You control what organisations can access your My Health Record

Research indicates that many people in stigmatised groups and communities trust certain specific care providers with their treatment. For example, a queer person with HIV might see a particular HIV s. 100 prescriber they like and trust at a queer affirming clinic. They might have a backup GP and they might also have a list of GPs they have seen and do not want to see again. In other words, people assess trust on a per-practitioner basis.

By contrast, access to your My Health Record is granted to health care provider organisations rather than individual practitioners. If you see Dr A at Clinic 123, all the other doctors and administration staff at Clinic 123 can access your MyHR. The scheme controls access to records on a per-organisation basis.

It is possible to restrict access to your MyHR by setting a code — like a PIN or password — that a health care provider must enter in order to view and upload documents to your record. But, again, if Dr A enters the code at Clinic 123, all the other doctors and administration staff at Clinic 123 will also gain access to your MyHR.

Think carefully about the risks of unauthorised disclosure of details on your MyHR. You might decide that the risks of having a My Health Record outweigh the benefits even with access restrictions in place. If so, you have the option to disable your MyHR.