My Health Record: Opt out option taken by GP

My Health Record is an online summary of key health information such as allergies, medicines you are taking, medical conditions you have been diagnosed with, and pathology test results such as blood tests.

The national database is accessible by health professionals including GPs and hospital emergency department doctors and nurses.

The scheme has been criticised by some who claim that the government has not proven that information will not be stored securely.

More than 6.4 million Australians already have a My Health Records and unless you opt out, one will be created for you after January 31.

Dr David Howe said while idea of a national database was beneficial, he did have some concerns.

“The government has not been able to prove it’s secure and that people aren’t able to hack it,” he said. “It’s fundamentally terrific, but the way it’s structured is not.”

Dr Howe said his advice to his patients depended on the individual.

“If you’ve got a lot of health issues then stay in,” he said. “But, if you’ve got issues that may come back at you like [through your] insurance or jobs then don’t opt in.”

So far 1.147 million people have opted out of having a My Health Record, a statement by the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) said.

“My Health Record is already helping many Australians to improve the management of their own health and care,” the statement said.

“[It] gives healthcare providers secure digital access to key health information at the point of care, wherever that may be.

“Its benefits include reduced hospital admissions, reduced duplication of tests, better coordination of care for people with chronic and complex conditions, and better informed treatment decisions.”

The ADHA statement said there were strict rules and regulations about who could see and use My Health Record, to protect information from misuse.

“[It] has multi-layered and strong safeguards in place to protect people’s information including encryption, firewalls, secure login, authentication mechanisms and audit logging,” it read.