Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

The federal government have been building the infrastructure for a national e-health record system that will allow consumers to set their own computer-based electronic health records. The infrastructure has been built and it is going through the final stages of rigorous testing at the moment. This is about developing the foundations of the system carefully and systematically. We are determined to get it right and to ensure that the system is rolled out properly, phased in over time. The minister has always said that that is what the government would do—and, in the debate on the legislation both here and in the other place, many of those opposite endorsed that approach.

We know this is a complex area of reform and that a national e-health record system will continue to build over time as consumers and healthcare providers join the system. We have been working closely with consumers, healthcare providers and others to get that right, and we will continue to do so.