Health Minister blasts decade of digital neglect in healthcare

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler, has laid out the government’s plans for a digital overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system, with a strong focus on modernising My Health Record, during his address at Victorian Healthcare Week 2024.

Minister Butler opened by reflecting on Medicare’s 40-year journey, noting how technology has radically transformed every aspect of life except, curiously, parts of healthcare.

“In 1984, ‘cutting edge’ was a Sony Walkman in your pocket and a fax machine in your office. Walk into many health settings today, and that same fax machine is still there,” Minister Butler quipped, highlighting the urgent need for digital transformation in Australian healthcare.

Minister Butler was candid about the state of My Health Record when his government took office, describing it as a “shoebox of PDFs” that had seen no meaningful upgrades in nearly a decade. He criticised the previous government for leaving Australia behind in the global digital health race, noting, “While the broader economy underwent a digital revolution, My Health Record just sat there, gathering dust.”

Despite its outdated state, My Health Record was still seen as critical to the future of healthcare delivery. He revealed that, shockingly, it had not even been funded beyond June 2023, and was days away from being switched off when Labor took action.

Fast forward to today, and Minister Butler assured the audience that a “quiet revolution” is underway. In May 2023, the government allocated nearly $1.1 billion to overhaul My Health Record, transforming it into a real-time, data-rich platform. This funding has spearheaded reforms across three major areas: standards, medicines, and diagnostic tests.

The first of these, standards, has seen progress. Through the CSIRO-led “Sparked” initiative, Australia now has its first national data sharing standard, achieved in “just 10 months”. This new framework enables seamless interoperability between clinical systems, ensuring that patient data can flow across hospitals, GPs, and aged care facilities.

Minister Butler underscored that while these reforms will improve efficiency for healthcare providers, the real beneficiaries will be patients.

“The reason we are driving so hard toward this digital future is not provider benefit or system benefit, but patient benefit. Patients find this so frustrating, because every lost test result means another day off work, another waiting room, another procedure and yet another gap fee.

“Patients desire and deserve access to their own health data, and agency over how it is used and shared,” he said.

The Minister pointed to the need for faster access to diagnostic scans and pathology results, announcing plans to introduce legislation mandating “sharing by default” for these critical reports.

“Patients find it so frustrating when test results are delayed,” Butler said, emphasising that this new standard will reduce unnecessary repeat tests and save both time and Medicare resources.

In a pointed remark, Minister Butler highlighted the role private providers play in the digital health ecosystem, singling out Healius, Australia’s second largest private pathology provider, for its temporary halt in uploading pathology results last year.

“Patients should not have to rely on the goodwill of private providers to access their own health data,” he stated firmly. “Let me be clear: withhold a patient’s results and we will withhold the Medicare payment.”

The Productivity Commission estimates more than $5 billion a year could be saved by reforming Australia’s digital health infrastructure.

“Beyond the savings, it is – quite simply – what patients expect and deserve,” he added.

As Minister Butler wrapped up his address, he outlined the potential of the ongoing digital transformation.

“Consumers will be able to trust the system, access their information at all times, and won’t have to repeat their medical history every time they see a clinician.”

He added, “By the time Medicare reaches its next milestone birthday, we can confidently expect the humble fax machine will no longer clutter the offices of health settings. Like the Sony Walkman or Apple Macintosh, the fax machine will finally become little more than a museum relic.

“That day can’t come soon enough.”

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