How access to connected health records supported early cancer detection
When Christine Kwong logged into My Health Record after recent hospital admission, she was looking for a scan report related to the condition that had brought her in - diverticulitis. What she found changed her life.
Within the imaging report was a note identifying a small indeterminate lesion with a recommendation for further investigation. This finding had not been communicated directly to her and the report had not been sent to her GP.
Without access to My Health Record this information may have remained unrecognised. "That report wasn't sent to my GP. If I hadn't seen it myself in My Health Record, I wouldn't have known to follow it up. My Health Record was actually the hero in this story."
- Christine Kwong, health professional and patient advocate
How it began –knowing where to access information
Christine's familiarity with My Health Record didn't happen by accident. In the period leading up to her hospitalisation, she had been involved in early exploratory work with the Cardihab team - investigating how to integrate cardiac rehabilitation progress reports and discharge summaries from the Cardihab platform directly into My Health Record. That work required her to understand the system deeply: what it held, how it was structured, and crucially, how patients could access their own records. When she found herself in hospital, that knowledge was front of mind. She knew exactly where to look - and what she might find.
In that sense, Christine's story is not just about the power of connected health records. It is also a quiet demonstration of what happens when a team actively working to close gaps in health data continuity turns that same lens inward - and a patient, empowered by that knowledge, acts on it.
The role of access in patient-centred care
Christine's experience highlights the role that accessible health information can play in supporting timely follow up and shared decision making. Access to clinical information does not replace clinician oversight, but it can support patients to engage more actively in their care.
"Having access to my health information allowed me to be part of my own care. It gave me the opportunity to ask questions and take the next step."
- Christine Kwong
Supporting continuity of care
This experience also reflects a broader system challenge of ensuring that clinically relevant information is consistently available to the right clinicians at the right time, across care settings – but that patients need to have agency and be able to act on their information.
Connected digital health systems have an important role in improving continuity of care, particularly during transitions between hospital, primary care and specialist services.
The road ahead for us all
Christine's experience speaks directly to our mission and belief that patients - like Christine - should always be active participants in their own health. That means connecting clinical data across the care journey: between hospitals, GPs, specialists, and patients themselves.
The work our team has been doing to explore integration between the Cardihab platform, and My Health Record is part of that same commitment - ensuring that progress reports, discharge summaries, and clinical milestones don't disappear into silos, but flow to where they are needed most.
Christine's journey is a reminder of why that work matters, and what becomes possible when it succeeds.