[LINK] Your Medicare records online

[Kim Holburn]

On 2010/Mar/03, at 1:32 PM, Ivan Trundle wrote:
> On 03/03/2010, at 1:21 PM, Kim Holburn wrote:
>
>> What's wrong with people looking after their own records?
>
>
> Would be fine if we carried them with us at all times (maybe on the  
> smart card stapled to our body, or perhaps an under-skin implant -  
> though you wouldn't want to enter a hospital without the body part  
> that contained the chip or card).
>
> I'd prefer to see medical information in a place where it can be  
> accessed by those who need to see it, with my direct or implied  
> consent.
>
> If I get wheeled into a medical facility in some outpost in an  
> uncommunicative state, I'd hope that they had all relevant history  
> before taking any action.


So you are going to have your medicare/e-health ID number tattooed on  
your wrist?  In general this argument I have heard before, I remember  
talking this over with Tony Hill several years ago.  But what it means  
is that any ambulance driver can access your records - if they have  
your ID.  Or so can any health professional if they can get your ID.   
Now they won't even need your permission nor might you ever know.   
Then we were discussing if next of kin would be allowed to give that  
permission with some special key number.  Now it seems we're talking  
about no technical permission needed at all.

It does seem like a good idea - that your records might be available  
in an emergency but how useful would it be really?  How many real  
emergency uses would there be compared to accesses unauthorised by the  
patient?

Kim

-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
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