MY Health a new government service which provides online access to medical records for patients and doctors was inaugurated today by Health Minister Joseph Cassar.

He explained that through this system, patients, using the appropriate e-id and password, will have on-line access to their medical records and they may give such access to their doctors.

This, he said, was a milestone in the development of health services in Malta. It would improve the relationship between doctors and patients and also improve links between family doctors and hospitals.

The service will be gradually extended to other services, including hospital appointments and communication between doctors and hospital consultants.

The minister thanked Mita - the government's IT agency - for its involvement. He said the system had been commissioned within a year with an investment of €350,000.

Dr Hugo Agius Muscat, National ehealth coordinator, urged patients to register for their e-id and to select their doctor from the list of licensed doctors. A patient can use more than one doctor.

The site www.myhealth.gov.mt will be available from January 31. The first documents to be made available will be Hospital Case Summaries (discharge letters), which will be followed by lab test results, medical imaging and information related to medicines which may be collected under the Pharmacy of Your Choice Scheme.The last phase will feature information on appointments at hospitals and health centres. The process is expected to be fully competed within a few months.