Health Records

WPSHC is a member of the ONE initiative to maintain Electronic Health Records (EHR) in a unified system across all of Ontario’s northeast.  Our EHR system is subject to a host of cybersecurity protections, and we take many internal and external precautions.

Copies of your health record may be released to health care providers outside the health centre. Health care providers located elsewhere may also share their reports of your health records with our team.

To ensure that your records are shared in a timely manner, please complete the Request for Release Form (PDF) as quickly as possible and ensure Health Records has all information, they require to complete the request.

There are two ways for you to request access to your diagnostic images.

• Pocket Health is an online platform that allows for patients to access and share their images and reports with any health care professional.
• You can submit a Request for Release Form (PDF) to have images released to you, or to a health care provider of your choosing.

As per our health centre’s policy, medical records older than 15 years are no longer available.

If you are requesting a copy of a health record from the health centre for a patient who has passed away, you will be required to provide proof of your legal authority to do so along with an Request for Release Form (PDF) to our Health Records department.

You must submit one of the following:

• A copy of the deceased person’s Will naming you as the Executor, or
• If there is no Will, a notarized letter from a lawyer confirming your legal signing authority.

As outlined by the Provincial government, there is a fee requested for accessing your health record. Fees are collected for processing purposes, materials and staff time. To understand our complete list of fees, please see our Release of Information Fee Schedule (PDF).

The procedure for payment can be reviewed with our Health Records team when the request is made.

As per our health centre’s policy, medical records older than 15 years are no longer available.

 

To request a copy of your personal health records, please submit a release form (PDF) to our Health Records department along with the applicable fee (PDF).

The request for access and disclosure of personal health information must be obtained from the patient, regardless of age, as long as the patient is capable of understanding the information and the consequences of their request.

If the patient is deemed not capable, consent can be obtained from a Substitute Decision Maker and supporting documentation and/or proof of status will be required.  A Substitute Decision Maker can be one of the following:

• The patient’s guardian (of the person or for property)
• The patient’s attorney for personal care or attorney for property
• The patient’s representative appointed by the Consent and Capacity Board
• The patient’s spouse or partner
• The patient’s child or parent
• A parent of the individual with only a right of access
• A sibling (brother or sister)
• Any other relative

When patients are deemed capable, their decision regarding the request for release, use, and/or disclosure of personal health information will take precedence.