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By December 2018 every Australian will have a My Health Record, unless they opt-out.
The My Health Record is an electronic health summary established by the Australian Government. It contains key health information drawn from the existing electronic records of healthcare providers involved in a patient’s care.
You can control what information goes into it and which organisations have access to your record.
But it is yet to be shown how My Health Record will benefit older Australians.
Of all Australians aged 50 years and over, 34% (about 2.7 million people) have either low digital literacy levels, do not use digital devices, or do not use the internet.
Those aged 50–65 are more likely to be ‘digitally confident’. There is a strong relationship between age and digital literacy levels. Three-quarters of the ‘digitally disengaged’ are aged 70 years and over.
Regardless of current digital literacy levels, 50% of all respondents mentioned they wanted to use the internet more. But this also means that 50% aren’t all that interested in learning how to use the internet. Lack of interest isn’t the only reason older people don’t use the internet, there are also cost related pressures and lack of access.
If you’re not keen on getting a My Health Record you’ll need to take action to opt-out and stop the Government creating a My Health Record for you.
You have from 16 July 2018 to 15 October 2018 to opt-out.
Every Australian will have a My Health Record unless they choose to opt out.
The good news is that people can cancel their My Health Records at any time after the opt-out period and people who opt-out can also create one.
During the three month period people who do not want a record can opt-out by calling 1800 723 471.
