"My Health Record" and the attempt to computerise our health data
Rip and Rosie said
09:37 AM Jul 21, 2018
I wonder what the Chinese hackers will do with my medical record....will they fiddle with my pathology results? Will my diabetes suddenly look like its improved...or worsened because of the hacker's vindictiveness? Will my personal information be sold to third parties......and maybe Vladimir Putin will lay awake at night worrying about my blood pressure and HbA1C. Maybe pharmaceutical companies will know which medication I take.....but I think the local chemist database will have passed that on by now anyway. Perhaps the government and Centrelink will feel sorry for me if they do the hacking, and give me tax relief and a disability pension... Perhaps local media might get hold of it and publish the fact that I'm getting old, have a dodgy knee and cataracts....young folk down the Plaza might help me push my supermarket trolley ...but I think not.
Mike Harding said
10:22 AM Jul 21, 2018
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the number of people who think government creating a central searchable database of their confidences to their doctor is a bit of a laugh.
I've been with the same GP for just over 20 years and I've told him a few things I would not want to see hacked and put on a website. But then so many of you are incomprehensibly eager to spread every detail of your lives across Facebook et al that what would you care if that note your GP made when you told him you (or your spouse) were drinking rather more than you should or about the occasion of domestic violence were published for the world.
And, perhaps, ask yourselves - if all this medical data is of no consequence, a bit of a laugh, why has someone gone to much trouble to hack Singapore's medical database as referenced in my previous post? Just because you think particular information is unimportant today doesn't mean you will think the same tomorrow.
Keep in mind your medical record will also contain or be linked to: Name and address Date of birth Medicare number Driving licence number Bank account details (Medicare refund) Health record DNA profile? (Probably, in time)
I've made my decision and I'm opting out.
rockylizard said
10:50 AM Jul 21, 2018
Gday...
I can fully understand, and accept, the reasons many feel there are matters relating to their health they would prefer not to be known outside the confidentiality of the closed door doctor's surgery.
.... and we all know the 100s of IT data storage media our details are already stored on have the potential to be 'hacked' to various extents.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with people choosing to 'opt out' if they feel their medical history has details that may embarrass or compromise them in some way.
However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
Data taken include names and addresses but not medical records, other than medicines dispensed in some cases. "Information on the outpatient dispensed medicines of about 160,000 of these patients" was taken, the statement says. "The records were not tampered with, ie no records were amended or deleted. No other patient records, such as diagnosis, test results or doctors' notes, were breached. We have not found evidence of a similar breach in the other public healthcare IT systems." The data of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, including information on his outpatient dispensed medicines, was "specifically and repeatedly targeted". Mr Lee has survived cancer twice.
I, for one of many, already have a MyHealth record ... for the past four or five years. I use it regularly with doctors I consult with in my travels. It has been tremendously helpful.
But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
Cheers - John
Bryan said
11:20 AM Jul 21, 2018
Personal choice, I'm not opting out.
Furthermore I believe criminals and other organisation can hack into most data bases if they can profit from it. Nothing is safe. Just my opinion.
Mike Harding said
01:32 PM Jul 21, 2018
rockylizard wrote:However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
>However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
It really doesn't matter *what* they took (even if anyone but the hackers actually know) the issue is that a *very* technologically advanced country such as Singapore cannot maintain a secure database with its population's health records. This is not a surprise to those of us who have knowledge of these areas.
>But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
Was that an attempt at a nasty little personal attack on me? It has that sense to it.
rockylizard said
09:33 PM Jul 21, 2018
Mike Harding wrote:
rockylizard wrote:However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
>However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
It really doesn't matter *what* they took (even if anyone but the hackers actually know) the issue is that a *very* technologically advanced country such as Singapore cannot maintain a secure database with its population's health records. This is not a surprise to those of us who have knowledge of these areas.
>But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
Was that an attempt at a nasty little personal attack on me? It has that sense to it.
Gday...
Praps you should actually read what is put in a post.... I re-state my earlier comment -
"I can fully understand, and accept, the reasons many feel there are matters relating to their health they would prefer not to be known outside the confidentiality of the closed door doctor's surgery.... and we all know the 100s of IT data storage media our details are already stored on have the potential to be 'hacked' to various extents."
I accede to your knowledge that IT systems are not only fallible but also insecure and prone to interference ... surely my comments re-stated above give a little bit of an indication that perhaps I am at least a bit aware of the 'IT hacking' problem/s even if not at your apparent higher knowledge.
And regarding your complete misinterpretation of my comment regarding 'drinking and/or domestic violence' ... this is what you said and I was only quoting your example -
"But then so many of you are incomprehensibly eager to spread every detail of your lives across Facebook et al that what would you care if that note your GP made when you told him you (or your spouse) were drinking rather more than you should or about the occasion of domestic violence were published for the world."
Indeed, I even changed the word 'you' by the inclusions of parenthese and inserted the word I, relating to self, so that it WASN'T a 'nasty personal attack' against you OR anyone else.
Cheers - John
reikioz said
10:37 AM Jul 22, 2018
What most people are grumbling about is not so much who, as first line responders, has access to the file data, but those secondary providers, who ever they may be in the future, with weaker security systems that can have their data hacked by the "Bad Guys". IMHO with 7 billion people on the planet, the odds of getting identity theft picked are as random as winning Lotto. It's got to happen to someone, and it will happen to some grey nomads because that's the luck of the draw. And the only way to avoid it with 100% certainty is to be dead, and even then your identity can still be picked up and used. So, I would suggest that people don't worry about the downside of data and see to usefullness of haveing your record available wherever you go. I had a quintuple by-pass on my heart done this year and I would certainly want the associated records available to a medical clinic somewhere at the back of beyond if needs be. So relax, thank Gough Whitlam for Medicare and keep on travelling
sandman55 said
11:34 PM Jun 19, 2019
At my age I'm not worried about employers accessing my health record even though I do a little bit of part time casual work or insurance companies getting hold of my records I see it as an advantage to me but if I was starting out in life I might look at it differently.
Snippy said
03:45 AM Jun 20, 2019
Have found that having to see different Drs all the time while travelling, MHR keeps my records up to date and is available instantly to any Dr anywhere.
I wonder what the Chinese hackers will do with my medical record....will they fiddle with my pathology results? Will my diabetes suddenly look like its improved...or worsened because of the hacker's vindictiveness? Will my personal information be sold to third parties......and maybe Vladimir Putin will lay awake at night worrying about my blood pressure and HbA1C. Maybe pharmaceutical companies will know which medication I take.....but I think the local chemist database will have passed that on by now anyway. Perhaps the government and Centrelink will feel sorry for me if they do the hacking, and give me tax relief and a disability pension... Perhaps local media might get hold of it and publish the fact that I'm getting old, have a dodgy knee and cataracts....young folk down the Plaza might help me push my supermarket trolley ...but I think not.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the number of people who think government creating a central searchable database of their confidences to their doctor is a bit of a laugh.
I've been with the same GP for just over 20 years and I've told him a few things I would not want to see hacked and put on a website. But then so many of you are incomprehensibly eager to spread every detail of your lives across Facebook et al that what would you care if that note your GP made when you told him you (or your spouse) were drinking rather more than you should or about the occasion of domestic violence were published for the world.
And, perhaps, ask yourselves - if all this medical data is of no consequence, a bit of a laugh, why has someone gone to much trouble to hack Singapore's medical database as referenced in my previous post? Just because you think particular information is unimportant today doesn't mean you will think the same tomorrow.
Keep in mind your medical record will also contain or be linked to:
Name and address
Date of birth
Medicare number
Driving licence number
Bank account details (Medicare refund)
Health record
DNA profile? (Probably, in time)
I've made my decision and I'm opting out.
Gday...
I can fully understand, and accept, the reasons many feel there are matters relating to their health they would prefer not to be known outside the confidentiality of the closed door doctor's surgery.
.... and we all know the 100s of IT data storage media our details are already stored on have the potential to be 'hacked' to various extents.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with people choosing to 'opt out' if they feel their medical history has details that may embarrass or compromise them in some way.
However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
Data taken include names and addresses but not medical records, other than medicines dispensed in some cases.
"Information on the outpatient dispensed medicines of about 160,000 of these patients" was taken, the statement says.
"The records were not tampered with, ie no records were amended or deleted. No other patient records, such as diagnosis, test results or doctors' notes, were breached. We have not found evidence of a similar breach in the other public healthcare IT systems."
The data of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, including information on his outpatient dispensed medicines, was "specifically and repeatedly targeted". Mr Lee has survived cancer twice.
I, for one of many, already have a MyHealth record ... for the past four or five years. I use it regularly with doctors I consult with in my travels. It has been tremendously helpful.
But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
Cheers - John
Personal choice, I'm not opting out.
Furthermore I believe criminals and other organisation can hack into most data bases if they can profit from it. Nothing is safe. Just my opinion.
>However, this is what was 'hacked' in the Singapore instance you refer to - and posted earlier ...
It really doesn't matter *what* they took (even if anyone but the hackers actually know) the issue is that a *very* technologically advanced country such as Singapore cannot maintain a secure database with its population's health records. This is not a surprise to those of us who have knowledge of these areas.
>But then, I have not been ".....drinking rather more than (you) I should or about the occasion(s) of domestic violence....." I have engaged in.
Was that an attempt at a nasty little personal attack on me? It has that sense to it.
Gday...
Praps you should actually read what is put in a post.... I re-state my earlier comment -
"I can fully understand, and accept, the reasons many feel there are matters relating to their health they would prefer not to be known outside the confidentiality of the closed door doctor's surgery.... and we all know the 100s of IT data storage media our details are already stored on have the potential to be 'hacked' to various extents."
I accede to your knowledge that IT systems are not only fallible but also insecure and prone to interference ... surely my comments re-stated above give a little bit of an indication that perhaps I am at least a bit aware of the 'IT hacking' problem/s even if not at your apparent higher knowledge.
And regarding your complete misinterpretation of my comment regarding 'drinking and/or domestic violence' ... this is what you said and I was only quoting your example -
"But then so many of you are incomprehensibly eager to spread every detail of your lives across Facebook et al that what would you care if that note your GP made when you told him you (or your spouse) were drinking rather more than you should or about the occasion of domestic violence were published for the world."
Indeed, I even changed the word 'you' by the inclusions of parenthese and inserted the word I, relating to self, so that it WASN'T a 'nasty personal attack' against you OR anyone else.
Cheers - John
What most people are grumbling about is not so much who, as first line responders, has access to the file data, but those secondary providers, who ever they may be in the future, with weaker security systems that can have their data hacked by the "Bad Guys". IMHO with 7 billion people on the planet, the odds of getting identity theft picked are as random as winning Lotto. It's got to happen to someone, and it will happen to some grey nomads because that's the luck of the draw. And the only way to avoid it with 100% certainty is to be dead, and even then your identity can still be picked up and used. So, I would suggest that people don't worry about the downside of data and see to usefullness of haveing your record available wherever you go. I had a quintuple by-pass on my heart done this year and I would certainly want the associated records available to a medical clinic somewhere at the back of beyond if needs be. So relax, thank Gough Whitlam for Medicare and keep on travelling
At my age I'm not worried about employers accessing my health record even though I do a little bit of part time casual work or insurance companies getting hold of my records I see it as an advantage to me but if I was starting out in life I might look at it differently.
Have found that having to see different Drs all the time while travelling, MHR keeps my records up to date and is available instantly to any Dr anywhere.