Myhealth opt out Oct 15th deadline for automatic registration.

[trinityalyce]

Here’s a hot tip - keep things documented yourself. If you’re on a bunch of meds make sure family know what they are and you have it written down. Same goes for medical conditions. Have really important things (serious medical conditions, essential medications, allergies) on an ID card in your wallet (or iPhones have a function for an emergency contact and this medical info to be available from the lock screen if you hit “Emergency” in the bottom corner). That way someone knows the bare minimum if you are found unconscious.

Also cannot stress the importance of finding a good GP and sticking with them - those ads about them being your “partner in life” (or whatever the slogan is) might be a tad cringe-worthy, but the good ones really are. Obviously not possible for full time travellers.

I love the IDEA of the MyHealthRecord but have some serious concerns about how data can or could be stored and used/accessed under current legislation. One day my views may change, if things are made rock solid, but for now I’m definitely opting out.

[Patr80l]

A couple of thoughts, as a doctor:
Allergies and medication would be useful.   I can cope with figuring out the rest if the privacy cost is too high.
Insurance companies can already get all the information they want.   If you don't consent to complete divulgence they just wont insure you.

[alnjan]

Here’s a hot tip - keep things documented yourself. If you’re on a bunch of meds make sure family know what they are and you have it written down. Same goes for medical conditions. Have really important things (serious medical conditions, essential medications, allergies) on an ID card in your wallet (or iPhones have a function for an emergency contact and this medical info to be available from the lock screen if you hit “Emergency” in the bottom corner). That way someone knows the bare minimum if you are found unconscious.

Also cannot stress the importance of finding a good GP and sticking with them - those ads about them being your “partner in life” (or whatever the slogan is) might be a tad cringe-worthy, but the good ones really are. Obviously not possible for full time travellers.

I love the IDEA of the MyHealthRecord but have some serious concerns about how data can or could be stored and used/accessed under current legislation. One day my views may change, if things are made rock solid, but for now I’m definitely opting out.

Not having a shot at you but I did have a little chuckle at your comment, "Have really important things (serious medical conditions, essential medications, allergies) on an ID card in your wallet".   I wish our medical details fitted on an id card.  My wife takes he several pages of medical details she keeps updating with each hospital visit. 

As Patr80l says, Insurance companies can already get all the information they want.  While the security of the MyHealth is an issue, I really do not see what the drama is.  If only the Australia Card had been allowed. 

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

You have to create a Mygov Acc. to be able to opt out.
I've been trying to avoid that for years.

[Pete79]

You have to create a Mygov Acc. to be able to opt out.
I've been trying to avoid that for years.

How do you get a tax return then???

[trinityalyce]

Not having a shot at you but I did have a little chuckle at your comment, "Have really important things (serious medical conditions, essential medications, allergies) on an ID card in your wallet".   I wish our medical details fitted on an id card.  My wife takes he several pages of medical details she keeps updating with each hospital visit. 

My Dad was the same so I get it. However for a lot of the population the little relevant medical info would fit on a card would be valuable (my husband’s card would be blank, lol). Also, the card doesn’t need to be exhaustive, just the essential things someone needs to know in a life or death situation. Serious allergies, medications like insulin where not having them can have significant consequences, if you have a pacemaker or other serious condition, etc.

[krisandkev]

If only the Australia Card had been allowed.

Totally agree.  Such stupid, sorry maybe a bit strong, such uninformed arguments back then.  Kevin

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

How do you get a tax return then???

I don't earn enough to have to pay tax.
The Invalid Pension has been taking care of things since 2010.
If I need to speak to someone I go to the nearest Centrelink Office.
You have to wait, almost as long sometimes, as on the phone.  But at least you can sort stuff out.

[Traveller]

Here’s a hot tip - keep things documented yourself. If you’re on a bunch of meds make sure family know what they are and you have it written down. Same goes for medical conditions.

Our 4x4 club obtained a lot of 'Emergency Medical Information Books' that are about 100mm x 150mm when folded and contain pages where you write down your medical information. Your basic patient info, doctor's name and no., medicare no., medical insurance co., emergency contact, etc on the first page, then subsequent pages are for medications, medical conditions, patient history/service provider.

The booklets were printed as a fund raiser for Ambulance Vic and Rotary, and we could purchase them for a paltry fee. The club committee thought they were a good idea for people to carry on extended trips in case of a medical issue, where they would be kept in each vehicles glovebox and gathered if need be. Most of the club agreed and quite a few of us purchased some for home to keep on the fridge, the original purpose as they have a magnetic strip on the back. It is surprising how poor our memory is when in the middle of a crisis.

As with all these things though is that they have to be kept up to date.

[Bird]

If only the Australia Card had been allowed.

didnt they rename it medicare card?

[The punter]

For me I think it’s a good idea and I don’t have anything in my medical history which concerns me. Also agree Facebook & Google know more about me than what’s in my medical history. Years ago with my elderly parents we were constantly trying to make sure we bought the correct relevant  medical reports when seeing new specialists, so this way it’s all online and saves drama.

In regards to Life/Health insurance getting access upfront saves everyone a difficult conversation at  claim time in regards to what you consider a Pre-existing condition and the Dr’s/Insurance company interpretation of that particular condition. So knowing upfront that a medical issues is going to cause issues would give you the opportunity to shop around  for a better deal or stops giving false hope that your covered when your actually not.

I work in the Life insurance industry and when you apply for insurance you sign a form giving the company permission to obtain your medical records away. So they can either write for this report upfront or when a claim is made. Either way they will get your medical history.

The potential big issue is:

1: Currently you take out insurance and declare any existing condition. You have a diagnosis of a condition some time after, which may or may not end up being serious, this is your business and you don't have to tell anyone, it might be manageable, it might end up killing you, you are under no obligation to tell insurers. They took the risk of insuring you when you signed up and as long as you keep paying, they are obliged to continue insuring you. Fast forward 10 years and whatever the new condition was gets you and you need hospitalisation, you would have it covered.

2: Potential future, insurance company learns of this new condition and refuse to renew your policy. DOn't think it will happen? Of course it will.

[alnjan]

didnt they rename it medicare card?

Australia Card was to have all your info on it, not just medicare details. 

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

The potential big issue is:

1: Currently you take out insurance and declare any existing condition. You have a diagnosis of a condition some time after, which may or may not end up being serious, this is your business and you don't have to tell anyone, it might be manageable, it might end up killing you, you are under no obligation to tell insurers. They took the risk of insuring you when you signed up and as long as you keep paying, they are obliged to continue insuring you. Fast forward 10 years and whatever the new condition was gets you and you need hospitalisation, you would have it covered.

2: Potential future, insurance company learns of this new condition and refuse to renew your policy. DOn't think it will happen? Of course it will.

No. 2 comes under the heading of 'failure to disclose'.

[The punter]

No. 2 comes under the heading of 'failure to disclose'.

Really, can you show me where a PDS says you have to advise an insurance company of a new condition unless it’s part of a claim?

[gronk]

The potential big issue is:

1: Currently you take out insurance and declare any existing condition. You have a diagnosis of a condition some time after, which may or may not end up being serious, this is your business and you don't have to tell anyone,

The only insurance I take out is travel insurance. Just recently I took a yearly one to cover for 3 trips in the next year.  I think 1 year is the longest you can take it out, so any future medical conditions that happen would have to be declared in any future policies.
As for a life insurance policy, you would have to "carefully" read the PDS.

[The punter]

I’m talking about health insurance

[gronk]

I’m talking about health insurance

I haven't declared any pre existing on my health insurance. As far as I recall, they don't ask you ?

[Pete79]

I haven't declared any pre existing on my health insurance. As far as I recall, they don't ask you ?

No they don’t.
They just happily take your money for years and years, until you make a claim.
Then they access your medical records (because you said they could when you signed the contract without reading the whole PDS) and they find any minor ailment that could be classed as pre-existing or a cause of the condition that you have now and they promptly deny your claim.

[#jonesy]

pre existing conditions

Currently stops someone joining and making a claim straight away. They have to serve a 12 month waiting period. Government will still be bye to legislate to protect the public and our health system. If they let insurers dump sick people it will put more pressure on the public system.

[Troopy_03]

Deadline is tomorrow (ie last day today) for those that want to opt out.

[Pete79]

Deadline has now been extended until January 31st 2019.

The Senate voted to delay the deadline, and although the amendment needed to return to the House of Representatives to be formally adopted, Mr Hunt endorsed the extension on Twitter.
If you don't make a choice by the new cut-off date, you'll be among the estimated 17 million Australians for whom a record will be automatically created in the Government's online database of health information.
The opt-out period to date has been tumultuous. Since July, software analysts, unions and family violence charities have raised privacy and security concerns about the system, while health groups have talked about its clinical benefits.

In case you’re wondering, yes this whole thing is still a complete disaster with the government bumbling it’s way through a bunch of band-aid solutions and dishing out misinformation left, right and center....

      What's about to change?

After questions were raised about the ability of law enforcement agencies to access individual My Health Records without a court order, the Government introduced a bill making two key changes to the My Health Record legislation:
* Requiring law enforcement to have a court order to access My Health Record.
* If someone cancels their record, the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) must "destroy" it, rather than holding it for 30 years after their death.

The amendment is being debated in the Senate today, but some experts still question when deleted is truly "deleted".
Without knowing the technical details of the system's software, Robert Merkel, a software engineering lecturer at Monash University, said it would be important to understand how the ADHA is implementing the "permanent" deletion of records.
He wants to know whether it means deleting them off the live system and ensuring backups are destroyed, or simply making it illegal to access a cancelled record.
The ADHA said that, after the legislation is passed, the record and any backups will be "permanently deleted" if someone cancels their record.
Individuals who have previously requested their records be cancelled will also have them permanently deleted.



        What the Government says will change:

A Senate inquiry into the function of My Health Record made several recommendations aimed at improving the security of the system, as well as advocating the opt-out period be extended for 12 months.
Last week, Mr Hunt announced additional changes to the legislation:
* The penalties for improper use of My Health Record will be increased.
* To protect those in family violence situations, a person will not be allowed to be the authorised representative of a minor if they have restricted access to the child, or may pose a risk to the child, or a person associated with the child.
* Employers will be prohibited from asking for or using an employee's My Health Record information.
* Insurers will be excluded from accessing health information or deidentified health data for research.
* The ADHA won't be able to delegate functions of the system to any authority other than the Department of Health and the chief executive of Medicare.

Dr Bruce Baer Arnold, a law and health expert at the University of Canberra, said the changes were "a band-aid on the My Health Record train wreck".

"Many critics of My Health Record, such as myself, are passionate about public health," he wrote in an email.
"We perceive benefits from a … well designed and well maintained national electronic health system.
This week the Labor Party renewed calls to extend the opt-out period for 12 months until the new amendments are debated and passed. For now, the Senate agreed to a three-month extension.?

     Will the medical privacy of teenagers still be undermined?

When a teenager turns 14, they must typically give consent for parents to access their Medicare information. Using My Health Record, parents can register their child and view and administer their information until the child turns 18, potentially undermining their medical privacy.
Once they turn 14, teenagers can take control of their record, but this does not occur automatically.
For now, the Government has announced it will conduct a review of the situation for 14- to 17-year-olds.
A lot of work has been done to ensure adolescents can access confidential health care, which the current scheme puts at risk, according to University of Melbourne associate professor Lena Sanci and member of the Australian Association for Adolescent Health.


      Is the system design insecure?

The fundamental design of the My Health Record system raises concerns the Government has not yet addressed, according to Anna Johnston, director of Salinger Privacy.
As a centralised database, she argued it gives more people than ever before the ability to access a health record — but with clinical benefits, come risks.

"That garden variety risk will come from the 900,000 [people] who will eventually have access to the system as an authorised user, working somewhere within the healthcare system," Ms Johnston said.
While only healthcare professionals involved in a patient's care are meant to access a record, Ms Johnston suggested a step up in penalties, as proposed by the Health Minister, is unlikely to act as a deterrent.
Some healthcare workers have also pointed to a tradition of lax security in some Australian hospitals, which could, they argued, affect My Health Record.


       Will Australians opt in to privacy controls?

Critics argue the nature of an opt-out system means that many Australians will have a My Health Record created, but never take control of it or even know it's there.
Currently, users of My Health Record can apply an access code to the record or certain documents, so only someone who has the code can get access.
But they must opt in to these privacy controls, and it appears relatively few do so.
As of Wednesday October 31, the ADHA said 18,288 record access codes and 3,991 limited document access codes had been created. More than 6 million Australians already have a record.

The Senate committee report recommended that record access codes should be applied to each My Health Record by default, and Ms Johnston said this would go some way towards addressing the issue.

The Government has not indicated it will take up the committee's suggestion.