Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution to debate on the Health Legislation Amendment (eHealth) Bill 2015. There is a bipartisan commitment in this House to support greater adoption of electronic health records in Australia. Electronic health records in the Australian healthcare context are known as Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records, or PCEHRs.

The benefits of electronic health records are obvious to anyone who has ever had to navigate the health system. Health delivery in any country as large as Australia is complex and unwieldy. In Australia, it is further complicated by the at times opaque delineation of services between state and Commonwealth governments, and between public and private providers. What this means is that the average patient and their family are often moving between providers and between systems in the course of receiving treatment. These systems have different patient management systems and different records management practices. Sharing of information between providers and between systems is piecemeal and incomplete. Consequently, the effectiveness of medical treatment relies on patients being able to provide their treating clinicians with all medical information relevant to their condition. This may range from information as basic as age and blood type, to known allergies and, in some cases, details of chronic conditions that may impact on their treatment.

In the real world, this process frequently breaks down, especially with vulnerable patients. Details can be forgotten, or patients can present for treatment in a condition that renders them unable to provide details of their medical history. This has consequences for patient safety, and results in delays, inefficient practices and considerable frustration for medical professionals. It is estimated that 2.5 per cent of all hospital admissions are due to adverse drug events, many of which could be avoided if a complete medications history were available.

An estimated one in ten laboratory tests are duplicated or unnecessary—a percentage that would be slashed with widespread adoption of electronic health records. And 36 per cent of medical visits involve the clinician spending at least five minutes locating information—again, a delay that could be significantly reduced with better coordination of patient information.

When one considers that healthcare provision costs the Commonwealth government—indeed, the taxpayer—$27 billion a year, a figure that will increase to $250 billion a year by 2050, there is a clear imperative for government to ensure that wastage is minimized and patient outcomes are improved. Electronic health records offer substantial promise, but it is fair to say that in Australia that promise has yet to be delivered. Members will know that Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records were first implemented in 2012, following on from the commencement of the Healthcare Identifiers Service, in 2010. Since then, adoption of PCEHRs by patients has been slow. The minister noted in her remarks that to date only about one in 10 Australians have an electronic health record set up.

Electronic health records are a network economy—that is, the marginal benefits to users, be they patients or professionals, increases with greater adoption. Unfortunately, an adoption rate of 10 per cent by patients is not sufficient to encourage doctors to spend the time to familiarize themselves with the system and use it routinely. At the current rate of adoption, it is estimated that it could take a further fifteen years for a critical mass of the population to set up a PCEHR.

Despite the inertia in adopting electronic health records, a review of the system reveals continuing widespread support among the medical profession and patients for the concept. A key recommendation of the review was for PCEHRs to transition from an opt-in to an opt-out basis. This bill allows for the trial of an opt-out system on a region by region basis. I am advised that the move to trial opt-out arrangements is not opposed by members opposite, and I thank them for their bipartisanship in this important matter of public health policy.

The bill will change the name given to electronic health records in Australia from PCEHRs to the more easily understood My Health Record. A range of additional safeguards will also be introduced to ensure it that patients have ample opportunity to opt out, as well as increased penalties for misuse of personal information contained within electronic health records. Geographic areas chosen as trial locations will be determined based on publicly available criteria and will be made in consultation with states and territories. The trial will be accompanied by an education and communications strategy that will seek to mitigate any community concern. Following the trials, it is anticipated that the government will be in a position to make a final decision on whether to transition to a full opt-out system by late 2017.

This bill continues the efforts of successive governments to ensure that Australia has a widely respected and widely adopted electronic health records system. While uptake to date has been lower than anticipated, the concept remains sound and the potential benefits to patients and the government are substantial. I am confident that the measures contained in this bill will be a step in the right direction—a step towards Australia finally having a world-class electronic health record to go with the world-class health care provided by the hardworking doctors, nurses and other health professionals who comprise our health system. I commend this bill to the House.

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