The government intends to place “legal obligations” on diagnostic imaging and pathology providers to upload reports to My Health Record from December 2024, with limited exceptions.
The timeline was unveiled Friday as the government moved ahead with plans to “modernise” parts of Australia’s personally-controlled electronic health record, in line with a taskforce recommendation.
The modernisation was backed with $429 million over two years in the most recent federal budget.
While most general practitioners and pharmacies use My Health Record, that tapers off substantially for pathology reports and diagnostic imaging.
The government said currently only half of pathology reports and “one in five” diagnostic imaging reports are shared to My Health Record.
That is set to change from next year, and the government is hoping that health providers will start their planning now.
“By 30 June 2024, diagnostic imaging and pathology providers should be uploading patient results to My Health Record,” the Department of Health and Aged care said in a consultation.
“It is expected that legal obligations to upload results will be in place from December 2024.
“This initiative will make it a rule for public and private pathology and diagnostic imaging organisations to share reports to My Health Record by default.”
The department said that the Australian Digital Health Agency would have a role in helping healthcare providers “to meet the new requirements”.
It added that patients are likely to be afforded some control.
“There will be situations where healthcare providers can’t or won’t have to share diagnostic imaging or pathology results (for example, when a consumer asks for their results not to be shared),” the department said.
“[However], these will be the exception and not the rule.”
The department said the consultation should act as a “signal to public and private diagnostic imaging and pathology services to start now to plan and prepare to meet the new requirements.”
In addition to having the data uploaded to My Health Record in the first place, the government also wants the reports to be immediately accessible.
“Usually there’s a seven-day delay between when a healthcare provider uploads a diagnostic imaging or pathology result to My Health Record and when a consumer can see it,” the department said of the system today.
It didn’t explain why the lag exists, but said it wanted to change it so that reports can be viewed by patients “as soon as they are shared to My Health Record.”
The consultation closes at the end of October.