Flying Blind

The Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre (CMCRC) has released a report titled Flying Blind – Australian consumers and digital health, analysing the collection and use of health data across the Australian health system.

A particular focus of this first of three reports is on where and how this directly and indirectly impacts each consumer’s capacity to receive fully informed health care.

The report argues that while the Australian health system records sufficient high quality data in digital form to support consistent and targeted, real-time, personalised healthcare for each Australian, the current level of acute data fragmentation creates an environment in which individual consumers, their next of kin and their service providers are flying partially or completely blind. 

The report also notes how this situation compromises the work of organisations charged with policy, resourcing, management and funding for health, as well as health and medical researchers. The report summarises key actions that CMCRC believes will contribute to resolving this situation.

To read the full report, please follow this link.

You can also listen to an interview with David Jonas from CMCRC on ABC’s Health Report on Monday, 24 October 2016.