“Over the last few months we have been helping to inform members and stakeholders about My Health Record, including the three-month opt-out period starting this week.

The promise of this new system is similar to the promise of the first electronic GP clinical records: better management of chronic conditions and diseases, better management of reminders and recalls, and more accurate and timely communication with other medical professionals.

For those living with mental health issues, the potential for benefits are greater than for the broader population. We know that people living with mental illness often experience health care that is substandard – co-morbidities can remain untreated or undiagnosed and the complications of treatments and medications can be very damaging.

But we also know that for people living with mental illness, access to information can carry great risks. We still live in a world where stigma and discrimination mean that the unauthorised released of information might mean discrimination in employment, or insurance, or other opportunities.

So where does that leave us?

It leaves each of us empowered to make an informed choice. To weigh up the benefits against the risks – which our friends at the Consumers Health Forum of Australia have published as An important overview of the pros, cons and questions about My Health Record ”

Please click on the link below to access more information:
https://mhaustralia.org/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=941