Electronic Health Records known as ehealth

Anvid · Veteran Member

Electronic Health Records known as ehealth

Ron and Shirley · Senior Member

Posted this recently in another section/thread

Our longstanding GP is part of the eHealth Network Inner Eastern Melbourne which is one of a few initial trials for the future National Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR). We signed on back in March this year and our records will be transferred to the national scheme when it comes on line.

http://www.ehealthnetwork.com.au/page/N ... formation/ gives an idea (pdf files) as to the records stored/shared and privacy policy.

We think a future national PCEHR is a good thing, not only for travellers, as our GP is in another suburb some 40km away though we live close to a hospital and numerous medical clinics.
In an emergency a local doctor/hospital, no matter where you are, will be able to access your records outside your GPs surgery hours to see what medications you are taking, and brief medical history, which could impact on the treatment you receive.

Sure at present we carry a printout signed by our GP when we travel, but we have found this has not always been viewed favourably by some hospital emergency staff.

Ellice · Senior Member

Electronic Health Records, as far as i can gather it will be really good for those on the road,.. As you no every time you need to go to the Dr;s a new one you have to tell them your whole history every time you see a DR, with this new Electronic Health Records, you want have to repeate all your info, how wonderful is that, its all on the computor.. Our whole medical history..Talk about saving time, and maybe just maybe we all will have more time to talk to our DR instead of getting kicked out the door because we have taken up to much of there time....

tonyd · Guru

Spoke to my GP about this last week. She is not keen on the idea generally, believing it will take a very long time to establish and there are questions over who will enter the details into the system.

She also pointed out that anything and everything on the net can be hacked into and your health information will not be totally secure. This would be of particular concern to patients who had been treated for, say, a sexually transmitted disease or any other illness that they may not wish other people to know about.

So, like so many ostensibly good ideas, the online records may have big drawbacks

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

tonyd wrote:
Spoke to my GP about this last week. She is not keen on the idea generally, believing it will take a very long time to establish and there are questions over who will enter the details into the system.
She also pointed out that anything and everything on the net can be hacked into and your health information will not be totally secure. This would be of particular concern to patients who had been treated for, say, a sexually transmitted disease or any other illness that they may not wish other people to know about.
So, like so many ostensibly good ideas, the online records may have big drawbacks

I agree tonyd, my Dr said the same thing when I asked him about it 2-3 years ago when I first heard about it.

Anvid · Veteran Member

I also have done alot of homework regarding this - making phone calls and have spoken to two medical doctors. Both were against the idea even though it sounds great.

As previously mentioned, there is the possibility of hacking but more importantly that the individual patients can change their own records by deleting whatever they want.

I think we will give this idea a miss at the moment although we can see the positive aspects.

Thank-you to everyone for their input. smile

Happywanderer · The Master

Got a newsletter from our local doctors surgery today with a number of interesting points PLUS This paragraph.

This practice is undergoing several major changes, including the computer system being updated for the first time in decades. This will allow more advanced procedures, as well as being compatible with the Federal Governments proposed e-health records.

To me that looks like it is coming in all over the country.

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Happywanderer wrote:
Got a newsletter from our local doctors surgery today with a number of interesting points PLUS This paragraph.

This practice is undergoing several major changes, including the computer system being updated for the first time in decades. This will allow more advanced procedures, as well as being compatible with the Federal Governments proposed e-health records.

To me that looks like it is coming in all over the country.

I think they will need your permission to include your details online, mine are not going on it. (IF we have a choice)

Duh · Guru

Our local medical practice in Perth subs has our medical records on line (within the medical centre, same as your hospital does).

If we are going away, he prints off a page of our conditions and medications etc for us to take along, with his contact details on it to show to other doctors/hospitals etc.

A doctor in Darwin used this to contact him by phone in regards to one of our conditions, came in very handy.....Also makes getting scrips from strange Drs a lot easier as your condition is stated along with the meds you need.

Vastris31 · Newbie

The concept of Electronic Health Records (EHR) through the eHealth initiative does seem promising, particularly for travelers who need quick access to their medical history. While it's understandable to be cautious, the benefits of health information systems, like improved accessibility and continuity of care, could outweigh the concerns if the system is well-implemented and secure. It would be great to hear others' thoughts on this.

dorian · Guru

Vastris31 wrote:
The concept of Electronic Health Records (EHR) through the eHealth initiative does seem promising, particularly for travelers who need quick access to their medical history. While it's understandable to be cautious, the benefits of health information systems, like improved accessibility and continuity of care, could outweigh the concerns if the system is well-implemented and secure. It would be great to hear others' thoughts on this.

Is this person another shill?

https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t38596165/internet-banking/?sort=oldestFirst&page=2#comment-70817756

Possum3 · Guru

I had to look up the meaning of shill - please use language in common usage.

A shill, also called a plant or a stooge, is a person who publicly helps or gives credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with said person or organisation, or have been paid to do so.

Gundog · Guru

I have never heard of EHR, but during the Morrision Government we had a My Health Record, which was optional participation. We opted in and found it an abject failure because of the scare mongering.

In reality if practitioners were able to access your case notes in an instant, even in Qld at this very moment hospitals still use paper files, rather than electronic files. At one point in 2023 my partner who has a rare medical condition took a turn when we were travelling back to NQ, The nearest major hospital was Rockhampton, she was admitted to emergency where people were starting to make decisions for her care, at this point I had to repeate myself 3 or 4 times to stop and listen to what I had to say, eventually they did. The head doctor in emergency listened to what I had to say, I told them not use any drugs or treatment without the express permission from the Thorasic Dept of the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, I also showed the doctor a notes about Cheryles condition, drugs she was on and what proceedures she has had for her condition which was on my phone, the doctor asked me to email this information to her.

Just imagine if any hospital or medical practice in Australia could access your medical record in an instant, it potentially could save your life.

FYI Cheryles condition occurs roughfully in 1 in a million and there is no tests that can prevent it, nor cure it. The likelyhood of a doctor knowing about it is very low, in fact in 2019 if there was anybody in an Adelaide hospital that done their due dilliagence instead of declaring a blood clot between her heart and lung was because of Deep Vein Thrombosis, she was discharged from hospital 3 day later with no referals. Luck was on our side that in a small country hospital in NQ after another turn had the forsight to refer her to a resperitory specialist in Mackay, who look at the scans from the hospital, advised us what her condition was and the refered us to Prince Charles Hospital.

Postscript

If her condition went as undiagnosed, she wouldn't be with us today.

Silkwood · Member

Currently in northern WA and recently (6 months ago) diagnosed with heart failure. After 2 weeks in Perth (hospitalised for most) I decided to continue travelling. My Cardiologist was aghast. When I asked the benefits of staying in one place he told me it was for communication and so they could "keep an eye on me". I pointed out that he wanted to see me next in six months, so not much direct observation.

Fast forward six months and I have been under the eye (not literally) of a great doctor from Carnarvon who has treated me predominantly by phone and passes on information and requests (for bloods, CATSCAN etc) via My Health Record to places such as Exmouth, Broome and Geraldton. I find it allows me to continue travelling whilst keeping track of my health needs. For my money, better than sitting at home waiting for it to get worse (and, eventually, it will!)...

PS: I intend to keep the doc in Carnarvon as my "home GP" even though I am technically based in Adelaide. Great guy, immensely helpful.

Cheers, Mark