Health Information Sharing Resources for Lloydminster Residents

Residents of the City of Lloydminster and the surrounding areas, whether Alberta or Saskatchewan, may use health services provided in both provinces. It is not always seamless for Lloydminster residents’ health information to be shared across provincial borders. For example, medical records are not always readily available and/or sharable when an Alberta patient accesses a health care service or a provider in Saskatchewan and vice versa.

The information on this page sets out the potential situations when there is a need to share health information across the two provinces.

Questions and answers about sharing health information

1. I am a resident of Alberta. How can I access my own health information related to health services received in Alberta and share with health care providers in Saskatchewan?

You can access some of your key health information through your Alberta MyHealth Records account via My Personal Records, and share with out-of-province health-care providers as you see fit. MyHealth Records provides you with direct access to records of your medications, immunizations, common lab test results and diagnostic imaging reports. For example, you can view or share on a mobile device or print out the information prior to an appointment.

You can also share health information via MyAHS Connect. MyAHS Connect provides you with access to records of care provided in Alberta Health Services (AHS) facilities including lab test results, diagnostic imaging reports, medications, and immunizations.

MyHealth Records and MyAHS Connect portals are only available to residents of Alberta who are 14 years of age or older. Residents of Saskatchewan are not eligible for access to MyHealth Records or MyAHS Connect.

2. I am a resident of Alberta. How can I share my health information related to health services received in Saskatchewan with health care providers in Alberta?

You can make an access request by completing a Request for Access to Personal Health Information Form for services you received in a facility of Saskatchewan Health Authority. Requests may be submitted by delivering in person, mailing or faxing to the specific facilities from which you request health information.

Requests of personal health information records are generally subject to a $20 processing fee and $0.25 per copy fee.

However, there are times that fees may be waived:

• Fees do not apply when sharing information between providers as part of a patient’s ongoing care.
• Fees will be waived for Lloydminster Alberta residents who make a request to the Lloydminster Hospital Health Information Services department for laboratory test results, medical imaging reports, prescription history and clinical visit history.
• Fees will be waived for immunization records from Lloydminster Public Health.
• Fees will be waived if a Lloydminster Alberta resident is requesting their own personal information from the Lloydminster Hospital to take with them to an appointment with a provider in Alberta.
• Fees may be waived where clients express concerns with financial hardship.

For records from a private health-care provider, you must make an access request directly to the clinic from which you are receiving care. The private health-care provider may charge a fee for processing your request.

Once you have received your health information from Saskatchewan, you can bring the print-out for your Alberta health-care providers. Albertans with a MyHealth Records account can also upload records, including records from the Lloydminster Hospital, into their MyHealth Records and share those documents via the same platform with health care providers in Alberta.

3. I am a resident of Saskatchewan. How can I access my own health information related to health services received in Saskatchewan and share with my health-care providers in Alberta?

You can access some of your key health information via MySaskHealthRecord. Residents of Alberta are not eligible for access to the MySaskHealthRecord.

4. I am a resident of Saskatchewan. How can I share my health information related to health services received in Alberta with health care providers in Saskatchewan?

To make a request for AHS, you may contact the AHS Disclosure Help Line; for covenant health records, you can contact their privacy office at privacy@covenanthealth.ca.

For access to your key health information from Netcare, you may make an access request to a custodian with whom you have a current care relationship, such as primary care physician, pharmacist, dentist, optometrist, or chiropractor.

For access to your health information that are not hospital or Netcare records (e.g., the detailed paper or electronic notes a physician or specialist maintains in their clinic), you must contact directly the custodian who has control of those records.

In Alberta, custodians may charge a basic fee of $25 for producing a copy of a patient’s health information. Patients can discuss concerns about access request fees with their custodians.