All too often, it can be challenging for a pharmacist to determine a treatment method for a patient based on very little or no knowledge at all of their previous health history.

Working as a Consultant Pharmacist between various pharmacies in the Mackay region, Karalyn Huxhagen has for years witnessed first-hand just how beneficial digital health records can be.

That’s why Karalyn believes My Health Record is an extremely valuable tool when delivering prompt, accurate, and efficient health care to the community.

Being a part of the My Health Record opt-out trial when delivered by NQPHN in North Queensland in 2016, Karalyn was an early adopter of the My Health Record system and has been an active user ever since.

“Having access to a patient’s key health information through My Health Record is extremely useful,” Karalyn said.

“It provides a platform where I can gain clarity of a patient’s journey and management plan all in the one place.

“As a pharmacist, I am working fairly blind when it comes to a patient’s important information.

“Often, all I will receive from a patient is their GP referral, which can sometimes contain a lot of useful information, or none at all.

“When attempting to unravel the reasons behind prescribing a certain medication to a patient, My Health Record proves to be a vital tool as the clues are all there.”

Karalyn says that My Health Record reduces the time she spends calling practices and requesting information about the patient standing in front of her.

“I believe the most valuable bits of information that I regularly access using a patient’s My Health Record are discharge summaries and specialist letters, as these give me prompt and clear information about the patient’s journey before they walked into the pharmacy,” she said.

“I speak to many patients and community members about the importance of uploading important documents that are provided to them by their GP, such as Home Medicine Review notes.

“I recently visited a patient in his home after he had been discharged from the hospital due to suffering from a heart attack.

“Using his home computer, he was able to easily log into his My Health Record on his own, view his hospital discharge summary, recent PBS data, and pathology details all in the one place.

“My Health Record gave this patient access to the same information that I would have access to as his pharmacist, ensuring we were both on the same page and no time during the consultation was wasted attempting to fill in the gaps.

“I sat down with him and we went through any questions that he had after he had read his discharge notes displayed on his My Health Record, followed by going through his discharge medication.

“Whilst speaking with this patient based on the information accessible on his My Health Record, I was able to provide him with information relevant to his care, feedback on the treatment options, and formulate a recommendation to the GP.

“To make informed relevant recommendations is the mainstay of my working day. This man is no IT guru, but as he has multiple prescribers and interventions, he knows these tools give him control.”

Karalyn says she has absolute confidence in using the My Health Record system and recommends other health professionals to get on board if they haven’t already.

“My Health Record has changed the way in which I interact with my patients, as I can now see the reasons for diagnosis and for prescribing the medication, allowing me to confidently give informed advice.”

Sandra Oui, is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community member, who was born and still resides in Townsville working for the Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Women as an Aged Care Coordinator.

Sandra first came in to contact with My Health Record at her local hospital, when it was known as the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR).

Her husband has multiple chronic health conditions, and on one of their many visits to hospital, it was recommended that they register for a digital health record.

“We often have to repeat my husband’s medical history and medications, so to have a summary of his health on the computer that his treating healthcare providers could access 24/7 was a no-brainer for me, and we signed up on the spot,” said Sandra.

“It saves us time by not having to repeat information, and he can receive better care from his providers as they are able to make more informed decisions.

“Plus the bonus of having both our medical history follow us wherever we go was another reason I signed us up.”

Sandra was keen to promote this important form of information sharing with local residents, so at the next community event for her organisation, she invited the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network digital health team to come along and talk about My Health Record.

Renata Danisevska, Digital Health Regional Coordinator, welcomed the opportunity to chat to residents about how My Health Record could benefit them to manage their health better, and answer any queries people they had.

“It is also important to support people like Sandra, who are known in their community and willing to share their personal story,” said Renata.

“People like to hear from people they know. It makes it more relatable and brings to life the words on an information fact sheet.”

Sandra could not agree more, “I’m always chatting to people about My Health Record. A lot of our clients are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, and when they hear my story and how it works for me, they can easily see how it can support them as well,” she said.

“Everyone needs to get involved. People need to ask their GPs to upload a health summary to their record, and GPs should make uploading a health summary for their patients’ part of their everyday business.

“Our health is our first and foremost priority”.