ADHA launches my health consumer app

The Australian Digital Health Agency has launched its first consumer mobile application, my health, powered by My Health Record.

With consumer views of My Health Record increasing by 292% in the last financial year, the app aims to make it more convenient for Australians to securely and instantly access key health information in My Health Record.

The app provides direct visibility of key health information with an aim to offer users greater autonomy over their health journey and support active participation in everyday health management.

From the home screen, users can: see medicine information history; check pathology results including COVID-19 and respiratory test results; view vaccination history and upcoming immunisations for themselves and authorised family members; track allergies and reactions information; view hospital discharge summaries; keep track of advance care planning documents; share their documents with others; and view multiple records, such as records for children under 14 and any other records with authorised access.

Agency CEO Amanda Cattermole PSM said, “One of the things we have learned from the surge in use of My Health Record is that around 75% of interactions between the system and users occurred on mobile devices. The co-design approach for my health has been at the core of its development; it will continue to drive change and improvement to the app over time so that it responds to the needs of all Australians, growing all the time as their trusted and secure source of health information.”

The accessibility of a consumer-facing app further enhances the way people engage with their health and equips users with a simplified way to efficiently see, store and share documents. Having this information right at users’ fingertips can help facilitate greater engagement and support throughout the entirety of their health and wellness journey.

“We know from our own research that almost two-thirds of Australians regularly use their mobile phones to access, share and manage their health information, so the release of a consumer-facing app is not only a logical technical development but also a direct response to consumer demand for access to health information when and where they need it,” Cattermole said.

In order to provide the most user friendly and accessible app experience, the Agency conducted interviews, surveys, and accessibility and usability testing with consumer users and medical professionals from a range of ages, locations, cultural backgrounds and varying complexity of health needs.

my health is said to have been fortified with robust data protection mechanisms to secure consumers’ health information against external interference and is fully integrated with end-to-end encryption with the My Health Record platform. New health data is automatically downloaded onto the app’s interface as soon as it is available on My Health Record.

The app is now available to download from all iOS and Android devices by clicking on the links below or searching for “my health gov” in the app stores: Apple — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-health-gov/id1596846961; Google — https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.digitalhealth.my health.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/Jane_Kelly