New figures show that one in 10 Australians have opted out of the My Health Record (MHR) system, leaving participation rates at 90.1 per cent, writes Healthcare IT News. According to the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), based on the number of people eligible for Medicare as at 31 January, more than 2.5 million people have opted out of the system, amounting to a national opt out rate of nearly 10 per cent. This is an increase from the three per cent, or about 900,000 people, who opted out from when the opt-out period began in July to 9 September last year. While the opt-out period ended on 31 January, legislation was recently passed by the Australian Parliament allowing Australians to cancel and have their MHR permanently deleted from the system at any time in future. Similarly, individuals who may have opted out can choose to create a record at any stage.
ADHA Chief Executive Tim Kelsey cites a recent report which identified that 1.2 million Australians will have experienced an adverse medication event in the last six months. 250,000 hospital patients are seen each year because of medications misadventure. A key cause is the absence of real-time medical records at the point of care – a key benefit of MHR. More than 50 per cent of pharmacies are now uploading to MHR.
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- Healthcare IT News: https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/more-25m-australians-opt-out-mhr-system