On 20/04/2016 1:47 PM, Jan Whitaker wrote:
Hi guys
I'm having a discussion in a private group about the reliability of internet 
connections for 'country doctors' so that they could rely on the MyHealthRecord 
for travelling seniors.

Here's the article that started us off:
<http://www.nbmphn.com.au/Community/My-Health-Record/Ray-Lorraine-Gardner.aspx>http://www.nbmphn.com.au/Community/My-Health-Record/Ray-Lorraine-Gardner.aspx

I said I thought these people were being misled. I've been told by someone in 
health care (who is also on-side about the problems with the MyHR itself, so 
not all bad) that bush GPs would have commercial grade internet access.

My question: is there such a thing in the outback? And is it really reliable to 
put your trust in having that as your only source of health information in 
emergencies when travelling?

Thoughts?
...
I put the question to the Facebook Rural & Regional group. This is what came back:
===================================
Well I can comment... I think our country surgery has satellite but there is no ADSL, no NBN, no NextG and even better no mobile phone reception. Also remember in rural areas we have a high turn over of doctors, most overseas trained with gaps filled by locums. Before we worry about the Internet access the Gp's need training in ehealth as part of their registration.
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apart from the reality of data access issues there is also the issue of security. I will never have a ehealth, mygov or any other government account due to the inherent issues with privacy and security.
===================================
Ehealth is more secure than entrusting staff in remote medical environments.
===================================
Having personal access to ehealth records makes no difference to security or privacy, the information is there whether you are accessing it or not. I actually just signed my husband up for ehealth this morning as I needed to prove he was prescribed a medicine as our regular chemist is closed until Tuesday and needed to get a couple of days supply. All his script and doctor visit history was immediately available as soon as I signed it up. The information is already online. Same deal with centrelink, ATO etc. It's all there whether you are accessing it or not. I've been using online accounts for government departments for years and never had any issues.
===================================
After travelling for five years, we carried a hard copy of our health records, then ehealth was introduced and wow, did that make things easier, especially when on special medication. So many doctors surgeries would simply not issue me with this medication and you got the feeling you were being treated like a drug addict..never had a problem since being on ehealth.

--
David Boxall                         | ignorance more frequently
                                     | begets confidence than does
http://david.boxall.id.au            | knowledge
                                     | --Charles Darwin (introduction
                                     |  to 'The Descent of Man' 1871)

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