Why we removed an article on the My Health Record

The Conversation published a story earlier today that was incorrect.

The story, titled “We have less than three months to opt out before the My Health Record system has our details, and no-one told us”, asserted that a three-month period to opt out of being registered for a My Health Record had already begun.

This is incorrect. According to the Australian Digital Health Agency, which is responsible for the My Health Record, the date the period begins has not yet been set.

In a statement to The Conversation, the Agency said:

The opt out period will be set by a Notifiable Instrument which is anticipated to be around mid-2018 […] The Agency will implement a comprehensive communications strategy to advise Australians that a record will be created for them in 2018, unless they tell us they don’t want one.

We are committed to providing accurate and reliable information. Where errors do occur, it’s our policy to correct them promptly and be transparent about what happened.

We apologise for this mistake and greatly appreciate the Australian Digital Health Agency bringing the error to our attention.