Vriendin in Amerika om raad gevraagd, ze is hoogleraar Nursing Studies aan de University of Atlanta, en ze geeft zelf de disclaimer dat ze niet in Australie is. Maar adequate en bruikbare samenvatting, vermoed ik.
Pros: 1) when all providers can see the same database of tests, prescriptions, procedures, etc., care is enhanced and there is less duplicative testing, mis-prescribing, etc. The Veterans Health System in the US uses the same electronic health record and no matter where a veteran is treated, providers can access their record.
2) although many providers and hospitals use electronic health records, one brand of software won't talk to any other brand of software. And different electronic health records contain different information and/or it can be hard to find where certain types of software bury various types of information in different places
3) allowing patient's access to their own records, allows them to correct information. Stuff, even in an electronic record, regularly gets misfiled in someone else's chart.
4) if everyone is enrolled (and the data de-identified), it provides an incredible resource for researchers. I'm not sure what kind of system that is used in Iceland, but they have complete health records on their entire population and there has been some very interesting epidemiological and longituditional research done there.
Cons:
1) the system has to be exclusively used for healthcare only (not determination of benefits) and secure from hackers (something that is hard to guarentee)
2) family members, except the parents of minor children (or even children over age 12 or 14) should not be able to view family member health records. Although there is nothing to be ashamed of in my electronic health record, I would not like my partner to have access and/or able to add comments/information. He knows general information about my health, but really has no need to know specific lab values, read an operative summary from my cataract surgery almost a year ago. And like most people, wouldn't understand the medical jargon, meaning of various tests, etc.
3) if the medical record contains provider notes from psychiatric care or counseling, that should not be available to family members, and in some cases the patient's themselves. Even providers caring from the patient (who are not mental health providers) generally are not able to access detailed notes about counseling sessions or psychiatric care.
Other thoughts-as the author states, it's quite rare that someone is in an accident and no one is able to provide information. And if that's the case, you go ahead and stabilize their condition (e.g, stop the bleeding, treat the trauma, take measures to makes sure that if they are comatose that you preserve brain function) and then worry about their past health history, allergies, current medications, etc.
I hope this has helped you think about the new system in Australia...but please remember I'm coming from the perspective of a provider here in the US and our health system is unique (and not always in a good way).
