As part of the Australian Government’s pandemic response, a change will be made in the My Health Record system so that COVID-19 pathology reports are available to patients in their My Health Record sooner. This change has been made in consultation with industry and government stakeholders.
Currently, when a pathology or diagnostic imaging report is uploaded to My Health Record, it is not available for viewing by consumers in their record until 7 days later. This ensures clinicians have enough time to process the report and communicate test results to consumers in the event of an adverse diagnosis.
During the pandemic, timely delivery of COVID-19 test results to patients is crucial in containing the spread of the virus.
From 21 December 2020, if a pathology service uploads reports to My Health Record, any COVID-19 reports will be available after 24 hours to patients who have a My Health Record. This is a convenient way to access results in addition to the direct notification already sent.
All other pathology reports uploaded to My Health Record will continue to be available after seven days, giving clinicians time to check the report first and contact their patient about the results, if needed.
A review of the change will be conducted after 3 months.