The Australian Government has recently released the latest statistics in relation to My Health Record usage. Currently there are over five million Australians registered, approximately a quarter of Australia’s population. At 54 percent, more females are registered than males. Queensland had the highest percentage of users at 29 percent with Victoria being only 17 percent. The age group with the highest percentage of registrations are those aged 20 or less. In most instances, Australians can manage their own digital health record when they turn 14.
As of 12th November 2017, healthcare providers registered with the service numbered 10,557, with the vast majority of those being General Practices totalling 6,264. The total number of clinical document uploads was over three and a half million, with the majority of those being discharge summaries.
Prescription and dispense records totalled over 14 million and more than 558 million Medicare documents were uploaded. These include Australian Immunisation Register, Australian Organ Donor Register, Medicare / DVA Benefits Reports, and Pharmaceutical Benefits Reports.
Consumer documents totalled only 153,044. These include consumer entered health summaries and notes, and advance care directive and advance care planning documents.
Pharmacist usage of My Health Record
Retail pharmacies registered with My Health Record number only 1,405 despite there being around 6,500 pharmacies in Australia. Most Australian pharmacies are independently owned by pharmacists and frequently operated as franchises of retail brands offered by the three major pharmaceutical wholesalers.
A new partnership between the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) aims to increase the number of pharmacists using My Health Record and the sharing of health data in order to strengthen decision making and care of patients. The PSA has been given responsibility to deliver education and training to pharmacists, as well as developing professional guidelines for pharmacy practice around digital health.
The PSA have welcomed the partnership, believing it offers potential for pharmacists to use digital health records to collaborate with other health professionals. Continuity of care between service providers is often raised as an issue, especially when transitioning patients between care services. It is proposed that the 30,000 pharmacists which the PSA represents will have access to hospital discharge summaries, GP shared health summaries, allergies and medication usage as well as patient-entered information such as use of supplements and complementary medicine.
The ADHA also plans to launch a provider readiness program to increase awareness of the My Health Record service among clinicians.
More information about usage statistics can be obtained from the My Health Record government website.