My Health Record (MyHR) has long been touted as a game-changer for pharmacy. The reality, says pharmacist and digital health expert Dale Richardson MPS, is more complex.
But there’s significant untapped value for pharmacists who want to use MyHR more strategically. Here, AP explores some of the top opportunities.
1. Log non-prescription and complementary medicines
Most pharmacists know that dispense data automatically uploads to MyHR via dispensing software. But non-prescription can be run through the same process.
The clinical value of capturing this information extends beyond creating a more complete medicines list. ‘This detail is ideal for preventing interactions and ensuring people are taking non-prescription medicines safely,’ Mr Richardson said.
The same applies to complementary medicines, where cumulative exposure can sometimes be overlooked – particularly supplements containing vitamin B6, where toxicity risk can increase with prolonged use or higher doses.
‘You can log the dose, work out how much they’re taking, and backtrack from their supply history – that can provide evidence for what might be happening.’
While acknowledging the workflow trade-off, Mr Richardson thinks this process can help to avoid contraindications and prevent complications further down the line.
‘Someone also might be taking excess non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), without realising the risks – particularly if they have an underlying condition such as cardiovascular disease.’
3. Trust, but verify
According to Mr Richardson, one of the most important things to understand about MyHR is that what isn’t there can be just as clinically significant as what is.
‘A pharmacist who understands those gaps is better suited to ask questions instead of just trusting what the record says at face value.’
He points to a common transition-of-care scenario: a patient using a dose administration aid is discharged from hospital, sees their GP before returning to the pharmacy, and has further changes made to their medicines.
‘Pharmacy only gets the discharge summary – not what the doctor changed after,’ Mr Richardson said. ‘Specialist letters might not state a change of medicine or note allergies or side effects. There’s a number of things that could be missing if the doctor or specialist isn’t regularly on top of things.’
He recommends cross-checking discharge summaries against what patients report, and scrutinising records when patients start new medications. ‘You can go back and have a look at their medical conditions, what’s been diagnosed, what they’ve had in the past.’
3. Check allergies and adverse reactions
When a patient says they have no known allergies, that shouldn’t be the end of the pharmacist’s line of inquiry.
‘Often when you ask people, “Do you have any allergies?” they will answer no, because they assume the information’s not relevant to that particular situation,’ he said. ‘So it’s always good to triple check any new medicines or anything that might be different with the patient.’
MyHR’s shared health summary, which is typically uploaded by GPs, includes a dedicated section where adverse reactions and allergies can be documented.
This is particularly valuable for new patients where there is no existing dispensing history to fall back on. Checking MyHR can quickly surface background conditions, previous medicine issues and adverse reactions that a patient may not think to mention – or may not remember.
It can also flag medicines that fall outside real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) systems but where overuse is a concern.
‘There are other medicines that people can overuse that might be a detriment to their health, and you can always check that as well,’ he said.
For example, there have been numerous cases of overdose involving propranolol prescribed off-label for anxiety, including the death of an 18-year-old woman in 2021.
MyHR can also help pharmacists identify patterns of overuse across medicine classes, from NSAIDs to antibiotics, where harm can accumulate without dispensing or supply events triggering a flag.
4. Use pathology results for the fuller picture
Starting 1 July, My Health Record’s Better and Faster Access changes (‘Share by Default’) will make most pathology and radiology results available to patients as soon as they’re released to the referrer.
For pharmacists, this opens a new dimension of clinical insight.
‘If you’ve got someone with diabetes and you’re wanting to see how their HbA1c is going, you can see a more holistic picture,’ Mr Richardson said. ‘Your patient might tell you their sugars are well controlled. But if you can see that their HbA1c is elevated, you can initiate a conversation with them about how effective their medicines are, and non-pharmacological strategies to try.’
Renal function results can also inform appropriate dosing for renally cleared medicines. ‘These little clues help paint a better picture for pharmacists,’ Mr Richardson said.
5. Build your case before calling the prescriber
When something about a prescribed dose or medicine raises a concern, checking MyHR can strengthen a pharmacist’s position when querying a prescriber.
‘Having the knowledge behind you before you call is worth your while,’ Mr Richardson said. ‘You can back up your concern with evidence rather than going in cold.’
Let’s say a new patient presents with a script for a dose that appears high but sits within range. Without checking MyHR, a pharmacist might query it unnecessarily.
‘But if there’s a record showing the patient has been on this dose for a while and it has been reviewed consistently – then you might make a bit of a fool of yourself,’ he said.
While MyHR remains fragmented, inconsistently populated and not yet delivering on its original promise, it still offers pharmacists valuable clinical insights that are often overlooked.
‘Until we get something a bit more streamlined, it will likely remain a bit clunky,’ Mr Richardson said. ‘But it’s important that we use it where we can.’
