STRIDE NEWS: Advocacy update on digital transformation

The Health Legislation Amendment (Modernising My Health Record—Sharing by Default) Bill 2024 was recently passed, setting the stage for how health information will be shared moving forward.

The key takeaway? Health data will now be uploaded to My Health Record by default.

What does this mean?

This shift is designed to improve access to real-time information, making it easier for healthcare providers to work together and streamline patient care. But, as with any change, it comes with questions. How ready are podiatrists for this shift? What barriers do we still need to overcome?

That’s where the AHPA x Australian Digital Health Agency Digital Transformation Survey comes in.

Thanks to the participation of members of the Australian Podiatry Association (APodA), APodA was able to get a clearer picture into how podiatrists view digital products, how they engage with tools like My Health Record and Provider Connect Australia, and what their workplaces are doing (or not doing) to support this shift.

What learnings stood out?

Some key points stood out for podiatry.

• Use of My Health Record is comparatively low: While awareness of My Health Record is high (58.9%), actual use is still low, with just 11% of podiatrists using it daily. Interestingly, this is higher than the allied health average of 6%, but it still highlights a significant gap between knowing about digital tools and integrating them into daily practice.
• Privacy concerns create a barrier: Privacy concerns remain a common barrier in the use of My Health Record, with 43% of all survey participants expressing some level of concern.
• Some mindsets are slow to shift: And then there’s workplace readiness—while 67% of podiatrists see digital health as beneficial, nearly 22% work in environments that only adopt new technologies when absolutely necessary.
• PCA reflects a similar uptake pattern: Secure messaging, electronic prescribing, and Provider Connect Australia (PCA) all follow a similar pattern—low awareness and limited uptake.

So, what’s next?

The good news is that podiatry isn’t sitting on the sidelines. APodA has been actively working to position podiatry within the broader digital interoperability landscape.

One major piece of this work is our involvement in the Allied Health Consistent Terminology Data Standards Working Group. The Allied Health Consistent Terminology Data Standards Working Group is leading an important initiative through the Australian Digital Health Agency and Allied Health Professions Australia to ensure allied health is represented in the National Terminology Data Standards. This body of work is a vital step in ensuring podiatry is well-placed to integrate with My Health Record and other digital health systems when the time comes.

Without allied health terminology in these standards, software developers will find barriers in building the tools practitioners need to efficiently share critical consumer health information. This could impact compliance with future government mandates

This space is moving fast, and it’s clear that digital transformation isn’t something that will happen to us—it’s something we need to actively engage with.