9 out of 10 Australians now have a My Health Record

My Health Record is an online summary of your health information. It lets you control your information securely in one place. This means your important health information is available when and where it’s needed, including in an emergency.

Between 16 July 2018 and 31 January 2019, Australians had the opportunity to choose to have a My Health Record or to opt-out if they did not want a record created for them.

Australians are able to cancel and have their My Health Record permanently deleted from the system at any time in the future. Similarly, individuals who may have opted out can create a record at any stage if they choose.

Click here to learn more about My Health Record.

What are the benefits of My Health Record for you?

Your important healthcare information will be available in one place online that is easily accessible by your authorised doctors, specialists, or hospitals.

Even if you move or travel interstate, the information can be viewed securely online, anywhere, any time.

If you want, you can access your health information from any computer with an internet connection.

You control who can see it. Once it’s set up you don’t need to do anything.

In a medical emergency, healthcare providers connected to the My Health Record system can see your health information to provide you the best possible care quickly.

Health professionals can:

  • Upload
  • View
  • Share documents

This gives them a more detailed picture with which to make decisions, diagnose and provide treatment to you. 

If you want, you can list any allergies, adverse reactions and medical conditions you may have to help healthcare providers give you better advice and treatment.

For a healthcare provider such as a doctor or pharmacist to use the My Health Record system they must:

  • Work for an organisation which is registered with the My Health Record System Operator.
  • Use conformant clinical software containing an authenticated digital certificate to access the My Health Record system. 

You won’t need to worry about having to remember and repeat your health history like medicines, details of chronic conditions, and dates of recent tests with different or new healthcare providers.

The same goes for your children’s health history like immunisations and medical tests.

To protect your information from misuse, there are strict rules and regulations about who can see and use your My Health Record. No information can be released to law enforcement or a government agency without your consent or an order from a judicial officer. Nobody is permitted to access, or ask you to disclose, any information within your My Health Record for insurance or employment purposes.

My Health Record has multi-layered and strong safeguards in place to protect your information including:

  • Encryption
  • Firewalls
  • Secure login
  • Authentication mechanisms
  • Audit logging

Helpful information is available on the My Health Record website to help people control their privacy settings and personal preferences.

Learn more:

This video showcases the story of David Bodsworth, a My Health Record user from Yorklea, Northern NSW.

How Do I Register for My Health Record?

  1. You can register at your local General Practice – click here to search the National Health Services directory here to see which GPs in your area are My Health Record ready.
  2. To learn other ways you can register for a My Health Record, click here.

Access your My Health Record anywhere, anytime via these authorised mobile apps.

Learn more

Click here and you can find out how to:

  • Access and use My Health Record 
  • Manage your record 
  • Manage your privacy and security 
  • Cancel your record
  • Get help and assistance 

If you would like to learn more, contact the Healthy North Coast My Health Record Team on (02) 6618 5436 or email [email protected]

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