Health Information Services

Phone:  905-883-2200
Email:  healthrecords@mackenziehealth.ca
Fax:  905-883-2141

Phone:  905-883-2202
Email:  mychart@mackenziehealth.ca
Website:  www.mackenziehealth.ca/mychart

Attention:
Health Information Services
Release of Information
Mackenzie Health
10 Trench Street
Richmond Hill, Ontario
L4C 4Z3

Requests can be made by phone, email, fax or mail. Please see contact information above.

Core chart* documents including clinical notes, reports, imaging and test results.

Accessing your personal health information online is free with a reduced fee in place to access your images.  For all other requests, fees are dependent on the nature and size of your request and the urgency with which the information is required. Please see our fee schedule for more information.

Health information is available online once finalized immediately after your appointment or discharge from hospital. Images are available online within three days of your reports being finalized. Hard copies of health information are available within 30 days of your request being received and validated.

Access your information on your smartphone, tablet, computer or app by visiting mychart.mackenziehealth.ca. CD or paper copies are available by courier.

Did you know?

Records can be downloaded from your MyChart account by visiting the Document Centre and selecting Visit Records

Under Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), you have a right to access to your own personal health information.

Release of information applications will only be accepted by phone, fax, email, or regular mail. Once a request has been received, the Health Information Services office will review and validate your request before your application will be processed. A representative will contact you if additional information is required.

Access your records for free online through MyChart

To obtain a copy of your personal health information, please log in or sign up to MyChart to download your records at no cost. Records and test results are available immediately once they have been finalized. For inpatient stays, your records will be made available as soon as you are discharged and reports are finalized. Once you are logged in to your MyChart account, visit the Document Centre and select Visit Records.

Forms

To request access or disclosure to personal health information by email, fax or mail:

• Complete and sign the appropriate Consent for Disclosure of Personal Health Information form

Payments

Payment will be processed over the phone and records will be sent to you by mail, fax or to your MyChart account.

Response Times

In accordance with (PHIPA), it can take up to 30 days to process a request.

PHIPA Section 54.(2) Time for response

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the health information custodian shall give the response required by clause (1) (a), (b), (c) or (d) as soon as possible in the circumstances but no later than 30 days after receiving the request.  2004, c.3, Sched. A, s.54 (2).

Access to mental health information requires prior approval from the patient's treating psychiatrist or the Chief of Psychiatry.

Mackenzie Health collects personal health information about you, directly from you or from the authorized person acting on your behalf. We are committed to our patients regarding the privacy of personal health information. For more information about our collection and privacy practices, please refer to our Privacy Statement.

Release of personal health information for legal and insurance purposes must be submitted via the legal or insurance representative.

The Release of Information team requires:

• An original request letter from the legal or insurance representative stating what is needed
• Original signed Consent for Disclosure of Personal Health Information form by the patient/client or substitute decision maker (if decision maker, please provide proof of authority to sign on behalf of patient)

We no longer require prepayment for legal or insurance requests. Once a complete request is received, including the documentation noted above, the request is invoiced for the full amount.

To share your records with another healthcare provider, please call us at 905-883-2200 or email us at healthrecords@mackenziehealth.ca. A representative will assist in sending these to your provider on your behalf.

Diagnostic images can also be accessed online through MyChart for a minimal fee. These images can also be shared with providers online through a secure link. To learn more visit www.mackenziehealth.ca/mychart.

If you would like to obtain a CD of your images, fees will apply in accordance with our Fee Schedule.  Please contact us for more information.

Mackenzie Health retains and manages personal health information according to relevant legislation and hospital policy. Currently, we are responsible for keeping patient records for 10 years. For children, records are kept for 10 years past the year the patient turns 18. Diagnostic images by law are kept for five years from the exam date. If the diagnostic image was of the breast, records must be retained for 10 years. The above timelines apply once minor patients have turned 18.

Yes. We can fast track your request for personal health information for a set fee of $300 in addition to the routine administration fee. These requests can be ready for release within two business days. 

Personal health information is strictly confidential and belongs to the patient. We are not permitted to release personal health information unless we have obtained written consent from the patient. Written consent provides documented proof of the permission to release personal health information.

Through your MyChart account, use our proxy access features to assign another individual online access to your personal health information. Call us at 905-883-2202 for more information for visit our MyChart FAQs and select MyChart for My Family.

Yes. Patients who are 11 years of age or younger must have both parents or legal guardians consent to the request on their behalf. Patients who are 12 years of age or older are capable of requesting their own records and can consent to disclosing their health information.

Obtaining personal health information for child of minor age (<12 years of age) if parents of minor are separated/divorced:

• The custodial parent must provide documentation (i.e. court order) and submit the Consent for Disclosure of Personal Health Information form

For non-custodial parents, authorization from the custodial parent is required for access to personal health information.

The custodial parent must provide documentation (i.e. court order) and submit the Consent for Disclosure of Personal Health Information form.

For non-custodial parents, authorization from the custodial parent is required for access to personal health information.

In the case where the individual is deceased or incapable of signing consent, proof of estate trustee executorships or legal signing authority must be submitted with the request. The Power of Attorney does not have the right to access personal health information of a deceased patient.

Mackenzie Health does not issue death certificates. A Medical Certificate of Death is completed by the hospital and is sent to the funeral home with the deceased. A Statement of Death is completed at the funeral home and the death is registered with the Office of the Registrar General. To obtain a death certificate, please contact the Office of the Registrar General at 1-800-461-2156 or through the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website.

Under PHIPA, if you believe your health information is incorrect, you have the right to request a correction to this information.

• Complete and sign the appropriate Request for Correction to Personal Health Information form
• Submit the request to Health Information Services for a full review.

You may withdraw consent for the release of personal health information or place conditions to any further use or disclosure of your personal health information. The withdrawal of consent does not have retroactive effect nor does it affect the uses and disclosures of personal health information collected by Mackenzie Health where the use and disclosures are permitted or required by law without consent. Please see the Withdrawal of Consent form for more detail.

• Complete and sign the appropriate Withdrawal of Consent form

Submit the request to Health Information Services