The Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service is the first facility outside New South Wales to offer the national system and operators are calling on all residents to get on board.
“We are trying to encourage everybody to join on to eHealth, not just our clients,” Pangula Mannamurna administration officer Stefanie Birkholz said.
“Anybody who wants our assistance in setting up their own eHealth record can do so by coming into the service.”
Ms Birkholz said the facility was delighted to have eHealth to make service delivery easier for patients.
“It has been quite a long process to get to this point, but now we see it as a positive way of empowering people to have more information about their health,” she said.
“We have a lot of transient patients that are travelling a lot and patients with complex health issues, so having to retell health information can be a stressful and lengthy process.
“Now people can say that they have an eHealth record.”
With security a common concern for patients, Ms Birkholz said the Federal Government and the facility had taken serious measures to prevent any breaches.
“Security is an issue and it is always the first thing clients ask for,” she said.
“There is now legislation in place governing the records and who can have access to it and Pangula has installed new internet security to be compliant with the requirements.”
Ms Birkholz said eHealth was also personally controlled, which means medical professionals can only access a record with permission from the patient, excluding an emergency situation.
“In an emergency situation physicians can access the record without your permission, for instance if you are unconscious,” she said.
“This is so they can provide you with the best, fastest and most accurate medical assistance.”
The national eHealth system now has around 90,000 poeple had registered to the service, with around 1000 people signing up each day.
The Federal Government eHealth roll-out will see hospitals and clinics across Australia connecting to the system in the coming months.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Georgia Kelly-Bakker
Quelle/Source: The Border Watch, 01.04.2013
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