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So why exactly does there seem to be so much controversy surrounding the Australian government’s My Health Record program? Is it simply a case of poor marketing, or is there a deeper issue?
The background of My Health Record
My Health Record isn’t something new. Originally called the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the system has been around since 2012 and already six million are enrolled in it, many of whom are unaware how they were enrolled into it.
Although it’s not new, much of the available media would indicate a large percentage of people are unfamiliar with the system and its uses. Humans being humans, there’s always a fear of the unknown, but how grounded are these fears? Blockchain suffered similar scepticism until it was better understood, and now it’s hailed as a revolutionary technology.
The tech
The analogy with blockchain isn’t by chance. My Health record isn’t built on blockchain (yet), but it employs some of the same principles with the provision of access keys via PKI (Public Key Infrastructure). This system not only regulates access, but like blockchain, ensures the content hasn’t been altered and keeps a full record of every key that accessed a record, what they accessed and what they did with the information.
There’re also trials using blockchain which have had some good successes. In particular, the recent government trial using blockchain to allow researchers to access medical information contained within platforms such as My Health Record.
So if the new system is more secure than ever before, and provides every patient with instant access to their health record whenever they need it, you’d think we’d be happy. You’d be wrong.
This article is published on Mumbrella.
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