How Greg Hunt sold the idea of My Health Record

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt was famously in charge of educating Australians on the rollout of the controversial My Health Record. The system was spruiked as a way to deliver better, more streamlined healthcare for Australians, despite the many concerns of people about the security of their medical history.

Because of these potential security concerns, Australians were given an option to ‘opt-out’ of the My Health Record system. However, Greg Hunt assured that this was not necessary and that the system would be as secure as any other that Australians were used to putting their personal information into.

There was a wide array of support for the system that came from peak health and consumer bodies, which also included the Australian Medical Association. It was also largely supported by doctors who believed it would enable quicker decisions regarding treatment, with secure and prompt access to records of patients, especially those with complex and elaborate medical histories.

Many Australians took time to better understand the My Health Record system and then try to make the most informed decision possible about whether to opt-out or not. Upon further research, many discovered that they did not have much to worry about.

Ultimately, people saw the utility in having a digitised health record that could be more easily accessed by the medical practitioners they were interacting with. A lot of people understood the impact that the system could have on their future wellbeing and saw that it was worthwhile for them.

Many doctors said that there would be a range of important benefits for people who participated in the system. They said that there would be a lot of advantages for public health and ultimately a lot of befits for the Australian economy as a whole.