There are certainly problems here, problems of which I am certain that you are only too well aware. As a person (I am not a "consumer" – how 'bout "potential patient" ?) I WANT to have access, on request, to check my data for accuracy. I am thinking of correct ID of entry of the result of tests, updated current medications correctly recorded etc. Here is a problem however: I may wish to consult Dr B. about some condition and I do not want Dr. A to know about it. I do have this right in our system. However I must not have the right to be free to rort the system by getting a shot of morphine from Drs C,D,E,F and G over a couple of days. I am not sure how such prevention of "doctor shopping" can be reconciled with, say, the right of a 17 year old girl living at home to consult with someone other than the dear old family doctor about a prescription for an oral contraceptive!

At last the prospect of a single IHI for an individual. I once worked on a hospital site in Australia with six hospitals and three medical record repositories and no links between the records – simply absurd! New Zealand introduced a IHI back in 1973 and babies have been registered at birth since the late 1980s. If GPs took the lead in registering patients we could have most of the population registered within a year (86% of the population visit their GP at least once a year) and even higher coverage might be achieved if community pharmacists also took part.

Dr Haikerwal’s proposal does sound like a medical record – the doctors’ discharge summary presumably back to a general practitioner does seem to neglect the contributions of all the other health professionals caring for a patient. There is valuable information that is known to say domiciliary nurses (such as whether the patient is taking their medication or their risk of having a fall) that would be of value to the whole treatment team or information about over the counter medication from a community pharmacist.

There is also a strong case for the inclusion of medical directives (living wills) to represent the patients’ wishes for the type of care they want if they are unable to give it (like being in a coma or accident).

Dr Haikerwal does not address the issue of a patient’s right to be able to access his/her own records nor whether the patient can enter information into their record (home monitoring records such as blood glucometer and blood pressure recordings are prime examples) or recording wellness information like weight, waist measurement, nutrition and physical activity measures can be added by the patient. This is no softer data than the information given by a patient as part of a medical appointment – “it hurts here, doctor”. This information should be available to the whole team.

It looks like this is a reasonable start but it is a long way from the genuine productive ehealth record we really need for good health care

Evidence suggests a great need to enhance health care, particularly prevention and the easiest to prevent is tooth decay, which is our most common and second most costly disease with the economic impact of diabetes, heart disease and obesity. All these ailments are food related.

A healthier future for all Australians final report indicates the need to try other evidence based projects to improve oral health promotion, which is overdue as we leave food on our teeth after every meal or snack that often causes acid demineralisation of teeth and saliva has no access to trapped food between teeth and inside pits and fissures on chewing surfaces to remineralise teeth.

Supertooth and Good Food Friends is being developed with teaching aids to involve other major sections of the community, industry, schools and dental professionals to develop better personal tooth care skills that increase remineralization, reduce demineralisation and the incidence of tooth decay, which has remained unchanged over the last 20 years.

Dental Health Services Victoria show that 46 per cent of 5-year-old children enrolling in the Victorian School Dental Service in 1998 had dental caries, 78 per cent of which was untreated.

Caries is the most common human affliction. Even with fluoridation, 11 million Australians develop a cavity each year, mostly between the age of 12 and 21 when tooth decay increases four fold.

All cavities occur from food left on teeth where acid demineralisation exceeds remineralisation.

Over 80% of cavities occur inside pits and fissures where food is trapped under chewing pressure and saliva has no access to neutralise acid or remineralise tooth.

Still it takes thousands of meals or snacks for enough acid demineralisation to develop a cavity.

Supertooth would like fast food outlets, school canteens and family meals to always conclude with a sugarless salad or a stick of celery to neutralise acid and remineralise demineralised teeth.

Register on www.supertooth.org and prepare to prevent demineralisation from acid forming Christmas foods and to reduce and increase remineralisation after eating. Also monitor reduction in your own decay rate with the help of your dentist every year

Evidence suggests a great need to enhance health care, particularly prevention and the easiest to prevent is tooth decay, which is our most common and second most costly disease with the economic impact of diabetes, heart disease and obesity. All these ailments are food related.

A healthier future for all Australians final report indicates the need to try other evidence based projects to improve oral health promotion, which is overdue as we leave food on our teeth after every meal or snack that often causes acid demineralisation of teeth and saliva has no access to trapped food between teeth and inside pits and fissures on chewing surfaces to remineralise teeth.

Supertooth and Good Food Friends is being developed with teaching aids to involve other major sections of the community, industry, schools and dental professionals to develop better personal tooth care skills that increase remineralization, reduce demineralisation and the incidence of tooth decay, which has remained unchanged over the last 20 years.

Dental Health Services Victoria show that 46 per cent of 5-year-old children enrolling in the Victorian School Dental Service in 1998 had dental caries, 78 per cent of which was untreated.

Caries is the most common human affliction. Even with fluoridation, 11 million Australians develop a cavity each year, mostly between the age of 12 and 21 when tooth decay increases four fold.

All cavities occur from food left on teeth where acid demineralisation exceeds remineralisation.

Over 80% of cavities occur inside pits and fissures where food is trapped under chewing pressure and saliva has no access to neutralise acid or remineralise tooth.

Still it takes thousands of meals or snacks for enough acid demineralisation to develop a cavity.

Supertooth would like fast food outlets, school canteens and family meals to always conclude with a sugarless salad or a stick of celery to help saliva neutralise acid and remineralise demineralised teeth.

Register on www.supertooth.org and prepare to prevent demineralisation from acid forming Christmas foods and to reduce and increase remineralisation after eating. Also monitor reduction in your own decay rate with the help of your dentist every year.