Around 900,000 Australians have opted out of the My Health Record, deciding against having a digital health profile created in their name before the end of the opt-out period on November 15.
The Australian Digital Health Agency, which operates the digital record, revealed the numbers before a Senate inquiry on Monday evening.
Chief executive Tim Kelsey said 3 per cent of eligible people had chosen to opt out so far, working out to be around 900,000 individuals.
“This is significantly lower than the original forecast we had anticipated and in line with other international examples,” Mr Kelsey said.
The real number may be slightly higher as the count to-date only included those who opted out by phone or online.
Chief Executive Officer, Australian Digital Health Agency Tim Kelsey Source: AAP
Paper opt-out forms, which were provided in regional and remote areas, including within Indigenous communities, have yet to be tallied.
Health Minister Greg Hunt previously said the government had an opt-out target of less than 10 per cent.
Mr Kelsey said the opt-out number was consistent with the rate in the United Kingdom and Austria, which have similar digital health records.
With two months before the opt-out period ends, those who have a profile can still choose to delete it.
But Mr Kelsey said there had been a “very significant surge” of people leaving the scheme in the early days of the opt-out period, followed by a “significant drop-off”.
The My Health Record is an online profile that allows the easy transfer of a patient’s medical records from one doctor or specialist to another.
The records will theoretically only be accessible to the patient and their doctors, but critics of the scheme have been urging Australians to opt out over privacy and data security concerns.
In July, hackers stole 1.5 million profiles from Singapore’s digital health database, including the personal records of the Singaporean prime minister.
The government made in August in the face of backlash over how the health records could be released to the police or other agencies.
Under the changes, records can only be shared without consent if the police have a court order.
The changes also made it possible for people to fully delete their profiles at any time in the future.
Privacy concerns remain
The Law Council of Australia has welcomed the strengthened protections but told the Senate hearing it still had fears the records of children could be accessed by perpetrators of domestic violence.
The legislation underpinning the scheme, the My Health Records Act, allows those with “parental responsibility” to access their children’s records.
But the law does not exclude those subject to an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, raising concerns sensitive health data could be used by perpetrators of domestic violence to track down fleeing families.
The locations of medical practices listed on the record, for instance, could be used to narrow down locations.
“The current definition of 'parental responsibility' under the Act exposes the health records of children to misuse,” the council’s president Morry Bailes said.
“The legislation needs to protect the location and identity of victims of family violence from being shared with perpetrators.”
The Morrison government is yet to pass its through either house of parliament, so further changes could be added to the bill.
