There was “no single” deadline date to opt-out of inclusion on the database, which centralises a lifetime of health records, Health Minister Greg Hunt, stressed. “At the end of the day, people can opt-out at any time during their lives. That is one of the things which may not have been fully understood”.

There are many things that people have not “fully understood” or been unhappy with about My Health – data security being a key one. This contributed to a last-minute rush to opt-out, melting down the system and prompting the extension.

People are still set to be automatically joined to the scheme unless they choose otherwise, but more are questioning that option.  

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The vote in the Senate which extended the opt out period from Thursday to the end of January also moved to strengthen privacy protections and provisions.  The fact this was needed at the 11^th hour speaks volumes.

Concerns remain about the security of our health records in the system, especially given the run of digital breaches, from governments to big business, that has revealed confidential details. 

Media reports this week pointed out there have been 99 data breaches of My Health in the past six years, but stressed that security or privacy hasn’t been compromised. Yet. Assurances it won’t happen has done little to assuage public unease.

The My Health opt-out extension has provided extra time for the Senate to look at tougher penalties for misusing the system and measures to stop records falling into the wrong hands.  Good to see, but why so late in the roll-out? The My Health website states that each business is responsible for ensuring security at its end and a database is only as secure as its weakest access point. And there could be many. The weakest links need fixing, otherwise the opt-out rate could escalate. If this happened, the more than $2 billion initiative would be at risk of becoming a white elephant. 

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