A new nationwide survey report has highlighted a significant number of general practitioners in Australia rarely or not using the national digital health record system.
31% out of 3,000 polled in the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) annual GP survey said they rarely or never use My Health Record. The survey was conducted online between 10 April to 12 May 2024.
“This indicates there may be barriers or operability issues for GPs when using My Health Record,” the report suggested, pointing out potential challenges in raising patient uptake as well as security concerns.
However, the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), the operator of MHR, claims a different reality.
“In the last year alone, there has been a significant increase across the board in connection, use and engagement with My Health Record from both Australian healthcare consumers and healthcare providers,” an agency spokesperson told Healthcare IT News.
“In addition, there has been significant traction in other key areas like specialists (54% registered) and aged care facilities (37% registered).”
In its latest August update of MHR numbers, the ADHA notes that 99% of GPs are registered to and are using the system.
To date, there are over 24 million Australians with digital health records on MHR. In the past fiscal year ending June, there was a 26% increase in consumer views of MHR, mostly pathology and diagnostic imaging reports.
“The ongoing increase in [the] use of My Health Record is critical to support a health care system in which all members of a person’s care team can access relevant health information (if the patient consents to them doing so), including during transitions of care,” the ADHA spokesperson said.
“The agency works collaboratively with the RACGP to support ongoing uptake across the sector.”
THE LARGER CONTEXT
Various calls within the healthcare industry have been made for a year now to make changes to MHR. Overhauling the “clunky” system was one of the major recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Task Force. The latest Productivity Commission report, which found the system “plagued by incomplete records and poor usability,” suggested shifting to an “atomised” data format, or storing information at their most basic level, to enhance MHR uptake. In its initial statement prior to the release of its survey report, RACGP also urged the government to improve the usability of the system.
The continued modernisation of My Health Record has been identified as one of the Australian government’s key projects in pursuing its 10-year digital health blueprint, released late last year. So far, the federal government invested as much as A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) in MHR with the latest funding focused on enabling interoperability and enhancing security.