My health record could save your life one day

But the lives of patients are more dynamic and unpredictable than that. Emergencies arrive. Each patient will be seen by many different doctors for different reasons at different times and will be treated in several contexts.

In addition to their attending physician, patients can be treated at the hospital, see specialists and paramedical professionals. doctors at different pathology laboratories and diagnostic imaging providers. These realities mean that every doctor who treats the patient does not currently have a clear overview of the range of treatments received by the patient.

My Health Record will help link care to the health system and begin to address fragmentation of treatment.

Multiple physicians and allied health professionals who all treat the same patient at different times will be able to access a summary of relevant clinical data at the time of treatment, regardless of the specialty or physical location of the clinician in Australia. . The result will be safer, faster and more effective health care.

We will see a reduction in medical damages like anaphylaxis because clinicians other than the patient's usual doctor can access the patient's records quickly and efficiently, no matter the place

The Electronic Record can save lives. A Brisbane GP recently told a Senate investigation commission that the earlier version of My Health Record had saved the life of one of his patients

that the hospital was able to access the information contained in this electronic file and took the decision not to give to the diabetic patient, who was in a coma, l & # 's Usual antibiotic that would have been administered for sepsis. This person had severe anaphylactic allergy to this antibiotic and, if given, would have been killed. This is a powerful example of the value of an electronic health record.

The electronic file will also solve the insoluble problem of late or non-existent transfers of patients admitted to their GP on discharge.

This will reduce the medical damage caused by polypharmacy, which is a big problem. An estimated 230,000 hospital admissions cost more than $ 1.2 billion each year due to a mishap related to medicine in Australia.

My Health Record should also increase efficiency and reduce waste. Treasury estimates suggest savings of about $ 123 million by 2020-2021 by eliminating avoidable duplicate pathological tests, diagnostic images and medical mishaps avoided.

We have come a long way in the last decade. Consultations and trials have been considerable to ensure that things are going well and safe.

Dr. Tony Bartone is President of the # 39; Australian Medical Association.