All Australians should be automatically signed up to the national health records system, according to a patients lobby group.
Consumer Health Forum, which represents more than 2 million consumers, says Australia should “bite the bullet” and make joining the system automatic unless patients choose to opt out.
“The current voluntary sign-up to the health records system is failing to gain momentum and the Government needs to adopt more proactive measures to ensure our health system shares the benefits of information technology now routine elsewhere,” forum spokesman Mark Metherell said.
The forum made its point via its submission to the Federal Government’s Review of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR).
“Health has been on the horizon for two decades in Australia and now nearly 18 months after the review went live, less than one 20th of the population have signed up and there remains little active use of the system. Just 11,200 shared health summaries have been entered by healthcare providers,” Metherell said.
“The opt-in approach has left the whole health development in drift. After the expenditure of $1 billion it is not clear whether any health benefits have resulted.”
He said any early concerns over privacy and security issued had been addressed.
The Australian Medical Association is also in favour of the opt-out approach.
“A patient opt-out system would ensure high consumer participation, particularly from patients with high needs, which would provide doctors with a better incentive to commit to using the system,” AMA vice-president Professor Geoffrey Dobb said.
“Doctors would be much more likely to fully embrace the new system if a majority of their patients had a PCEHR.”
In its submission to the Government review, the AMA also argued that the “personal control” element of the review was undermining its potential as a useful clinical tool. Presently individuals may modify their own ehealth record.
“We support people taking greater responsibility for their own health, and the PCEHR has the potential to assist with this, but patient control should not mean that the PCEHR cannot be relied upon as a trusted source of key clinical information,” Dobb said.
“Without a fundamental change to increased clinical confidence, the PCEHR does not serve the best interests of patients.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Cathy Wever
Quelle/Source: Transforming The Nation's Healthcare, 05.12.2013
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