People can now record disability and access needs in the Digital Health Record
A new update to the ACT Digital Health Record allows people living with disability to formally record their access and communication needs. The change aims to reduce repeated explanations, improve reasonable adjustments and strengthen visibility of disability within the public health system.
People living with disability in the ACT can now identify their disability and outline their access requirements directly in the Digital Health Record (DHR), marking a significant shift towards more consistent person-centred care.
More than three years after the DHR was introduced, a new questionnaire has been embedded into the system, including MyDHR, allowing consumers to record and update their access needs. The information is then visible to Canberra Health Services staff across a person’s healthcare journey.
The change means people living with disability will no longer need to repeatedly explain their communication or accessibility requirements at every appointment.
A step forward for communication access
For many, the biggest barriers in healthcare are not clinical, but practical.
DeafACT secretary Louise Irvine said communication challenges remain common for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
“There have been times when no Auslan interpreter was booked, or when people assumed that all deaf patients could easily read English, which isn’t true for everyone. Face masks have made things even harder, because facial expressions and mouth patterns are such an important part of communication in Auslan,” she said.
“We will now have the ability to add and edit our own communication needs in the Digital Health Record – this is a huge step forward.”
By formally recording access needs, healthcare staff can make reasonable adjustments before a patient even arrives.
These adjustments may include:
- Booking Auslan interpreters in advance
- Providing large-print or simplified written information
- Adjusting appointment times so carers or support people can attend
- Using SMS or email instead of phone calls
- Offering quiet or low-sensory waiting areas
- Introducing visual alerts instead of verbal-only announcements
For many people living with disability, these are not preferences. They are basic requirements for safe and equitable care.
Reducing repeated explanations
A recurring frustration for people living with disability is having to restate their needs at every point of contact.
The updated DHR aims to reduce this burden by ensuring access requirements are visible across services within Canberra Health Services. That continuity is particularly important for people with complex or ongoing health needs.
Ms Irvine noted that everyday systems often default to able-bodied communication norms.
“Simple things like booking systems that require phone calls, waiting rooms that only call out names verbally, or poor lighting in consultation rooms can all create unnecessary stress,” she said.
“The introduction of Canberra Health Services’ reasonable adjustments is so meaningful. These changes generally respond to barriers that deaf people have been facing for a long time.”
A legislative and systemic shift
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the update supports a more inclusive health system.
“We know that people with disability often experience poorer health outcomes and have more complex health needs. Asking whether a person identifies as having a disability, and understanding their access needs, is essential to delivering truly person-centred care,” she said.
“Until now, there hasn’t been a consistent way to capture this information or make it visible across someone’s health journey.”
In the ACT, making reasonable adjustments to enable access to healthcare is a legislative requirement. Embedding access needs directly into the Digital Health Record helps operationalise that obligation.
Ms Stephen-Smith acknowledged that physical and infrastructure limitations remain in some settings but said accessibility is being prioritised in new builds and refurbishments.
“There will be some barriers we know we’ll need to continue to work through, we know there’s more to be done, but as we refresh our infrastructure and as we refresh our training, we’ll continue to improve that accessibility,” she said.
Building better data for better systems
Health Care Consumers’ Association health literacy officer C Moore said the change will also strengthen disability visibility in health data.
“Collecting this information will also help to build a clearer picture of the needs of people with disability to create a more accessible public health system,” they said.
“Gathering this information will help to increase the visibility of people with disability within health system data. We hope this will be used to promote ongoing improvements that make healthcare safer and more accessible for everyone.”
The ability for people living with disability to voluntarily update their details — or receive assistance from a provider during an appointment — places control back with the individual.
It may seem like a simple system update. In practice, it signals something more significant: recognition that accessibility should be built into healthcare from the start, not retrofitted after something goes wrong.