Medical Records
Having access to your medical records can be beneficial for various reasons, from processing your experience, preparing to file a complaint, or preparing for future health decisions. It is important for you to know what your body is (or has) gone through to gain clarity, come to terms with your emotions, and uncover any hidden truths about your care.
Having hard copies of reports, documents, scans, or visit logs can help put together pieces of your puzzle. If you are experiencing a highly managed or risky birth, you can also ask for individual scan reports. This is beneficial because you get the information straight from the radiologist instead of the brief version that your care provider will tell you. Instead of having the results provided to you in layman’s terms, based on the care provider’s interpretation of the results, you will have the actual findings to review and interpret firsthand. You can always ask for a copy of your records when in your care provider’s office.
Hospitals
It’s straightforward for you to get information from the hospital. Simply fill out a Fraser Health Authorization for the Release of Health Records form, mail or fax it in, and you should receive your records within a few weeks. Click HERE to access the form.
Health records are available from the following hospitals in the Fraser Health Authority:
BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital
Mission Memorial Hospital - ultrasound records only.
If you do not see your hospital above, simply type : ‘hospital name, medical records’ in to any search engine or contact your local health authority, or check from this list here
Physicians
I was surprised to find out that files written about you are actually your doctor’s property. Because of this, you may have to pay a fee to get a copy of the notes being documented during your visits. In order to do this, please see the College of Physician’s website for more information. It is legislated that your doctor keeps your records for 16 years.
Midwives
Some midwives will give you a file containing some or all of your records at your six week post-partum appointment. You always have the right at any time to request access to your chart held in your midwife’s office, but you do not have automatic access to everything in the file. See more here about PIPPA (Personal Information Protection Act) requirements.
Other Services
My Care Compass (formerly called My Ehealth) You can retrieve blood results as soon as they come in with their online platform. To access the platform, you will need a code to sign-up. You can ask for this when you are at the lab. Any blood results that become available after you sign up will be on your online file.
