A new national survey report has highlighted that a significant number of Australian general practitioners make little or no use of the country’s digital health records system.
In the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) annual general practitioner survey, 31% of 3,000 people said they rarely or never use My Health Record. The survey was conducted online from April 10 to May 12, 2024.
“This indicates that there may be barriers and usability issues for GPs to use My Health Record,” the report suggests, adding that as well as security concerns, patient It also points to potential challenges in increasing acceptance.
But the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), which runs MHR, insists a different reality.
“In the last year alone, we have seen a significant increase in overall connectivity, usage and engagement with My Health Record from both Australian healthcare consumers and healthcare providers,” a government spokesperson told Healthcare IT News. spoke.
“Additionally, we are seeing significant traction in other key sectors, such as specialists (54% registered) and aged care facilities (37% registered).”
ADHA said in its latest MHR figures, updated in August, that 99% of GPs were registered with and using the system.
To date, more than 24 million Australians have a digital health record with MHR. In the last financial year ending in June, consumer views of MHR increased by 26%, mostly pathology and imaging reports.
“Continued growth in the use of My Health Record is critical to supporting health systems where all members of a patient’s care team have access to relevant health information (with patient consent). please,” an ADHA spokesperson said.
“The Agency is working with RACGP to support continued uptake across the sector.”
larger context
The healthcare industry has been making various calls for changes to the MHR for the past year. An overhaul of the “clunky” system was one of the Medicare Strengthening Task Force’s key recommendations. The latest Productivity Commission report found that the system “suffers from incomplete records and poor usability”, and calls for “fragmented” data formats to encourage uptake of MHR. , or store information at the most basic level. In its first statement ahead of the release of the report, the RACGP called on the government to improve the system’s ease of use.
The continued modernization of My Health Record has been identified as one of the key projects in advancing the Australian Government’s 10-year digital health blueprint announced late last year. So far, the federal government has invested A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) in MHR, with the latest funding focused on enabling interoperability and strengthening security.
