N.L. premier to reverse policy that blocks parents' access to their children’s medical records

Amid a heated backlash, Newfoundland’s premier says he is moving to reverse a policy that denied parents access to their children’s medical records as part of the rollout of a new medical health information system.

“We have heard clearly from families across the province, and we will ensure the law supports parents and guardians while protecting the best interests of children and youth,” Conservative Premier Tony Wakeham wrote National Post in a statement late Thursday.

A memorandum had been mass emailed to parents across Newfoundland and Labrador on June 19 alerting them that parents or legal guardians will not have access to the “personal health record” of a minor over the age of 16 unless they are designated “a proxy” and that “proxy access” can be requested “with the youth’s consent” for children between the ages of 12 and 15.

The provincial Liberal party took aim at the announcement on Wednesday, writing that “parents and families are only learning about this change now as the school year comes to a close.” The Liberals criticized how the policy “change was slipped into a letter mass emailed to parents, instead of (being) explained or defended by government leadership.”

But, in his statement late Thursday, Wakeham addressed what he called “significant confusion and concern regarding parental access to their children’s medical records.”

“I want to be categorical: Parents are the primary protectors of their children. Our government believes that parents or guardians should always have the right to access their children’s healthcare information.”

Newfoundland and Labrador had rolled out its new health information system, CorCare, in April, which sought to “replace outdated digital health systems with one province-wide health information system, that will enable the collection, management, storage and transmission of electronic medical records,” the province’s health services explained.

Wakeham said “current laws and policies have been in existence for decades, the implementation of the new digital health platform has exposed a fundamental misalignment between existing statutes and the expectations of families in this province.

“We did not create this policy, but we are going to fix it.”

He said his government will immediately review legislation and, following consultations, “will introduce legislative changes this fall to ensure that parental access to their children’s medical records is protected” in the province.

“We recognize there are complex cases involving child safety, and our legal system already has robust protections in place for those specific instances. However, we can’t allow a policy of ‘secrecy by default’ to stand between parents and the health of their children,” he said.

According to an informal, non-scientific poll by VOCM, a local radio station and news site, the overwhelming majority (90 per cent) of respondents opposed the new policy for children’s health records.

“Regardless of where people stand on the policy itself, one thing is clear: parents should have been consulted before a change of this magnitude was implemented,” the Liberal party’s statement reads. “When it comes to our children, parents and guardians should be part of the conversation from the beginning and not informed after the fact.”

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