The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has continued to lobby the government to change its $466.7 million e-health record system to an "opt-out” model, arguing that the current "opt-in” model will undermine the system’s health improvement objectives.

In its submission (PDF) to the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) Bill 2011, the industry body’s president, Steve Hambleton, maintained the current "opt-in” design will undermine the goals of the system, "to reduce the occurrence of adverse medical events and duplication of treatment”.

"In the early days we are concerned that if medical practitioners search for a PCEHR they will often not find one for their patient,” the submission reads. "This may deter future attempts by medical practitioners and consequently lead to a very low uptake of the proposed PCEHR by medical professionals...