Building the Business Case for My Health Record Compliance: Beyond Regulatory Requirements

For Australian healthcare executives navigating the compliance maze of My Health Record (MHR), this isn’t just another box to tick. With the Australian Government allocating $228.7 million over four years to strengthen MHR usage, the message is clear: compliance isn’t optional. But here’s the twist—done right, MHR compliance can unlock tangible operational, financial, and clinical value.

This guide unpacks how to go beyond the regulatory checkbox to build a credible, financially sound business case for MHR compliance. We explore how to measure ROI, gain leadership buy-in, and avoid common missteps. Whether you're a CIO, CFO, or Chief Clinical Information Officer, this article is built to help you turn a mandate into a momentum-builder.

1. Introduction: The Compliance Imperative and Opportunity

Australia’s recent investment of $228.7 million is more than a policy nudge—it's a strategic lever to improve national data sharing and patient safety. The 2025 Sharing by Default mandate introduces real consequences for non-compliance, particularly for imaging and pathology data. But compliance doesn’t just mean avoiding penalties. It opens doors to improved workflows, reduced duplication of tests, faster discharge processes, and better-informed clinical decisions.

Framing MHR compliance as a business opportunity allows organisations to align clinical, operational, and strategic priorities. The key is translating regulatory jargon into outcomes C-suite leaders care about: cost reduction, risk management, improved patient engagement, and funding eligibility.

2. A Comprehensive Business Case Framework

A strong business case has six parts:

• Strategic Alignment: Tie MHR compliance to organisational goals like digital maturity, data-driven care, or improved safety ratings.

• Cost Breakdown: Include capital investments, integration costs, licensing, and FTE effort across functions.

• Operational Benefits: Show reduction in rework, error rates, fax reliance, and time to access records.

• Financial ROI: Lay out benefit-cost ratios, breakeven timelines, and per-patient cost savings.

• Non-Financial Benefits: Highlight staff satisfaction, reduced clinician burnout, better continuity of care.

• Risk Assessment: Identify implementation risks, compliance pitfalls, and mitigation strategies.

3. Quantifying Compliance Costs and Benefits

Direct Costs: Direct costs include tangible, upfront expenses that can be reasonably forecasted based on current market rates, vendor quotes, and similar health system investments. Data in this section is drawn from aggregate estimates shared by the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), digital maturity assessment reports, and real-world cost breakdowns from comparable Australian health networks.

• Infrastructure upgrade for data sharing standards: ~$1.2M for mid-size health systems (based on ADHA readiness assessments and vendor infrastructure packages)

• Integration/API development: $250K–$500K (based on implementation proposals across several local health districts)

• Vendor interoperability modules: ~$300K annually (sourced from major EMR/EHR vendor subscription tiers)

• Training and change management: $50K–$150K depending on headcount and role-based effort (reference: NSW Health eHealth transformation support estimates)

Operational Gains: These indirect savings are inferred from pre/post data collected during hospital digitisation pilots (e.g. from MyHR Pathfinder Projects and NSW Digital Health Test Beds).

• 20% reduction in imaging duplication (valued at $300K+/year in tertiary settings)

• Faster discharge process by 0.5–1 day (saves ~$700–$1,200 per patient episode based on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cost per admitted patient day)

• Reduction in faxed report handling by 80%, freeing up 2.5 FTE/year (valued at ~$250K/year using standard admin staffing benchmarks)

ROI Model Example:

• Initial investment: $2.2M

• Annual operational savings: $900K

• Breakeven: Year 2.5

• 5-year net benefit: $2.3M

4. Securing Leadership Support and Resources

Compliance projects often struggle to gain traction because they are framed as technical tasks rather than strategic priorities. Here's how to shift the dialogue:

• For CFOs: Emphasise long-term cost avoidance from duplication and error correction. Position MyHR as a hedge against digital infrastructure obsolescence.

• For COOs: Connect compliance to smoother workflows and discharge efficiency.

• For CMOs/CNOs: Highlight how MHR enables continuity of care and reduces the risk of medication errors.

  
  

Use your Board or executive KPI frameworks to show alignment. Consider bringing patient safety or medico-legal incident trends to drive urgency.

5. Implementation Planning and Risk Management

Even well-funded compliance programs can falter. Common pitfalls include:

• Underestimating the change effort across clinical and admin workflows

• Delays due to legacy systems with limited interoperability

• Assuming vendors will "just integrate"

  
  

Mitigation Strategies:

• Conduct a readiness and interoperability assessment

• Prioritise imaging/pathology first (aligned to mandate deadlines)

• Develop a cross-functional implementation roadmap (IT, Clinical, Legal, Privacy, Ops)

• Allocate risk buffers in timelines and budgets6. Measurement Approach for Ongoing Evaluation

  
  

To keep MHR compliance efforts relevant post-implementation:

• Establish pre/post benchmarks for rework, duplication rates, and record access time

• Report ROI quarterly to sustain leadership focus

• Integrate MHR metrics into broader digital maturity dashboards Sample KPIs:

• % of imaging reports uploaded to MyHR within mandated timeframes

• Average time saved per discharge episode

• % of clinical staff reporting improved access to historical data

The Takeaway

Building a business case for My Health Record compliance shouldn’t be a bureaucratic burden—it should be a lever for change. With the right framing, robust ROI modelling, and intentional leadership engagement, your compliance strategy can become a competitive advantage.