Digital Health

Digital health is a broad term. It encompasses mobile health (mHealth), health information technology, wearable devices, telehealth and personalised medicine. Digital health can also include mobile medical apps and software that support the clinical decisions doctors make. These digital tools improve how healthcare professionals diagnose and treat patients and enhance the delivery of healthcare for the individual.

Digital Health for Healthcare Providers

Telehealth 

Telehealth refers to video and telephone calls to conduct health consultations, which are available for a range of health services by General Practitioners (GPs), Nurse Practitioners, Aboriginal Health Practitioners and Workers, Mental Health professionals, Allied Health professionals and some medical specialists. Telehealth is a significant strategy that ensures people can continue to access essential health services while reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19. It can be used for the consultations, intervention, education and or supervision.

For more information read our Telehealth Factsheet for healthcare professional  or download the Agency for Clinical Innovation Telehealth in Practice Guide (2019).

My Health Record

What is My Health Record?

My Health Record is an online summary of your patient’s medical information they opt to have in the one place.  Through My Health Record, healthcare providers can gain a more holistic picture of their patient’s health by drawing from different medical information and improving their patient’s treatment and health outcomes.

Benefits of My Health Record for healthcare professionals:

  • Easily view and add patient health information.
  • Access timely information about their patients e.g. prescriptions, pathology reports etc.
  • Important medical information is stored in one location and is easily available – especially in case of an emergency.

For more information visit the Australian Digital Health Agency website.

Professional development and training

The Australian Digital Health Agency is providing free training webinars between October – December 2020 to support healthcare providers with digital health. Register and learn how to integrate digital health in your practice.

Clinical Information Systems

Download the full ADHA Digital Health training schedule.

My Health Record Storybooks:

View the updated AH&MRC My Record Storybooks:

Useful Resources

The Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) has co-developed with the Australian Digital Health Agency useful resource and guidelines to support education and professional development of people working in the healthcare sector.

Connection guidelines for allied health professionals seeking to engage with digital health platforms:

Digital health toolkits to help allied health professions understand and interact with digital health platforms such as My Health Record and secure messaging.

Digital health policy templates help allied health practices prepare digital health policies to comply with My Health Record requirements.

Digital Health for you and your family

Telehealth

Telehealth provides health care to people using video calls or telephone calls and is common in rural and remote parts of Australia. Telehealth consultations can be convenient and can address many health issues without you having to go to your Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) in person. While some people may still need to go to their clinic for vaccinations or examination by a nurse or doctor, Telehealth can be a significant change to the way that you usually get health care.

Call your AMS first and discuss whether you could have a Telehealth consultation or need to come to the clinic in person instead.

For more information read our Telehealth Factsheet for community members.

My Health Record

What is My Health Record?

My Health Record is an online summary of all your important medical information, that you agree to store in the one place. It allows healthcare providers from different services to access your medical information, saving time and correspondence between yourself and various medical providers.

Apart from you, the only people who can view or access your My Health Record are your healthcare providers, people you invite to help you manage your record (nominated representatives) and people who manage your record for you, if you are not able to (authorised representatives).

What can My Health Record be used for?

My Health Record can be used to view and manage your health information. It allows you to see tests results, prescriptions, and health provider notes. You will also be able to add your own notes for health providers to view during your appointments. It is easy to update your personal information using My Health Record, including whether you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. This information helps to create a more informed care plan for yourself and medical professionals to work from.

How do I sign up for my Health Record?

You can sign up for your own My Health Record from the age of 14. Once you sign up for your own record, your parents/guardians will no longer be able to look at your record unless you invite them to be nominated as a representative. If you are over 14 and would like to sign up for your own My Health Record simply;

  1. Go to My Gov to sign in to your myGov account.
  2. Select Services
  3. Select Link another service
  4. Select My Health Record

If you do not have a myGov account, you can set one up at My Gov.

For more information about My Health Record and how it can benefit you, please contact your Local Aboriginal Medical Service or speak with your GP.

 

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