back to article Hardly anyone uses Australia's My Health Record service

One of the Australian government's signature policies, the electronic health record, has been all-but-abandoned by the healthcare sector. While the AU$1.7 billion spent on the My Health Record system so far has attracted registrations from more than five million Australians, the government's dashboard [PDF] for the system …

  1. TReko
    FAIL

    Data leaked in 3-2-1

    Given the government's lack of skill or interest in protecting their citizen's info from hackers, this is hardly surprising.

    Anyway, from May next year it will be mandatory to use it.

    1. Amused Onlooker

      Re: Data leaked in 3-2-1

      It will be mandatory to give your data to the government. They can't make doctors use it. Doctors have their own systems which are far more useful. In fact doctors will need to be very careful about what gets into my health record, not because of what it might reveal about patients but of what it might reveal about themselves. My health record is only a summary/subset of a patient's medical data. It could easily be misinterpreted.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It was a total failure when it was "opt-in" proving the people didn't want it, so the government pushed ahead and changed it to "opt-out" and the people rejected it again.

    When is the government going to stop wasting taxpayer money on this?

    1. Diogenes

      national opt out still hasn't happened

      Although the laws may have been passed, the records are not being created

      Informed by the findings of the evaluation of the participation trials in 2016 that tested an opt-out approach with two large communities against the current self-register model, the independent researchers strongly recommended moving to a national opt-out model to bring forward benefits of the system to both consumers and the wider healthcare system.

      Currently over 4.8 million people already have self-registered for a My Health Record however by the end of 2018 almost all patients will have a digital health record. This should bring more timely access to important health information by both the consumers and their treating healthcare providers.

      There will be an opportunity for every Australian to opt out if they do not want a record in mid 2018. The Agency has created a subscription email for individuals to register to receive an email when the opt out period begins next year. Individuals can register at the My Health Record Website.

      https://myhealthrecord.gov.au/internet/mhr/publishing.nsf/Content/news-032

      I am still waiting for my email

      Edit : Because I know this is coming, at my last GP visit I double checked that the settings on my records with them are still set to not share with anyone. On my file is a solicitor's letter threatening legal action for breach of privacy if any data from my GP file ends up in a myhealth record. I crossed out all the boilerplate on their privacy agreement that allows to share data with anyone outside the practice.

    2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
      Meh

      Perhaps they could conduct a survey by sending everyone a letter...

  3. rtb61

    Easy Way

    For it to work there needs to be an easy way and that easy way is remind people with Medicare documentation and get them to register and then let the government search with the medical practitioners the end claims and grab that data by regulation.

  4. hitmouse

    Re: "Fall Creators Update"

    Most healthcare admin staff seem to prefer to work off their tried and true system of getting patients to write everything down about themselves on paper a hundred times, then faxing it around to referred specialists whose reception staff will ask you to write it all down again anyway.

  5. Winkypop Silver badge
    WTF?

    Never heard of it

    How does one opt-out?

    My opt-out hand is itching...

    1. GrumpyOldBloke

      Re: Never heard of it

      That is the trick. I still haven't worked out how to opt out. Anyone know?

      1. Diogenes

        Re: Never heard of it

        Look at my postupthread. There is alink on the page i quote. They will notify you when you can opt out

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Never heard of it

          Looks like you need a My Gov account before you can even sign up to be told when you can opt-out.

          I don't and won't have My Gov. (I did but it screwed up).

          I do my tax via paper, much easier.

          There is a level of hell reserved for these assholes.

          1. The Central Scrutinizer

            Re: Never heard of it

            Ha! MyGov is a bloody mess. Try doing your tax return through it. Fak........ WTF designed that shitty mess?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder who hosts this? It'll be an external IT vendor of some kind I'm sure. Obviously not IBM because it didn't crash on launch day

    1. Blade

      It's hosted by Dept. Human Services, and is accessed through the "myGove" website;

      https://my.gov.au/

    2. Amused Onlooker

      The Dept of Health owns it, ADHA runs it, but its operation is outsourced to Accenture - who built it.

      What could possibly go wrong?

  7. Griffo

    Why would people register

    Uhm.. the moment the government made it an opt-out system, user self registration became redundant. So wouldn't you EXPECT the rate of self-registrations and self uploads to go into the toilet?

  8. Jim Birch

    The first aeroplanes had mininal payloads, crashed regularly, and were generally derided. Anyone remember early mobile phones and the early phone network.

    Australia spends about 15% of GDP on healthcare. The cost of this initiative is piddling compared to total healthcare spend and the upside is enormous. We are on version 0.2 and everyone wants to moan about the missing V10 features. I read somewhere that just reducing repeated tests would pay for the system. Give it time. This sort of system has to build its dataset and connections to be worth using. It's a big ask. There's a lot of resistance to overcome and connected systems that need to adapt.

  9. Pu02

    The first aeroplanes had mininal payloads, crashed regularly, and...

    Indeed. But this is hardly the first database, web interface, online register of activity, that humanity has built.

    Apart from hiring some technical skillz, they could have started by building in a few obvious key requirements in the beginning, such as:

    Data protection

    Primarily allow the user to own and store their own information, not be forced to leave it in a massive honeypot where others will do their best to dis-own it.

    Support user-defined encryption, where at a minimum, users can opt to keep the private key- or do something like use a secure ID token that they can use to access their data, and restrict others' access to it.

    Ability for the user to scale security on the encrypted data, re-encrypt, double-encrypt, re-issue tokens, keys, passwords, MFA, etc.

    Because they avoid all aspects of user-oriented security concerns, the DTO and others are destined to fail. Why not get it the right way round, implement workable security around the citizen first, and then add features and accessibility? E.g. Plan for regular releases to build solid functionality on top of a stable, well-tested base:

    i.e. A New feature/day.

    v1.0 Secure and stable storage of information, bare minimum of features

    v2.0 Add features as needed

    v3.0 etc.

    Not

    v1.0 Broken

    v1.1 Worse

    v1.2 Hacked

    v1.3 Patched

    v1.4 Hacked

    v2.0 Doesn't work

    v2.1 Fixed so it works (but only for some)

    v2.2 Works mostly, but now most users are scared of the whole thing, project stalls.

    v2.2 Force everyone to opt-out instead of opt-in

    v2.3 Technical release, buying time

    v3.0 Mine data from other sources, insert

    v3.1-v8000 Remove data inserted into unrelated accounts. Quadruple budget, several times.

    v4.0 Deal with constant attacks, publicity around ongoing data ex-filtration to offshore actors

    v5.0 Announce new cloud platform version, all data cleaned and migrated

    v5.1-5.5 Fail to migrate data, force everyone to re-upload records

    v6.0 Amend account data where lost, incorrectly related and causes problems (practitioners to prescribe the wrong dose, medication, procedures, etc.)

    Giving a turd rolled in glitter more time to perform only results in throwing more good money after bad.

  10. aberglas

    Issue is lack of data

    Having unified data can be very important when dealing with multiple providers. The current system of faxing data is a mess and lead to errors.

    However, all the data collected from GPs etc needs to go there automatically for it to be useful. All GPs have IT systems, just not interconnected (except by fax machines).

    There are privacy nuts who have made this very difficult to build. ASIO, the AFP and the NSA already could know everything about you, that is a lost battle. But having unified records is essential.

    NEHTA spent a large amount of money designing something that was never going to be built. What was needed was a simple system that works.

    1. Amused Onlooker

      Re: Issue is lack of data

      No it's not. The issue is relevant data, well managed. My Health Record is a heap of unorganised pdfs mostly just summaries and Medicare/PBS data which doesn't tell you anything about your medical treatment, only that you've seen a doctor or had a test or been given or filled a script. 90% of my health record data is useless Medicare/PBS stuff.

      A better solution would be to put GP systems at the centre and support them with proper interoperability.

  11. Amused Onlooker
    Thumb Down

    Why would you want to give the government your medical data?

    Sharing medical data among your doctors is a good thing. Giving it to the government who will keep it forever and link it to other data isn't so good.

    It's a thinly disguised surveillance tool.

    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: Why would you want to give the government your medical data?

      It's a necessary tool for a government that provides healthcare to its citizens.

      1. Diogenes

        Re: Why would you want to give the government your medical data?

        If only i could opt out of that !

        Then nanny would have no excuse to interfere in my life.

        Btw tge feds only pay for it. They do not operate 1 hospital or employ one practicing dr or nurse

  12. dshan

    My What Now?

    I don't think patients are uninterested in it necessarily. I think they mostly don't know anything about it, or why they're supposed to use it. What benefits is it suppoed to offer? I know I've barely heard of it, and recently I've been spending more time than is good for my blood pressure on the MyGov site. Is it more or less interesting/useful than a royal commission into ba... zzzz.

    The government is usually happy to shout its achievements from the TV, radio, etc. at any opportunity (see NBN) whether justified or not, but this thing, has it ever been mentioned?

    1. Pompous Git Silver badge

      Re: My What Now?

      "I don't think patients are uninterested in it necessarily. I think they mostly don't know anything about it, or why they're supposed to use it. What benefits is it suppoed to offer? I know I've barely heard of it"
      I spend rather more of my time at the doctor and hospital than I'd like due to chronic illness. This is the first time I've heard about the My Health Record service. Dunno if there's any messages on my MyGov account because I can't access it without entering the code they are not sending to my mobile phone.

  13. Amused Onlooker

    ADHA spin

    The ADHA has issued a media release that tries to correct recent media reports about a lack of decent communication re optout

    Original report

    http://cruisewhat.com/privacy-groups-outraged-failure-inform-aussies-new-government-health-record/

    "correction"

    http://www.aapm.org.au/Media/News/ID/603/Correcting-recent-but-inaccurate-media-reporting-for-My-Health-Record

    All they have done is confirm that the original report was correct - there will be no mass communication campaign (TV, Press, mail-out). The rest of the media release contains the usual half truths and spin.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like