At LiveTribe, we believe that everyone should have a voice and that all opinions are inherently valuable – that’s why we regularly post forums to our users to give them the opportunity to weigh in on a lot of prominent topics of our day. Recently, the subject of discussion turned towards a concept that is quickly proving to be very controversial – the My Health Record platform that the Australian government is in the process of rolling out.

As one might expect from a topic that has already garnered quite a bit of discussion online, the responses were fascinating, to say the least.

What is My Health Record?

For those unfamiliar, My Health Record was designed to be an online summary for all of your key health information – available any time, anywhere, from any device. Even while you’re travelling or if you move across the country, you can still access important information like:

• Your allergies.

• A database of any medication that you might be taking.

• A listing of any and all medical conditions that you’ve been diagnosed with.

• Pathology test results.

• And much, much more.

In essence, My Health Record is supposed to make things easier. Whether you’re going into the doctor’s office for a general check-up or are sent to the emergency room while on vacation, healthcare professionals have all of this critical data at their fingertips.

What Supporters Are Saying

As of August 2018, more than six million people in Australia have already signed up for My Health Record. It’s important to note that soon, people will be signed up no matter what – unless they specifically choose to opt out.

When the LiveTribe community was asked to weigh in, a lot of people actually said that they welcomed this type of technological advancement with open arms.

“[I] cannot wait for this to happen. It would be nice to know that if you are injured [or] sick that the doctors that are now treating you have full details of your history and know what medicine you are currently taking” said one user in support of My Health Record.

Another said that “I have been on [My Health Record] for the last four to five years and have not had any problems with it. I also think it is sensible to be on it, particularly if you need specific medication and are not being treated by your local doctor.”

A lot of supporters share these same sentiments. They believe that, if the program does what it’s supposed to do, it will be a legitimately beneficial experience for everyone.

Needless to say, a lot of people still need convincing.

Why Are People Opting Out?

A lot of the reasons why people are already choosing to opt out can be summed up in a single word: security. “Australia has a dismal track record when it comes to online security,” said one user. “I have concerns regarding the security of my data and will be keeping an eye on this and opt out of issues arise,” said another.

Other users were thinking about things over the long-term: “I don’t trust insurance companies to gain personal information about genetic diseases in families and charge more for insurance for future generations.”

Are These Types of Fears Realistic?

At least in terms of cybersecurity, the fears of a lot of these community members are not necessarily unfounded. The healthcare field is already one of the top targets for hackers around the world every year, due in no small part to how valuable the information that can be stolen really is. In fact, one recent study showed that about 89% of healthcare organizations had already had some type of data breach in the last two years alone.

Having everything in a centralized database like My Health Record would, in theory, make it easier for hackers to target sensitive health information than it already is.

Equally important is the significant portion of the community that fear they will be marginalised if they don’t opt out of the service. People like sex workers, those who are HIV positive and transgender people are worried that they will be further marginalized should My Health Record become a requirement – something that is certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

LiveTribe: Giving a Voice to the Masses

Regardless of which side of the issue you come down on, it’s clear that My Health Record is a topic that we are all going to be watching very closely for the foreseeable future.

To read more of the responses for the My Health Record, or to learn about how you can support all of your favourite charities just by filling out surveys on the Internet, become a member today.