On 15 August 2018, the Senate referred the My Health Record system to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report. The Committee released the final report on 18 October 2018. You can access the final report here.
There are three components to the report:
- The first is the Chair’s report (Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens).
- The second (from page 73) is the Coalition Senators’ (Government) Dissenting Report.
- The third is the Labor Senators’ Additional Comments (p77).
The Government will consider the Senate committee report and may act on their recommendations. The government may accept, or partially accept, the committee’s recommendations, and announce its intention to take certain action. Some recommendations may be rejected, while the government may announce that it wishes to give further consideration to others.
A spokesperson for the Health Minister, Greg Hunt has responded to the report stating:
“The opt-out date has already been extended and the opt-outs are travelling at a significantly lower rate than expected. We will not be extending it further (ends on 15 November 2018) as it would not be appropriate to delay the benefits to patients. In addition, the reforms mean that if anybody subsequently opts out their details will be deleted forever. The Government will review and respond to other items in the report.”
In relation to strengthening the legislation:
On 23 August 2018, the Senate referred the My Health Records Amendment (Strengthening Privacy) Bill 2018 to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. The Committee released the final report on 12 October 2018. You can access the report here.
This report lists one recommendation: that the Bill be passed.
The period to opt-out of having a My Health Record will be open until 15 November 2018. Individuals can visit www.myhealthrecord.gov.au or phone 1800 723 471 to opt-out.
For provider support with My Health Record, contact [email protected] or 6618 5400.
Click here to visit the HealthPathway for My Health Record.
For a list of all localised pathways see:
Mid and North Coast Localised Pathways
Username: manchealth
Password: conn3ct3d
For further information about HealthPathways email [email protected] or [email protected].