The private healthcare system in Australia is one of the very best in the world. Our country is lucky to have access to systems like Medicare and platforms like iSelect for private health insurance, that make our healthcare concerns drift away. These systems make it so easy for us to keep track of, maintain, and adhere to the healthcare system in Australia. Thus far, there has been the standard arguments and debates for cheaper fees for things like prescribed medications and unexpected operations, but all in all the Australian healthcare system and most of its shifting aspects and concepts are one of the very best that the world has to offer. This year though, there is one drastic change to the healthcare record system that is causing mass outrage throughout the country – the upcoming My Health Record.
This year, a mandatory health data centralisation scheme was announced, and the scheme essentially enlists all Australians (without their consent) in having their health information public. Individuals can opt out, but are given only until mid-October to do so before their medical histories are made so widely public. As part of the 2017-2018 budget, the Australian Government announced that the My Health Record system would make the transition to an opt-out participation system. Regardless, by the end of this year, every single Australian will have a My Health Record, unless they choose and actively opt out of the healthcare history system before the cut-off date in mid-October.
The concerns among the Australian public surrounding the new My Health Record system have been mounting since it was announced that the healthcare notification system would indeed go ahead. While the individuals behind the My Health Record scheme insist that the public’s personal healthcare records will remain private save for when parties get access to the data to perform necessary and required actions regarding an individual’s health. This might sound like a positive at its surface level, but the possible realities are what is concerning the masses. Specifically, there is concern that the My Health Record scheme shares access of individuals’ health data, to parties outside the spectrum of primary care providers. Understandably, opening the records system to those outside the immediate healthcare sector of any given individual is seen by many as a risk that is not altogether necessary and holds the potential for continuous problems surrounding healthcare and health records going forward.
The privacy framework that goes hand in hand with the impending My Health Record system is incredibly similar to a system that was trialled in England before being cancelled, as it was discovered that the system was responsible for patient data falling into the hands of drug and insurance companies. Accessing such sensitive personal information should only be remotely possible as the public expects, with the individual’s consent for access, or through an official court order, and yet the comparisons to England’s “private” system that was so similar have been enough to enrage the Australian public.
The bottom line is that practically everyone holds their personal information in high regard, and even more so when it is their health records. With so much highly sensitive information stored in personal healthcare records, it is little wonder why this new scheme has caused so much panic. Those behind the upcoming scheme continue to insist its innocence and security, but their reassurances have done little to quiet the voices of apprehension. With the knowledge of how England’s similar healthcare records system failed, people have been fuelled with questions that the creators of the upcoming My Health Records system may be unprepared for. While the creators of the system have attempted to mend the fractured image of a system that is not even in place yet, it simply is not enough for the people of Australia.
The old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has been tossed around since the arguments and debates began late last month, and it is a solid mentality to align with My Health Records. While the introduction of the scheme will no doubt make automation and universal access all the easier for professionals in charge of individuals’ healthcare records and treatments, it is that very concept that makes individuals so anxious – the scheme will automate health records and make them essentially universally accessible. All anyone has to do to access them is a little paperwork and some signatures, so far as most people can tell. And it does not sit well with the masses.
The Australian healthcare system is renowned for being one of the very best in the world, but 2018 has seen the public have a united front in the wake of a new scheme being introduced later this year. My Health Record has caused panic among the Australian public, as concerns for the safety and security of healthcare information and records has mounted since the announcement. While citizens have the newfound choice to opt out of the My Health Record scheme, effectively barring their personal healthcare records from becoming so easily accessible, many Australians still feel the My Health Record scheme is an unnecessary risk. Time will tell if this grand scheme indeed proves to be too risky, but until then, the best option is simply to opt out if you would like to keep your private healthcare records entirely private.