Pathology, diagnostics added to eHealth records PATHOLOGY and diagnostic imaging results will soon be added to patients' personal eHealth record under a new $8 million Federal Government investment. Health Minister Tanya Plibersek announced the funding at the Health Informatics Conference in Adelaide today. "The $8 million investment includes funding for planning and design work associated with upgrading medical software used by doctors so results can be downloaded or uploaded at the click of a button," Ms Plibersek said She said the inclusion - to be rolled out in the first half of 2014 - meant a patient's blood test and x-ray results could be stored securely online in their eHealth record, reducing the cost and duplication of tests. "This work will pave the way for x-ray and MRI images themselves to be stored on a patient's eHealth record in the future," she said. In an emergency, having this kind of information on a patient's eHealth record could save lives. About 520,000 Australians have signed up for an eHealth record, which Ms Plibersek said exceeded had expectations. The Australian Medical Association has previously said many of those records would be empty. But Ms Plibersek said about 5000 GP surgeries had signed up to use the records, and 90 per cent were ready to use the system. In the long run, she said the system could also help speed up visits to hospital emergency departments. This gives you all of the health information you need, anywhere you need it for the rest of your life. Ms Plibersek will also attend the launch of the building works for the new $15 million Northfield GP Superclinic today.