University Report: System Analysis of My Health Record in Australia

This report provides a system analysis of Australia's My Health Record, examining its problems, capabilities, and benefits. The introduction highlights the implementation of the My Health Record system following recommendations from the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission in 2009. The report delves into the problems associated with the system, including the need for more health professionals, lack of user operating skills, low literacy rates, and challenges for individuals with disabilities. It then explores the system's capabilities, such as managing electronic health records and improving consumer engagement. The report also outlines the perceived benefits, including better access to medical data, improved safety, increased convenience, and enhanced privacy. The conclusion emphasizes the potential of the system to reduce healthcare expenses and improve population health outcomes, despite existing issues. References from various sources support the analysis.

Running head: SYSTEM ANALYSIS OF MY HEALTH RECORD
SYSTEM ANALYSIS OF MY HEALTH RECORD
Name of the University
Name of the student
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................1
Purpose...................................................................................................................................2
Scope......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Problem..................................................................................................................................2
Capabilities.............................................................................................................................3
Benefits..................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
For strengthening a health care system to ensure quality health outcomes, a proper
implemented electronic health record is necessary. After recommendation from National
Health and Hospital Reform Commission in 2009, Australia chose to implement a PCEHR
system and a My Health Record System nationally to allow consumers to record their
medical details online. As a system analyst of the project, the capabilities and benefits of the
system has been mentioned. The new system will reform the entire health care system of
Australia and provide the patients with quality health care.
Purpose
The purpose of the project is to understand the problems, benefits and capabilities
associated with the new system and analyse it properly.
Scope
The scope of the project is to provide valuable information about the effectiveness of
the newly implemented system.
Discussion
The problems, capabilities and benefits of My Health Record has been analyzed as
follows:
Problem
After analyzing the system, certain problems have been detected in the My health
record system.
The first problem that can arise from this new system is the need for more health
professionals. Only around 1.7 million documents (clinical) has been added by the health care

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providers whereas the total population having My health record in Australia is over 4.5
million. Only about a third of the documents are SHS or Shared Health Summaries (where
the medications, allergies, immunization and health conditions of the people are listed). The
health care recipients information has been added to the My health record database from
other sources such as Pharmaceutical benefits scheme and Medicare with their summaries
regarding hospital discharge and informations about medications (Ben-Assuli, 2015). Several
health care providers have concerns about the privacy of the system and have concerns about
how sharing information in My health record will improve the conditions of the patients.
The second issue that can arise from this system is the need to add more information
and lack of operating skills. Lack of experience of the users to handle the My health record
system is a major issue as many users do not know how to upload information or use the new
system. There are over 80000 summaries related to consumer entered health in the system
which contains information about the user’s contact details and medications. Less than 900
people have uploaded their Advanced care directive copy which is important if the individual
wants to reap the benefits of the My health Record. As many people are still unaware how to
use a computer or navigate through the My health record system, they will be unable to take
the advantage of the new system.
The third issue arises with low literacy rates. As the new system needs users with a
basic knowledge of digital health and English skills, many users will be exempted from using
the system to its full capability. The system needs to be more user friendly with lots of
pictures and tutorial videos.
The fourth problem that may arise is with the people who are having disability issues.
It is increasingly difficult for people having motor neuron disease, dementia, brain injuries
and strokes to properly explain their health issue to others. People with Parkinson’s disease

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and impairments will be affected more as they lack the basic skill of proper communication.
These people need additional funding and support from the system which was made for all
the Australians in general.
Capabilities
The new system should be capable of managing a national infrastructure of electronic
health records where authorized health care provider as well as patients can upload their
health information in a controlled and accessible manner. The system can be accessed from
anywhere which is a great for consumer engagement. The new system wants to improve the
existing health system of Australia and enable consumers to have better partnership with
health care providers.
As aging people and increasing population is increasing the total cost of healthcare,
the implementation of My Health Record empowers the user to look after their health. My
Health Record reduces inefficiency and provides the user an opportunity to improve their
health outcomes (Pearce & Bainbridge, 2014). With informed decision making, self-
management support and promotion of consumer participation, the My Health Record has the
capability to give the users better access to their health information through an E-health
record system.
Benefits
After analyzing the system, the perceived benefits of the My Health Record has been
listed.
The first benefit is better access to medical data. The information that is uploaded in
the system can be securely viewed from anywhere and anytime as the data is present online.
The information can be accessed from any computer and mobile provided that it has an

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internet connection. Once the profile of the user is set up, the user does not have to do
anything else to access it online.
The second being improved safety. The information that has been uploaded in the
new system can be accessed by the user only and he or she can control who gets to see what
information (Duckett & Willcox, 2015). Strict regulations and rules have been provided to
the user to prevent misuse of the user information and people who breaks the rules are
heavily penalized.
More convenience from the new system is the third benefit. The new system allows
the user to not worry about their medication history, their chronic condition details, medicine
details or their recent test details. It also mitigates the need to remember which health care
provider the user has visited as all the details are uploaded automatically in the My Health
Record (Ben-Assuli, 2015). The same benefits applies for the children who have undergone
medical and immunization tests.
The new system gives another benefit regarding better safety. The health care
providers can instantly access the health record of a user in the case of an emergency and
provide them with health care immediately. As all the details regarding allergies and
prescribe medications are listed in My Health Record in details, the health care providers can
instantly provide treatment to the user.
The last benefit is regarding privacy of the individual. As all the information of the
user including date of birth, age, gender and other personal details are listed in My Health
Record proper restrictions have been implemented to prevent other users from accessing the
information of the prospective user. Proper access controls have been provided in the new
system which can be accessed by the user to select who can view their private information.

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Conclusion
The Government of Australia has invested a lot of money on the development of My
Heath Record to improve the safety and quality of health care service around the country. The
proposed system does have a lot of problems but the analyzed benefits definitely
overshadows the issues. The project does have a lot of capabilities but the full capability of
the system can be utilized once the proposed issues are handled carefully by the concerned
authorities. The project does have the potential to reduce health car expenses and improve the
population health care outcomes as a whole.

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References
Ben-Assuli, O. (2015). Electronic health records, adoption, quality of care, legal and privacy
issues and their implementation in emergency departments. Health Policy, 119(3),
287-297.
Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford
University Press.
Pearce, C., & Bainbridge, M. (2014). A personally controlled electronic health record for
Australia. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21(4), 707-713.