Information For Patients

Rights with Respect to Personal Health Information in the Custody or Control of Physician

1.     Patients have a right to access their personal health information and to obtain a copy of their personal health information. There are very few exceptions to this right, such as when the physician concludes that disclosure is likely to endanger the mental or physical health or safety of the patient or another person, disclosure would disclose confidential information about someone other than the patient, or disclosure would identify a third party who provided information to the physician in confidence.  
 
2.     The record remains the record of the physician. Patients have a right to a copy of the record, but not to the original record.

3.     Physicians have the right to charge a reasonable fee for providing access to a record or for providing a copy of a record. The Introduction/Preamble section and Section A1 of the Saskatchewan Medical Association Relative Value Guide provides some recommended cost recovery fees that may be charged. A patient may be able to request that the fee be waived.

4.     Generally, physicians have up to 30 days to provide access to a record, or to provide a copy of a record, after the patient has requested access in writing.

5.     Patients can expect that their physicians will meet the expectations which are described in the previous part of this document.

6.     If a patient thinks that there is an error in their patient record, the patient can ask the physician to change the record. That does not apply to physician opinions or diagnoses. If the physician does not make the requested change, the patient can place a statement of disagreement on the chart.
 
7.     A patient who has been denied access to all or part of their chart, or who has not been given access within 30 days of a written request can apply to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner with a request that the Information and Privacy Commissioner review the denial.
 
8.     A patient who believes that a physician has not met the expectations described above can ask the College of Physicians and Surgeons or the Information and Privacy Commissioner to investigate.