ACT digital health record project on fast track due to COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the ACT's provider and partner in the project, global health software company Epic, had worked with ACT Health in harnessing the technology "to book appointments, guide nurses through pre-vaccine checklists, record vaccination details, report to the Australian Immunisation Register and provide digital confirmation to consumers about their vaccination status".

"Soon, eligible Canberrans will be able to make their own [vaccination hub] bookings ... and access their vaccine-related activity through the secure MyDHR [My Digital Health Record] web portal," she said.

"When the full Digital Health Record is implemented, the portal will provide direct patient access to information and help consumers to make appointments and manage their interaction with ACT government health services."

The minister said it was important for people to understand that their new digital record "won't create information or store information anywhere it wouldn't already be".

"All health records will continue to be managed in accordance with the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997," she said.

"The initial access to MyDHR will only include COVID-19 vaccination activity, with the remaining functionality coming online when the Digital Health Record is fully implemented in late 2022."

The ACT's MyDHR is aimed at collating a patient's paper records and clinical records held in separate IT systems. While people cannot choose whether their information is held in the Digital Health Record, some sharing functions will be optional.

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Ms Stephen-Smith said the goal of the MyDHR project was to "empower consumers to manage their own healthcare".

When the project is complete late next year, the Digital Health Record will be a more detailed record than the My Health Record, which only holds a summary of key health information.

For example, the Digital Health Record will include data on observations performed by clinicians, details about who administered a medication and at what time, as well as information from devices such as heart-rate monitors.

For people treated in hospital, it would include information on what bed a person is assigned and operating theatre bookings including surgery staffing information.

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