iRAD versus My Health Record, the differences explained

Regional focus

• iRAD is South Western Sydney PHN’s interoperability solution.
• iRAD is utilised at one in four practices throughout South Western Sydney, with the aim for statewide and national adoption.
• Enhances information exchange and interoperability between healthcare providers within the South Western Sydney region.
• Supports the Medical Neighbourhood solution to connect care teams and share medical information in real time.

National coverage

• My Health Record is a national digital health record system. It is available throughout Australia.
• Provides a patient-controlled electronic health record for all Australians.

• Improve the real-time exchange of patient information, particularly between hospitals and general practitioners (GPs) within the SWSPHN catchment.
• Seeks to provide instant access to patient information for timely decision-making and improved patient care within the region.

• Give individuals control over their health information by allowing them to store, manage and share their health records with authorised healthcare providers.
• Improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery and reduce duplication of tests and procedures on a national scale.

• Enables healthcare providers in South Western Sydney to access patient information securely and in real-time.
• With a single front-end instance, how clinical users interact with and use iRAD is consistent across EMRs (Electronic Medical Records).
• Access to patient data in iRAD is governed by patient consent, with a focus on local healthcare coordination.
• Delta view allows GPs the option to view only the information sourced from outside of their practice, reducing search time and supplementing the information available within the local clinical system.

• My Health Record is accessible to both healthcare providers and individuals, who can control access to their records through privacy settings.
• Provide an overview of an individuals’ health information and history from various sources, including hospitals, GPs, and specialists.
• Clinical users are reliant on their EMR (Electronic Medical Records) vendor’s integration with My Health Record for features and usability.

Automatic data upload

• iRAD supports sharing by default. Healthcare providers receive access to the most up-to-date data from when the patient provides consent.
• The consent document recorded against a patient record is the trigger for their data to flow in iRAD.

Manual data upload (improvements flagged)

• Relies on healthcare providers to manually upload patient information, which can result in missing or incomplete records.
• While efforts are being made to mandate automatic uploads of pathology and imaging data, many records continue to lack essential information.

Semantic interoperability

• iRAD incorporates semantic interoperability, allowing it to understand and categorise patient medical information beyond simple document-based storage. This enables ease of use for time poor clinicians and enhanced decision support.
• iRAD primarily focuses on sharing essential patient data within the SWSPHN catchment.

Integrations and standards ensure consistent formatting of information: 

• Primarily functions as a document storage system, which means that while records are stored, the system lacks the ability to deeply understand and categorise patient medical information.
• Agreed data standards enable consistency.
• 100+ software integrations for My Health Record facilitate coverage

Opt-in model

• iRAD requires patients to consent at each location for healthcare providers to access the information it stores and contribute their data to the iRAD longitudinal patient record.
• iRAD operates on an opt-in model, which means that not all patients may choose to participate.

Opt-out model

• My Health Record operates as an opt-out system, meaning that every eligible person has a record by default.

iRAD does not offer access to patients. The intent of iRAD is solely to provide healthcare professionals with access to help them make informed decisions to improve healthcare.

• The new MyHealth app empowers patients to access, manage, and take control of their medical records, enhancing their active participation in healthcare decisions.
• Patients can conveniently access their medical history, medications, and share information with chosen healthcare providers, improving healthcare management and transparency.

• iRAD complies with all Federal and State data security and privacy legislation.
• iRAD holds ISO 27001 certification, indicating adherence to internationally recognized information security standards.
• All data within iRAD is stored on Australian-based servers, ensuring data sovereignty and compliance with Australian regulations.
• iRAD employs robust access controls to restrict system access to authorized users.
• Data is encrypted during transmission to protect it from unauthorized access.
• Data privacy principles are followed to safeguard patient information.
• Patient consent and permissions are respected, allowing patients to control who can access their information within iRAD.

• My Health Record complies with all Federal and State data security and privacy legislation.
• Secure authentication methods are required for healthcare providers to access My Health Record.
• All interactions with My Health Record are logged and audited to monitor access and maintain records.
• Data transferred between healthcare providers and My Health Record is encrypted during transmission
• Patient consent and access controls allow patients to control who can view their My Health Record.
• Compliance with national and international security standards and regulations is maintained.
• Data privacy principles are followed to safeguard patient information.

Patient records can only be accessed by the health professional a patient has given consent to.

My Health Record can be accessed by authorised healthcare providers under the My Health Record Act. Individuals can choose to restrict access or permanently delete their record.

iRAD complies with all State and Federal legislation, including:

• The Privacy Act 1988
• Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010
• The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) (NSW)
• Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) 

As a national service, My Health Record complies with federal legislation, including:

• My Health Records Act 2012
• Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010
• The Privacy Act 1988