UNLESS you don’t want one, everyone in the Hawkesbury will soon have a digital medical record.
The Federal Government has chosen our health region – Nepean Blue Mountains PHN which includes Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith – as one of two to trial digital health records.
NBMPHN residents will automatically have a My Health Record created for them unless they opt out. It is a secure online summary of your health information such as allergies, treatments, medications and adverse reactions that can be accessed by healthcare practitioners chosen by the patient.
All Hawkesbury residents will receive a letter from the Department of Health giving them details about My Health Record. In mid-June, everyone in the Hawkesbury who hasn’t had a My Health Record before will have one automatically created unless they decide not to have one.
NBMPHN CEO, Lizz Reay, said “it gives patients control of their health information and who they share it with”.
“It also means health professionals have critical information at their fingertips... and it will reduce the need for consumers to have to repeat health information each time they visit a healthcare provider.”
Ray and Lorraine Gardner of North Richmond have been using it already. As regular travellers across Australia they share their record with their GP so he can add information to help healthcare professionals in other areas manage their conditions and treatments. “It’s a great initiative and is as essential to us when we’re travelling as fuel for the motorhome or online banking,” Mr Gardner said.
Windsor doctor Michael Crampton was at the launch and said it was a great thing for patients.
“At times patients have to obtain healthcare across multiple locations, and communicating those records between healthcare institutions is problematic,” he said. “It is often left up to the patient themselves to remember details of their health history when seeking treatment in a place other than the usual. Although some consumers carry printed health summaries with them, most do not or good memories for their health history.”
