There is a certain type of news reporting common in Australia that we like to call pavlova journalism, in which basic ingredients are beaten up so hard they turn into a meringue, crisp on the outside but slightly unctuous in the middle and certain to make you feel sick if you eat too much of it.

That's pretty much the feeling MedicalDirector staff would have had if they made the mistake of reading some News Corp publications on Monday. Nestled in a swirl of eggy slop was the bold claim that 45 per cent of Australian GPs were now required to share all of their patients' data due to a software upgrade.