Better Access, Better Care: What's Changing with My Health Record
At Walker Street Doctors, we support healthcare that's smart, safe, and simple-and that includes giving our patients better access to their health information. That's why we want you to know about important changes coming to My Health Record, Australia's secure digital health summary.
What's Changing?
Until now, healthcare providers like pathology labs, radiology clinics, and GP practices could choose whether to upload your health information to My Health Record. This meant that sometimes your key results didn't appear in your record, even if you had one.
That's now changing.
New legislation will soon require many healthcare providers to upload test results by default. These changes respond to recommendations from the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce and have been supported by public consultation. The goal? To improve communication, reduce duplication, and put patients in the driver's seat of their care.
Who Will Be Uploading?
The first wave of this change applies to Pathology providers and Diagnostic imaging providers. These providers will be required to upload reports to My Health Record unless:
- You don't have a My Health Record
- You ask that information not be shared
- Your provider believes it's not safe to share the result
- There's a technical issue preventing upload
Faster Access to Your Results
Currently, most pathology and imaging results are delayed by 7 days before you can view them in My Health Record-giving your doctor time to review and follow up with you first.
However, the Australian Digital Health Agency is now working to remove this 7-day delay. This means you'll soon be able to access most of your results immediately after upload, making it easier to stay informed, ask questions, and follow through on your care plan.
Some results (like INR, HbA1c, and COVID-19) already appear without delay.
You're Still in Control
These improvements don't take away your privacy. You can still:
- Choose not to have a My Health Record at all
- Restrict access to your record or certain documents
- Hide, delete, or restore individual documents
- Set up notifications when your record is accessed
You remain in full control of who sees what-and when.
Why These Changes Matter
This update to My Health Record is about more than convenience. It's about improving your healthcare experience by:
- Empowering you to participate actively in your health
- Making care safer by avoiding unnecessary tests or missed results
- Helping your healthcare team make informed decisions faster
- Improving coordination between hospitals, specialists, and GPs
At Walker Street Doctors, we welcome these changes. They reflect what we've always believed: that healthcare should be transparent, collaborative, and centred around you.
