Overview
Parents/Guardians play a key role as children learn to manage their own health care. Having access to their child’s personal health information helps parents/guardians make informed decisions, seek the right care, and support their child’s well-being.
Parents/guardians can access their child’s personal health information and/or Mobile Health Card. Access can change over time as children get older. Parent/Guardian access ends automatically when a child turns 18.
Children can be active in managing their personal health information:
- At age 14, children can register for their own MyHealth Records account.
- At age 16, they may choose to remove previously granted parent/guardian access.
- At age 18, parent/guardian access always ends automatically.
Before you begin, ensure you have:
- A verified Alberta.ca Account
- A verified MyHealth Records account
Topics covered in this section include:
- Gaining access to a child’s health record
- Parents/Guardians can request access to personal health information when their child is younger than 16 years of age
- Children 14 and older can register for their own MyHealth Records account and share their personal health information with a trusted person
- Managing access to a child’s personal health record
- Parents/Guardians can remove their own access to their child’s personal health information and/or Mobile Health Card
- Children 16 to under 18 can remove parent/guardian access to their personal health information
- Parent/Guardian access ends automatically at 18 years of age
- Regulated Healthcare Providers can add or remove access to a child’s personal health information upon request
Gaining access to a child's personal health record
Parents/Guardians can request access to personal health information when their child is younger than 16 years of age.
Parents/guardians can request access to their child’s personal health information using the online request form when:
- The child is younger than 16 years of age
- The child does not have their own existing MyHealth Records account
Select the "Parent/Guardian Access" tile.
- Review the information and affirm the declaration.
- Submit your request
- You will see a confirmation screen and receive and confirmation email when your request is complete.
- If required, upload documentation to verify your relationship. If you do not have the required documents, contact 1-844-743-1905 for help.
Parent/Guardian access to the child’s personal health information and/or Mobile Health Card is granted after completing the steps above.
Approval may take up to four weeks, and a request to access is not guaranteed or automatically given. If approved, access will be added to your account. If not approved, you will not be able to view the child’s health record.
Children 14 and older can register for their own MyHealth Records account and share their personal health information with a trusted person.
If you are 14 years of age or older with your own MyHealth Records account, you can choose to share your personal health information with a parent/guardian, or anyone you trust using the ‘Share My Record’ feature.
This feature allows you to manage the kind of information you are comfortable sharing.
- Sign in to MyHealth Records
- Select the My Personal Records tool
- Select the “Share My Record” tool to get started.
Learn more about how to use the Share My Record tool.
Managing access to a child's personal health record
Parents/Guardians can remove their own access to their child’s personal health information and/or Mobile Health Card.
Parents/guardians can remove access to their child’s personal health information and/or Mobile Health Card at any time using the ‘Parent/Guardian Access’ feature.
- Select the “Parent/Guardian Access” tile.
- To remove access, select ‘remove’ beside the child’s name.
- Confirm the decision to remove access to the child’s personal health information.
- Access to the child’s personal health information is now removed.
Children aged 16 to under 18 can remove parent/guardian access to their personal health information.
If you are 16 or older and have your own MyHealth Records account, you can choose to remove access for anyone currently able to view your health records.
The ‘Share My Record’ feature allows you to manage the kind of information you are comfortable sharing.
- Sign in to your MyHealth Records account.
- Select the My Personal Records tile.
- Select the “Share My Record” tool.
- Select the “manage parent/guardian access to your personal health information” link.
- Select “remove” next to the name of the parent/guardian who’s access you would like to remove.
- Confirm your decision to remove access for this parent/guardian.
Parent/Guardian access ends automatically at 18 years of age.
Access to a child’s health record requested by the parent/guardian will be automatically removed when a child turns 18 years of age.
If you want to provide access to your parents/guardian or anyone you trust, use the ‘Share My Record’ feature. This feature allows you to manage the kind of information you are comfortable sharing.
Regulated Healthcare Providers can add or remove access to a child's personal health information upon request.
Regulated Healthcare Providers can add or remove access for parents/guardians, or other authorized representatives in certain circumstances.
