The Australian Digital Health Agency is reminding people that My Health Record holds all COVID-19 information, including proof of vaccinations.
Agency Acting CEO Paul Creech called on Australians who use My Health Record to take advantage of theirs to help manage the impact from COVID-19.
“COVID-19 test results come from pathology providers and the majority of pathology providers in Australia routinely upload test results to My Health Record,” he said.
“We’ve seen huge demand since last July, with more than one million views a month by consumers across Australia.
“Previously, people needed to wait seven days to view their test results, however for COVID-19 test results, consumers can read them as soon as they are uploaded to their record and in the majority of cases this would be sooner than they would receive an SMS.”
Mr Creech said My Health Record provides Australians with:
- an immunisation history statement that shows all vaccinations recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register, including COVID-19 vaccinations.
- a COVID-19 digital certificate that shows only COVID-19 vaccinations, which is available once you have had your first two doses of a vaccine approved for use in Australia.
My Health Record has a new dashboard with everything COVID-19-related – including COVID-19 vaccination details and test results, medical conditions, relevant medicines and allergy information (eg. anaphylaxis), plus links to the COVID-19 vaccine clinic finder and side effect checker. Australians can also download their COVID-19 digital certificate from their My Health Record to a digital wallet.
According to the Agency, accessing immunisation information in My Health Record can be done easily, via desktop or mobile. For those experiencing problems linking to My Health Record via myGov, there is a FAQ page that can help on digitalhealth.gov.au. The My Health Record Helpline is also available on 1800 723 471, 24/7.
Use of My Health Record can ensure healthcare providers have visibility of pre-existing conditions and medicine history at the time of immunisation and this may be useful in assessing potential allergic reactions or side effects.
The Agency says it’s important to have up to date contact information in My Health Record for notifications, including changes in immunisation information. People need to have linked their My Health Record to their myGov.
To get started, check what information is already in your My Health Record so you can talk to your healthcare providers about uploading missing documents or adding a shared health summary.
Most Australian pharmacies use software systems that automatically upload information about a consumer’s dispensed medicines to My Health Record and with immunisation information being automatically uploaded from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), it makes it easier for patients and their doctors to ensure the best care is delivered.
COVID-19 vaccination data flows into My Health Record from all states and territories after it has been reported to the AIR. Providers can access this through their clinician information system or National Provider Portal.
People can also set up notifications so they stay across changes in their record, including changes in their immunisation information, and should make sure contact details in their profile are up to date.
If you are not seeing immunisations in your record, check your Medicare Information Settings. There is a yes/no setting to include immunisation information in your record. If yours is set to no, change it to yes and the immunisation information will flow into My Health Record.
When it comes to COVID-19 Pathology test results and My Health Record, the Agency advises to remember to ask your pathology lab to upload your COVID-19 test results if they haven’t already.
With many Australians starting to travel again this summer and away from home, they can take any request form to one of the following collection centres and be able to share results with their doctor and My Health Record.
Location Labs that can upload all test results to MHR:
- WA Path West Western Diagnostic Pathology
- ACT Laverty Pathology
- NSW Laverty Pathology
- NT Western Diagnostic Pathology
- QLD Mater Pathology, QML Pathology
- SA Abbott Pathology, SA Pathology
- TAS TML Pathology
- VIC Dorevitch Pathology
According to the Agency, more and more consumers are viewing their own information each month, with nearly 1.6 million pathology report views by consumers across November 2021 and a 580% increase in pathology views by consumers in the past year.
There were also more than 23.2 million people with a My Health Record in November 2021 and more than 95% of those records have data in them. There were 311 million medicine documents in the system, uploaded by GPs and pharmacies, as well as 202 million clinical documents in the system, uploaded by providers like hospitals, pathologists and radiologists.
For more information visit My Health Record
