Aust'n government to trial innovative online medical records system

Australia could soon implement an online medical records system if a trial unveiled by the government on Wednesday is successful.

Health Minister Sussan Ley announced the trial of an online system during a speech at the National Press Club. The trial will be the latest push by the administration of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to transform Australia into a digital government.

Ley said the government would be basing the trial on a program developed by the previous Labor government, called the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record.

She told the National Press Club that the system would allow patients carrying a smart phone to take their entire records to the relevant physician.

"Why can't we allow someone's doctor to use an app developed on the free market to monitor their patient's blood pressure at home?" Ley said on Wednesday.

"We can, and allowing consumers open-source access to their health data is the way to do it."

The program is expected to save up to 1.7 billion U.S dollars per year after an initial cost to the government of 345 million U.S dollars.

The trials are expected to begin in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, with the program to roll out across other states if deemed successful.

Ley said the Opposition-led program was tweaked by the government to be more inclusive and give the patient greater flexibility over what is and isn't displayed.

"One of the great criticisms of Labor's model was that it could not be used unless a patient signed up, rather than an all-inclusive system that simply gives those consumers who do not want their medical history made available the option to opt-out," she said.

Up to one million Australians will initially be involved in the trial, set to begin in early 2016. Endit