My Health Record – frequently asked questions

My Health Record gives clinicians access to documents and clinical information from other healthcare providers. This information helps to inform and improve clinical decision making.

My Health Record can be used to help aid patient assessment, view past medical history and inform medication reconciliation activities for your patients.

My Health Record can improve the transition of care for patients moving to and from the ED. Improving access to a range of clinical documents and resources external to your hospital can reduce the time it takes to access important information. My Health Record can also facilitate more efficient and better clinical care through avoiding unnecessary duplication of investigations and clinical tasks.

Most My Health Record documents are uploaded automatically via your hospital eMR or Clinical Information System (CIS). This requires no change to normal documentation practice, other than if a patient withdraws consent to have information uploaded

If a patient withdraws consent to upload a document, the ‘do not send to My Health Record’ (or similar) tick box should be checked in your local ED clinical information system. Withdrawal of consent after an upload occurs can be handled by the My Health Record Helpline on 1800 723 471.

Discuss with your patient that My Health Record is a patient controlled record, and they can choose to restrict who views or accesses their sensitive information. It’s good practice to inform your patient that this information can be helpful in ensuring they get the most appropriate care, while also respecting their rights as a consumer.

The My Health Record system complies with the strictest cyber security standards. It has tight security controls to ensure that your information is protected from malicious attack.

Under My Health Record legislation, no information can be released to law enforcement or a government agency without your consent or an order from a judicial officer.

Only the healthcare provider organisations involved in your care, are allowed by law to access your My Health Record. These providers need to be formally registered with the My Health Record system operator and there are significant penalties for unauthorised access.

Your previous medical history such as older test results and medical reports will not be in your new My Health Record. When your My Health Record is activated by you, or your healthcare professional for the first time, there may be little or no information in it. 

If you want details of your medical history to be added to your My Health Record, ask your GP to add a summary next time you see them.

You have the right to choose what information is visible in your My Health Record, and who you want to share it with. You can let your clinician, pathology or diagnostic imaging service know during your visit if you don’t want them to upload documents or reports to your record. This is also called ‘withdrawing consent’ for upload.

Yes. When you delete your My Health Record, all information in the record will be permanently deleted. Deleted information cannot be recovered.

If you decide to re-register for a My Health Record, your new record will not contain any of the information from your old record.