Consent

Consent

Under the My Health Records Act 2012 (the My Health Records Act), healthcare provider organisations are authorised to collect, use and disclose health information in a patient’s record for the purpose of providing healthcare, subject to any access controls set by the patient. Some important things to know are:   

• healthcare providers, can access an individual’s record for the purpose of providing healthcare to that person  

• healthcare providers do not need to obtain consent from the patient on each occasion prior to viewing or uploading information   

• the patient does not need to review clinical information prior to it being uploaded to their record 

• the patient does not need to be present when the healthcare provider is accessing the record.  

Some caveats  

Despite the above, there are some caveats to be aware of when viewing or uploading information to an individual’s record: 

• if a patient explicitly asks that particular information is not uploaded to My Health Record, healthcare providers must comply with this directive  

• it is recommended healthcare providers discuss the information they are planning to upload with patients if that information is of a sensitive nature  

• healthcare providers must comply with state and territory laws pertaining to consent and the disclosure of sensitive information (for example, with regard to the publication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results).