I have become aware that the Government is about to enter everyone’s medical records into the My Health Record within the MyGov website.
What concerns me is that you apparently have a 3 month period to Opt-Out otherwise your health records will be added to the site.
What gives the Government the right to automatically add my details unless I Opt-Out, I wouldn’t be so annoyed if it was an Opt-In situation but this option, to my knowledge, has not been communicated to the general public.
I can see some of the benefits in having a central database that could be used by medical professionals but I have serious security concerns about this, I know the Government will say its completely safe but as we know nothing on the internet is safe from hacking eg Ashley Madison. Such a large database of critical information will be a prime target for hackers & they could make a very large amount of money selling on such information. Once these documents are placed on the internet they will never be able to be completely removed.
You may find that data has been added to the government health portal in the past few years, especially if one has received vaccinations/medications and your GP uses the government portal as well.
Our own GP in Brisbane has been using the system for many years (maybe 5 or so) and have never had the option to opt out. The system is usedul for seeing when one last had treatments and also vaccination history of children.
I so see adva n tages of the system…such as being available to medical staff in the event of a emergency and when one can’t communicate with the medical staff on their medical/medicine history. Such may allow better medical responses and less likely for complications. It would also allow doctors to see past medical history if one changes doctors. This may include reaction to medications or what one has been treated for in the past (something which can be difficult to remember the older one gets).
I can see why some would wish to opt out if they are worried about privacy…but one must remember that doctors have been keeping their own detailed records for decades and this moves such records to a centralised system. As long as the records are records for reference only, I have no issue. If a future government wants to share data say with life insurance companies, then I would have an issue.
It is also worth noting that most of already share our medical history with family and possibly friends. …including some employers. Others are happy to share on social media. The risks of centralised storage may be less than some sharing one already does.
I would also not be surprised that if one uses their medicare card and purchases medicines under the PBS, that records of such events are already recorded in a central location by the government. If this does occur and one does not go to a GP who already uses the health record system, then what is proposed is possibly an extension of that which currently exists.
The other thing to consider is the government already stores a significant amount of information on individuals which can be accessed online (or potentially accessed illegally).
This may include information such as:
- passport details. If one holds a passport, this information can be accessed online (e.g. lodging online, inc. passport renewals)
- taxation information (any financial information included with one’s tax return)
- that held by the Department of Human Services (information relating to social security/Centrelink, medicare and child benefits) - one can see what information is currently retained using this.
- Electoral roll
- land ownership
- business ownership
- and the list goes on.
If one worries that one’s health record is a target for a hacker, it is more likely that existing information stored, and potentially access through illegally means, would be more attractive for hacking.
I am not worried about my health records being stored, as the risks of record keeping far exceed any potential privacy risks. I would want someone to better know me in the case of an emergency, rather than potentially making a potential life saving situation more challenging. I would also like my doctors in the future to have my health records rather than being potentially ignorant to this history.
The other thing to consider is that existing hardcopy medical records can be subpoenaed by the court.
The other issue here is that the Health Record access will be asked for by Insurance Companies who indeed may use the patient history to deny benefits or coverage because of some obscure prior history.
Opt in is the better choice just like it is now for most of the detail on the Health Record.
I would suggest that specific additional approval/consent would need to be given by each health record holder for this to occur…rather than insurance companies being able to access this data without the record holders consent.
It would be a bit like the banks accessing tax office records without any consent given by the taxpayer.
If a government chose to provide access to insurance companies without consent, I anticipate there would be many legal challenges to this decision.
But the consent will be demanded and if not provided then no coverage or payment would ensue. Many might say chose another provider but I fear all insurers will jump on the bandwagon…something akin to the almost universal disclosure of Social Security Numbers in the US.
Technically they could ask for a hard copy of your doctors records now. While electronic version would be simplier to obtain, it possibly doesn’t change what could happen now.
Perhaps, but who would you trust to worry about your interests more, your doctor or our government? Would your doctor release your records willy nilly, ask consent, or will s/he jump on the bandwagon of a 200 pages T&C allowing them do so (I trust you know my point even though it is satirised)?
It just gets better … you couldn’t make this stuff up …
