Illawarra patients and medical professionals are being urged to embrace modern technology and sign up to have their medical history and records available online.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Until now, health information has been widely scattered - some in the office of GPs, some in pharmacies, with specialists or in the files of dentists and physiotherapists.
But now, the Illawarra-Shoalhaven Medicare Local (ISML) is helping general practice and allied health practitioners in the region to become eHealth savvy.
ISML eHealth project officer Rohan McKnight said eHealth records allowed a patient and their healthcare providers access to a secure summary of health information - such as medications and immunisations.
A combination of technical, policy, governance and legislative safeguards were in place to ensure records were only accessed by the right people at the right time, Mr McKnight said.
"You are able to control who can access and contribute to your record.
"You can even place restrictions on which healthcare organisations can access your eHealth record."
More than 5550 healthcare providers across the country had now applied to register for eHealth.
In the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, more than 65 per cent of general practices were eHealth ready or working towards being registered, Mr McKnight said.
More than 158,000 people had already registered to use the system.
The average Australian had about 22 interactions with the health system in a year, comprising four visits to a GP, 12 prescriptions, three visits to a specialist, two to an allied health professional such as a physiotherapist or podiatrist, and one to the dentist.
"Your health professionals will have another tool for building up your health history and may not have to waste critical time chasing your health information from other health professionals," Mr McKnight said.
Before eHealth, doctors treating a businessman, for example, who suffered a heart attack during a lunch in Perth would not have had access to the man's medical records kept in Kiama, he said.
"The system provides the capability for a summary of your health information to be available online at the point of care, meaning faster, safer and more efficient healthcare."
Signing up can be done in person at a Medicare office or a participating healthcare provider, in writing, or over the phone on 1800 723 471.
To register for an eHealth record online, go to eHealth.gov.au.