Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has admitted the take up of electronic health records will likely be slow in the first few years.
People can register to have an e-health record from July, however, doctors have long argued the opt-in system could prove problematic.
"There are only so many times doctors are going to stop and look to see if their patient has opted in and given them access to their personally-controlled electronic health record (PCEHR)," Australian Medica Association (AMA) president Steve Hambleton said last week.
"If doctors were to find most of their patients had a PCEHR they would be more likely to keep using the system."
Hambleton and Plibersek both addressed a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) health forum in Melbourne.
The minister used her speech to spruik the benefits of e-health, including a reduction in medication mix-ups and less duplication of clinical tests.
But Plibersek said while the digital "foundations" would be ready by July 1 the e-health journey wouldn't be completed overnight.
"It's not just a matter of flicking a switch and away you go," she told the forum. "We've always said the rollout of the national e-health system would be in gradual, carefully managed phases."
The AMA wants the government to provide GPs with more support for software upgrades.
Doctors also want to be paid extra for creating and maintaining patients' shared health summaries which will contain crucial information all healthcare providers can access.
Labor committed an extra $200 million over two years in the budget for e-health.
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Quelle/Source: Aged Care INsite, 21.05.2012
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