Now Here Is A Real Blast From The Past. Progress Seems To Have Been Rather Slow!

For some reason this very old abstract popped up on a routine search.

J Am Med Inform Assoc

Jul-Aug 2014;21(4):707-13.

doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002068. Epub 2014 Mar 20.

A Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record for Australia

Christopher Pearce  ¹ , Michael Bainbridge  ²

Affiliations

• PMID: 24650635
• PMCID: PMC4078271
• DOI: 10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002068

Free PMC article

Abstract

Objective: On July 1, 2012 Australia launched a personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) designed around the needs of consumers. Using a distributed model and leveraging key component national eHealth infrastructure, the PCEHR is designed to enable sharing of any health information about a patient with them and any other health practitioner involved in their care to whom the patient allows access. This paper discusses the consumer-facing part of the program.
Method: Design of the system was through stakeholder consultation and the development of detailed requirements, followed by clinical design assurance.
Results: Patients are able to access any posted information through a web-accessible 'consumer portal.' Within the portal they are able to assert access controls on all or part of their record. The portal includes areas for consumers to record their own personal information.
Discussion: The PCEHR has the potential to transform the ability of patients to actively engage in their own healthcare, and to enable the emerging partnership model of health and healthcare in medicine. The ability to access health information traditionally kept within the closed walls of institutions also raises challenges for the profession, both in the language clinicians choose and the ethical issues raised by the changed roles and responsibilities.
Conclusions: The PCEHR is aimed at connecting all participants and their interventions, and is intended to become a system-wide activity.

Here is the link:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24650635/

For fun there are also some contemporaneous similar references.

Similar articles

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Kerai P, Wood P, Martin M. Int J Med Inform. 2014 Mar;83(3):201-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2013.12.001. Epub 2013 Dec 17. PMID: 24382474

·         The Australian general public's perceptions of having a personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR).

Andrews L, Gajanayake R, Sahama T. Int J Med Inform. 2014 Dec;83(12):889-900. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2014.08.002. Epub 2014 Aug 15. PMID: 25200198

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Lehnbom EC, McLachlan A, Brien JA. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2012;178:105-10. PMID: 22797027

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·         The personal health record: consumers banking on their health.

Ball MJ, Costin MY, Lehmann C. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2008;134:35-46. PMID: 18376032 Review.

It is fun to read these references and see how people were quite sceptical even then.

On the main abstract it is interesting to note that the PCEHR was never distributed as the abstract says – rather it was always a centralised mega- database.

Also one wonders just how much design control was in the hands of clinicians given the various design decisions that were taken – e.g. patient ability to conceal information etc.

Do you think the PCEHR / #myHealthRecord has delivered on its apparent aims so many years later?

David.