Healthcare providers can access information within My Health Record for the purpose of lessening or preventing a serious threat.
This helps your treating healthcare providers to deliver safer treatment and care that considers the information in your My Health Record, such as allergies, medicines and immunisations.
Emergency access to your record can last for a maximum of five days and is recorded in your ‘Access History’.
Types of emergency access
Healthcare providers can access your record for the purpose of lessening a serious threat to your health, life or safety.
For example, if you were taken unconscious to the emergency department, hospital staff may access your record to find out if you are taking medication or have any pre-existing medical conditions.
Emergency access to a My Health Record may also be granted to prevent a serious threat to public health or safety.
If you have restricted access to your record
Healthcare providers can override access controls to view your health information if they use Emergency Access. This includes information and documents that are restricted.
Find out how to control access to documents.
If you have removed or hidden documents from your record
Healthcare providers won’t be able to view any documents you have removed or hidden from your record. They also won’t be able to see personal health notes you have uploaded.
Find out how to remove or restrict documents.
See who has accessed your record
Any time a healthcare provider views or uploads information, it’s recorded in your ‘Access History’ under the Privacy and Access section.
You can also receive an email or text notification for a range of reasons, including the use of the Emergency Access function by your healthcare provider organisation. You can set notifications to let you know when changes are made to your My Health Record.
