SILICON
SILIC
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Editor Emeritus
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Publisher/Editor
Nicholas Vinen
Technical Editor
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Technical Staff
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc
Bao Smith, B.Sc
Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc
Technical Contributor
Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD
Art Director & Production Manager
Ross Tester
Reader Services
Ann Morris
Advertising Enquiries
Glyn Smith
Phone (02) 9939 3295
Mobile 0431 792 293
glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au
Regular Contributors
Dave Thompson
David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1),
PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov.
Geoff Graham
Associate Professor Graham Parslow
Ian Batty M.Ed.
Cartoonist
Brendan Akhurst
Silicon Chip is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20
880 526 923. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written
consent of the publisher.
Subscription rates: $105.00 per year,
post paid, in Australia.
For overseas rates, see our website
or email silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au
Editorial office:
Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd,
Brookvale, NSW 2100.
Postal address: PO Box 139,
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 9939 3295.
E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au
ISSN 1030-2662
* Recommended & maximum price only.
Editorial Viewpoint
Are electronic medical records
privacy concerns overblown?
Around one million Australians have decided to
opt out of the Australian Government “My Health Record” electronic medical records scheme.
While I am glad that we have that option, I do not
believe opting out is a wise decision. The potential
benefits of having an electronic medical record far
outweigh any privacy concerns, especially for older
people or those with chronic conditions.
If you have spent much time in a hospital, you will know that before treating you, they ask a series of questions about what medical conditions you
have, whether you have any allergies, any recent medical treatments, what
medications you are on and so on. For those with a long history (eg, if you
have a serious condition), this can take some time.
It’s pretty clear that our doctors, nurses and hospitals are overworked, as
demonstrated by the long waiting times in emergency departments and the
difficulty of booking an appointment with a GP. So it seems like a waste of
time asking these questions again and again if they could just look up your
medical record and have it all right in front of them.
Electronic medical records would also reduce the potential for mistakes
and improve the accuracy of diagnoses. When giving them an oral history,
you may forget to tell them some things, misremember others and there may
even be details that your doctor didn’t tell you previously which could be
important.
This is especially true if you are so ill that you cannot think or speak clearly or are unconscious. I would think that anyone who is seriously ill would
want the doctors and nurses treating them to have full access to their medical history, for the best chance of a speedy recovery.
So I believe it’s clear that a well-implemented electronic medical record
scheme would have significant benefits both in improving the efficiency of
our healthcare system as well as providing better outcomes for patients. As
for the downsides, I can think of two.
The first one is that more medical staff would have access to your records
so that a “bad apple” working in the medical industry would have greater
scope for mischief. Secondly, the electronic record storage system must be
implemented in a very secure manner so that hackers cannot gain access to
private data.
Based on the many recent stories of data breaches, it is clear that providing this level of security is not easy. But I believe it is possible, and given
the bad publicity that would surround such a data breach, I hope that our
Government is taking all the necessary steps to keep these records secure.
Ultimately, you have to consider the risks versus the rewards. Even if someone who should not have access to your medical records did gain access,
how would that impact you? Are they really going to be able to blackmail or
embarrass you over it? In most cases, I doubt it. However, if a doctor urgently needs your medical details and cannot get them, that could be a disaster.
Admittedly, only a small percentage of people will end up in that position but I believe an even smaller percentage will face negative consequences from a data breach.
So I suggest if you have opted out of this electronic medical records system (or are about to do so) that you should think carefully about whether
that decision is or was really in your best interests.
Printing and Distribution:
Nicholas Vinen
Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148.
4
Silicon Chip
Australia’s electronics magazine
siliconchip.com.au
| 
