How My Health Record Could Benefit Parents Who Travel 

Written by Karli Steenkamp 

Travelling is an exciting thing to do with your kids. It could also be stressful to make sure everything is packed. You have things to do for the kids and the places you go have be somewhat child-friendly. The last thing you might have thought of is what to do in an emergency. You will definitely have peace of mind knowing that your family is taken care of during your travels and one way to ensure this is with a My Health Record.  

Many Australians are unsure of what My Health Record is about and how it could benefit you as a family. The Australian Digital Health Agency encourages parents to find out more about the great benefits of this system.Six million people already have a My Health Record with thirteen thousand health professionals joining this system. My Health Record will take the stress of your family’s health out of travelling. 

What is My Health Record? 

My Health Record is an online summary of a person’s health. It is a simple way for parents to monitor their children’s health, providing all the important information such as allergies, immunisations, test results and health checks.  

Why should my family have a My Health Record? 

Any emergency can happen when travelling. Being away from your surroundings and doctors that you trust can be a frightening thought. My Health Record aims at putting your fears at ease, by providing a snapshot of your health. In an emergency, the doctors can access your My Health Record and be aware of any health issues and allergies. This information gives them a clear picture on how to best treat a patient. There might be questions that you as a parent might not have answers to or forgotten, so having a My Health Record is an excellent tool to keep your child’s health information in one place. If more than one healthcare professional is involved in your care, it gives them a good overview of your health history and they can consult together on the best treatment for you.  

When you travel, especially overseas, immunisations are sometimes required and with My Health Record, all these immunisations will be there. It is an easy way to show that all immunisations are up to date. 

There is another part to My Health Record and this is called My Childhood Development Section. This is a great section where your child’s growth and health is monitored. My Health Record will provide your child with lifelong health information at his or her fingertips. You as a parent will manage your child’s record while they are young and when they are older, they can take over the management of their records. 

Besides the immunisation and development section on My Health Record, there is other important information that will also be displayed: 

• Medical conditions and treatments 
• Medicine 
• Allergies 
• Test and scan results 
• Referral letter 
• Hospital discharge information 
• Overview of health 

Manage your family’s My Health Record 

My Health Record can be managed by you as parents. You can manage the privacy and control access including what information gets uploaded and who can see it. You can add contact numbers and emergency contact details. You can upload your status such as Indigenous status, Veterans’ Australian Defence Force status or whether you have an Advance Care Plan. Two years worth of Medicare data will be available on there, if you consent for it be uploaded on your My Health Record, otherwise, you’ll find there is no data to begin with. If you have medical information that you feel needs to be displayed, you can consult with your general practitioner and add that on there. You can also remove documents if you feel they aren’t relevant to your healthcare. However, keep in mind that you can protect certain documents using a pin code, which you can give to those you trust.  

There are safeguards in place to ensure that this system is secure and protected by law, keeping your family’s health information protected. Only registered healthcare providers involved in your care and who are registered with the My Health Record System Operator can have access to your information. There are notification settings that you can put in place to be notified when someone has accessed you or your family’s My Health Record. 

My Health Record is a system that can take care of your family to provide the best care when needed. All the information is available to doctors in an emergency that will provide you with a chance to take care of your family. That takes the stress of your family’s well-being out of travelling. For more information you can phone the Help line 1800 723 471 or go to MyHealthRecord.gov.au. 

References: 

My Health Records