This appeared a few days ago.
A GP diagnoses My Health Record's ills
21 November 2017
COMMENT
The main problem is that it's a bureaucrat's solution which tries to be all things to all people, an anonymous GP writes.
The MyHealth Record is like my garden. You can stick fancy plants in, ask people the flower they want to see blossom and plant those too. It needs money, too, but then it will look very pretty. Then, no matter what you do, the plants suddenly wilt and die and the garden is left barren.
There is an alternative to health IT horticulture: you spend your time fertilizing the soil, digging it, nurturing the local ecosystem, and then sow tiny inexpensive seeds. Some germinate, grow and flower, some fail. But you learn what works.
Last year we were nearly self-sufficient in vegetables and herbs all year. And that only took two years.
How long has the My Health Record been going for now?
The trouble is this: it's not a clinical record, nor is it a true patient record. It’s something that is trying to be all things to all people – to patients, to politicians, to health department officials, to emergency doctors, hospital doctors, nurses, to private specialists, after-hours doctors, allied health workers and the neighbour’s dog.
But it’s a bureaucrat’s solution to a bureaucrat’s notion of the communications issues plaguing the health system. These solutions need to be clinically lead and clinically implemented — properly — not just token consultations so that someone in a suit can tick a box and say they’ve listened.
The My Health Record is built on a variety of assumptions: that more documents are better; that patients want and need access to everything; that patients have the necessary health literacy to use it in a way that will inform their health choices.
And it is built on the assumption that just accessing this information treasure trove without context or discussion is useful.
More here:
I would have to say this really gets it! As I have said often enough you cannot make an EMR that is ideal for clinician use while at the same time expecting the same record to provide a compelling consumer experience – forgetting all the other actors who want to have their problem solved!
The sooner we stop this madness the better in my view!
David.
IMHO, the biggest and least valid assumption is that Australians will be happy to give large amounts of their personal and medical treatment data to the government.
ReplyDeleteWhich is why the reports that ADHA will be spending very little on PR to let people know they can opt out is very believable. I suspect that ADHA is quite concerned that if they were to run a comprehensive PR campaign, it would draw attention to this assumption. And we all know how Australians react to this sort of thing, don't we? Remember the Australia Card, The Human Service Access card? There's probably a few in ADHA who have never heard of these things.
In other words: The myHR is a 'solution' looking for a problem.
ReplyDeleteIt is an ATM, the only reason connectivity to it are being established is because organisations are being paid to do it, not because it adds value.
ReplyDeleteI can’t even opt out, there is a invitation on the Governments website stating if you want to opt out enter your email, when I entered it told me I would receive more information at some latter date.
Incompetence is overflowing at the ADHA.
Bruce, the problem is clear, that is not in contention. Also MyHR has been developed to provide a solution to the problem. The fundamentalissue is that the developers have never understood the problem they have been trying to solve.
ReplyDeletea) the problem is not clear
ReplyDeleteb) the solution that is the MyHR doesn't solve any problems it just creates more (and bigger) problems
(b)Absolutely
ReplyDelete@7:23 AM ADHA will use social media with big time claims for their Community Engagement PR campaign. If it's executed well it will probably go viral. Now that's a thought to behold.
ReplyDelete