs to know where they came from and what they need to look out for healthwise...
Actually Sophie, I don't have access to the terms of adoptions however I am pretty sure the child doesn't have that right. The same would be the case with sperm donors etc.I would have to do the research on the adoption process.
At the moment, Opt in or Opt out, adoptees won't have that right. Children can now have DNA tests if the parents or child wish anonymity and that will alert the medical professionals to any potential genetic disposition.
Sophie, sorry if I sounded angry at you. I am not. I am angry at the Government and how it can breach Australian Law and get away with it.
This scheme was a Labor initiative that has been continued on by the Liberal Government. It has not been set up for us. It has been set up to save money in the form of human resource reduction in the medical system. Knowledge is power.
Re Hitler https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007683
:) Oh no Rosret..I didn’t think you were angry at all..you are only voicing your fears and opinions ..
People should question what the government does, be it Labor or Liberal..some agree, some don’t. As I said in a post recently..I won’t be opting in until I feel reasonably satisfied about the privacy issue..
Thanks for the link..yes., some horrible events occurred in Nazi Germany..
Have you actually gone to the website to see how you can access your records? In one case all you need is your access number( or anyone elses) to acces your records (or anyone elses).
It says you need to get someones elses iD number to access thier records. Now how easy would it be to get that? I leave it to you to think of ways of doing that.
The weakest link is the client user interface.
It is so flawed that blind Freddy can see it. Its OK if you live in a happy share everything environment however just wait until they start doing searches and making links.
Hilter would have loved this, he could have saved so much time with his cull!
PTS your understanding not entirely correct. In order for a person, other than a Medical Practioner, to access you record you will need to enter that person as a "representative". The System will then allocate that person will an "access code" which will initially only be known by you. You will need to tell that person the code. The code is only valid for 30 days, which I see as pointless because if I am unconscious I will be unable to obtain, tell them, a new code. The code is also a "single use" code so once they have used it they will need me obtain and advise them of a new code!
Regardless of the proposed changes I will be opting out! If the government wants epidemilogical data they already have it in the Medicare System. If I am in need of emergency medical care the Doctors should be addressing the immediate health issue and not looking at history.
I carry a wallet/credit card sized "health information card" at all times that has my allegies, medications, health issues entered on it. That is all they need to know!
Rosret...Hitler did not need "health records"..he "culled" regardless..
Huskie that access code then gives them access to their children/teenagers medical data as well and is pinged on their phone.
Unless husbands and wives have non shared security pins on each other's phone then they will have access to each others medical records. There are a lot of submissive home environments where personal medical information is paramount.
Sure its everyone's choice. But lets make it a choice - not an Opt out. If they actually know its happening!
I agree it would have made thibgs a LOT easier for Hitler
Maybe that whats in the wind?
Too easy as I discovered few days ago when opened the relevant site & wanted to "Opt Out," only to receive a return e-mail saying that I've already been opted out?? Farce...altho' "it" finally confirmed my 'opt out.' Don't trust 'em altho' have nothing to hide, my long-term GP's super spesh & would never have done it....can I find out "who did it?"
Amendments to the My Health Record
1. Every Australian citizen needs an individual Medicare card not linked by family.
2. Every Australian needs to be informed of the benefits and concerns of the opt in and opt out scenario similar to promoting a constitution amendment by MAIL.
3. Only those people who OPT in should be on the database.
4. Other than the relevant doctor no individual, including the patient, should have access to any of their records unless they go to the doctor and retrieve their own files.
5. Only the relevant information pertaining to the current medical procedure should be allowed to be shared between specialist and GP.
6. Every time your medical records are accessed it should be recorded with the Name and access number of the person who accessed the file,the date and time andany amendments made.
7. Law enforcement agencies should not have access to medical records without a warrant. (Tick)
8. Doctors should not have been receiving payments for loading personal patient records onto the government database.
9. Children and teenagers should be OPT out until the age of 18 and they can then decide for themselves.
10. People who have accidentally or unknowingly been opted in to the system should be allowed to have their records deleted not quarantined. (Tick)
11. People who have opted out of the system should have an access to a search facility to check no data has been stored on the My Health Record database.
12. Individuals should not have been required to give their drivers licence, date of birth and Medicare number on an online site to OPT OUT. Especially when the people wishing to opt out are concerned about their privacy.
So two out of twelve points is a start. At least we have 1 more month to fight this. Come on Slater and Gordon it must be time to take on the Governement for breach of privacy and our civil rights in a democratic society.
Briliant Rosret - I'm happy for my medical records to be available to Medical Practioners in emergencies altho' have nothing to hide - it's no-one else's business.
I’ve opted out because I am concerned about privacy. I still wasn’t happy that my records were not completely deleted from the system but that seems to be addressed. My view is that if I need to go to hospital, the doctor will have all the facts. If it’s an emergency they can deal with it at the time. I don’t need an insurance company for example to knock back a claim because I’ve had tests which could be construed as pre existing condition
They are going to delete them now. So that is one small victory. (At least that is what we have been told)
Greg Hunt conveniently ‘forgets’ to tell us that ALL health professionals who are elible to register for the AHPRA (Oz health professional registration authority) can apply to MHR for an access code (nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, pharmacists, social workers, medical professionals, community health clinics, dentists, Aboriginal Health centres etc). Many practices share computers and logins and so if a registered person ‘forgets’ to close a patient’s record every person using that computer can see what’s there and what’s more can read, modify or sell the record. Most health practices have very insecure computer systems which are regularly hacked. What could possibly go wrong? One advantage of the system is that health professionals will think twice before writing derogatory things.
There is only 900 000 of them. Totally safe, honest people like the ones in Singapore a week or so ago. :-D
Quite right, Puglet, why should ANY health professional be able to look at your info - there could be people who know you who should not be looking at it.
Overall, the concessions given to the AMA and RACGPs is far from adequate as it only looks at THEIR viewpoint, NOT the CUSTOMER's i.e. the Patient's. They have completely missed asking Patients (us) what they want!!!
The systen should:
a. Allow only the Medical Professionals the Patient specifies to be able to access their data, and that too on SELECTIVE basis, i.e. not necessarily all data to all Medical people.
b. Patient should be able to Delete or Edit information which is Incorrect in their database - e.g. data entered in the past by some incompetent Medical person.
c. We should be able to refuse access to our data to Researchers (through them you can be sure some Pharmaceutical companies will get your details maybe by accident?) - i.e. it should be an Opt-in option to allow data to be extracted.
d. Finally, it MUST be an Opt-in system. Otherwise, the Govt MUST clearly take the full responsibility for any loss of data / consequences / damages if ever any data fell into the wrong hands such as if the system was hacked.
I'm in and have been for a few years now.
So much ado about nothing in my experience ... why?
• My GP has not uploaded my history.
• Details of numerous scans and hospitalisations have not been uploaded by countless providers.
• Medics/hospitals cannot access my personal additions, e.g. current meds, kept medical history.
USELESS in that regard for me.
I have had 5 emergency admissions over the last 5 years … not once has any hospital accessed My Health Records for my previous history!! They all relied on info I provided on each occasion.
Result … I have compiled my own record which is in my handbag or “hospital bag”. Medics love it, full history/results to gauge relevance of current condition/emergency to previous … and proceed accordingly.
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As it stands the My Health Record is a great idea IMO but totally useless because of lack of relevant info as I have outlined above. Believe this is a combination of system-incompatibility and lack of support by relevant medical services (GPs, specialists, hospitals, scanning services, etc)
Yes, RNR that is the only way for the medical record to be accurate. A first hand, verified primary source with you there to make any comment on the medications/treatments that worked or didn't work.
I don't make much comment but I do request a copy of every test I have undergone and include the professional conclusions received verbatim in my personal record and have a folder of same for verification.
Not for me to translate medical conclusions. I find the medics appreciate that.
As for treatments that did/didn't work, occasionally I add an aside re side effects, if any.
After listening to patients in hospitals/surgeries, who wouldn't know which way was up on some occasions sadly IMO, translating/relating their health issues to medical pros ... I decided to stick with the verified facts whenever I could.
This was tried in the uk about 7 years ago as an opt IN system. it was proven that electronic data could not have guaranteed security so abandoned 2 years later.
This is rushed and ill trialled. It should always be an opt IN system. My own GP has opted out and so have we in our household.
One major aspect is the clause stating" any restrictions you have placed will be overridden in the event of an emergency".
This government does not ned to know your health record. it needs to to concentrate on political issues
They only wasted $7Billion and we have clocked up $2Billion!
Exactly the amount of money stolen from self funding retirees betrayed in Hockey's budgets. Pity it wasn't allowed to suport local businesses but wasted on this fiasco. I wonder who got most of the money?
These incompetent nincompoops just want to get re-elected. God help us all if that happens.
Its ok, we're safe. Shorten will never get in
We aren't safe. Even if Shorten does get in. The IPA has infiltrated every organisation and public department now. Once a fascist group get to that point it's hard to stop them and often civil war or war between nations is the only way to do it.
Whata carry on about nothing. Our lives are an open book anyway. Your records, tons of them are with every government agency. Grin and bear it my friends.
i am not up on information re the medical report, but do know a bit regarding the adoption scenerio, IF an adopted child wants to find their parents, there are a few roads they can go, if they were adopted through an agency, the child can go to them, ;can find the details from the hospital they were born in,' they will be assigned a case worker, who will work with them to make contact, if the birth mother is found, the case worker will get in touch with the mother, ;they will NOT GIVE the child the details, this is done by sendind the mother a letter, ;from the case worker' asking if she is the person they are looking for, from then on, it is whether the mother wants to be contacted, if so, then contact will be made, but if the mother doesnt want to make that contact, she doesnt have to, no further contact with the mother is made, if thats what she wants, so the child is no better off, it is up the mother, she may have never told her husband of this child, or may have other children who dont know, and she doesnt WANT them to know, my best friend was in this position a few years ago, she tried to find her family, the mother , for whatever reason didnt want to persue the investigation, so she never found out anything, except her mother was alive, she wasnt allowed any other information, i have no idea if this medical report will show up what births a mother has had, or just what info will be on it, must ask the doc next time i see him, on the face of it it seems like a good idea for anyone who has multiple illnessess, .
About time.