Views of imaging and pathology reports among clinicians have soared more than 800% in three years, the Agency says.
The number of views by clinicians of imaging and pathology reports in My Health Record has risen by more than 800% in three years, new figures from the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) show.
Between May 2023 – when the government announced its Share by Default strategy – and August 2026, clinician views of diagnostic imaging reports have increased by 866% and views of pathology reports increased by 642%.
The figures may reflect growing interoperability as clinical software and provider systems became more connected and centralised since the federal government announced its Share by Default strategy in May 2023.
Under Share by Default reforms that came into effect on 1 July this year, healthcare providers must upload written pathology and diagnostic imaging reports to My Health Record by default.
Consultation is currently underway to plan the next phase of Share by Default measures that are expected to include medicine-related information, to be rolled out next year.
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The ADHA said feedback from clinicians showed there were challenges accessing relevant information quickly within existing clinical workflows.
To address that, the ADHA is pointing healthcare providers towards three available pathways to access My Health Record, which it says will give clinicians more streamlined access:
- National Provider Portal (NPP), a secure online access point for registered healthcare providers.
- Clinical Information Systems (CIS) to NPP, which is available through compatible practice management software and enables clinicians to launch directly into the NPP without a separate login.
- Healthcare Information Provider Service (HIPS), which already supports around half of all clinical views of My Health Record.
ADHA chief digital officer Peter O’Halloran said those three options would “simplify access, particularly for clinicians whose software does not yet offer an optimised My Health Record experience”.
“The Agency is supporting a transition to the latest version of HIPS, with all existing legacy implementations required to upgrade by late 2027,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“The move will deliver an even better clinician experience with improved functionality and significant user experience improvements.”
Australian Digital Health Agency CEO Amanda Cattermole said access needed to improve for clinicians during busy consultations.
“Clinicians have told us they want relevant information to be easier to find within the systems they use every day,” Ms Cattermole said.
“We are listening and making informed changes to improve the experience of accessing My Health Record within clinical workflows.”
ADHA branch manager of information standards, Ryan Mavin, said structured information would enable software vendors to present information “in ways that support clinical decision-making and fit naturally into clinical workflows”.
“Where we are building new capability, like the Child Digital Health Record, we will build it to the FHIR standard from the outset,” Mr Mavin said.
“Over time, this will help clinicians access the information they need more efficiently and with greater context.”
