Personal Health Records

One of the great potential benefits from consumers in the plan to roll out e-health programs is the improvement in the connection and integration of care. The development of personal held records which can be considered as a is of particular interest to comsumers.  This record would be owned and controlled by the individual consumer and the information it contains could be shared with designated clinicians, providing them with information that would assist them in treating our conditions. The National Health and Hosptial Reform Commission (NHHRC) developed this idea in their final report.

Recommendations 13, 115 and 120 of the NHHRC Final Report are about the need for every Australian to be able to have a personal electronic health record that will at all times be owned and controlled by that person. This is important to support people’s decision making and management of their own health. The Commission called for this by 2012.

Many consumers are already doing this in hard copy or on their computers. Many of the people we speak with you have Chronic Conditions understand that a personal held record is an important tool in managing their own health and making decisions. One of our members had a red A4 folder which he and his wife always travelled with. The folder has details of his diagnosis, medication, hospital visits, doctors and test results. Another consumer has told us about his simple, A4 double sided document that he keeps in this wallet. One of the participants in our recent training for consumer representatives. Julie Derrett spoke with Brian and he shared his story:

Brian has a heart condition and has had numerous visits to the emergency department for his condition. He carries with him a little red book which lists all of his medication history, strength, dosage, date started and reasons for any changes. He also has a letter from his cardiologist which explains his condition and his medical history.
When doctors at the ED ask him what medications he is on, he simply produces the red book. Doctors comment, “I wish all patients did this, it helps so much with diagnosis and misdiagnosis in the ED”
When travelling interstate in a rural area the letter from the cardiologist proved to be invaluable. ED staff in a regional centre were able to contact B’s cardiologist and get advice so that the right medications were administered quickly.
This simple paper based, personally held record has meant that Brian has received timely, well informed advice and treatment when he has attended the emergency department. He thinks that everyone who has a chronic condition should have something like this. If not a small book, then a fold out credit card sized summary document that could be carried in your wallet.

We are interested to collect stories from consumers about personal held health records. We would like to know the information you collect, when do you use it? when have you found it to be of most value? have you changed over time the information you have in the record?

ACT Election Health Forum

We are holding a ACT Election Forum for the Canberra Community on health issues on Wednesday 24 September 2008.

There will be an opportunity to have members of the Assembly and candidates answer your questions about our health system.

We encourage you send us your questions in advance so we can ensure these issues are raised in the forum.

e-health

e-health is a convenient shorthand for national electronic health information. for consumers the electronic tag is important as the electronic/digital element provides the potential to provide consumers and health care providers with accessible up-to date health information of a good quality. however, it is important to recognise that the "e-" is the technology. The technology will allow the data to be easily updated, readily accessed and can assist in achieving better quality and uniformity data. The e-technology will provide the medium and a stimulus for better health information that is more accessible to consumers.

Report on CHF Workshop on “Delivering e-health for consumers”
held in Canberra on 12/13 June 2008


I recently participated in the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) national workshop to discuss electronic health information (e-health), the potential areas of benefit and concern and consumers’ expectations. There were useful sessions that gave participants up-to date information about national strategies, priorities and policies that were being developed in the e-health information realm. These were presented by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, the National e-Health Transition Authority and CHF. There was also a valuable session the issues around e-prescribing. These presentations provided a structure for the subsequent debate and discussion.

The workshop promoted discussion on a number of aspects of e-health with the objective of defining a number of activities in the development of national e-health priorities that consumers see as being a priority. The range of consumer foci and priorities around e-health are however diverse and include a personal health record; greater e-health information emphasis on wellness and issues such as environmental conditions; the content of, access to and protection of national e-health information data; the desirability of mandatory participation versus voluntary participation; e-medication summaries; remote prescribing and medication review; e-discharge summaries/plans; e-“save-my-life’ basic health record; e-referrals; e-pathology results and digital imaging.

These issues are ones that were seen as important from a consumer point of view, assisted health care providers in improving care and provided a suitable basis (or building block) on which the broader e-health network can be developed. There was not a unanimous view from the consumer participants at the workshop on some of the issues, for example the voluntary versus mandatory issue and the priority ranking. These are therefore, e-health issues on which consumers may be called to express a view as e-health develops and may need to be better informed.

Tony