Nova Scotians to have access to medical records via mobile app by summer, province hopes

Nova Scotians will soon have access to their medical records through a mobile app – if everything goes according to plan. 

Premier Tim Houston announced Tuesday the beginning of a new pilot project through YourHealthNS, the mobile health app launched by the provincial government last November. 

“Patients have a right to know what’s happening with their own health and results,” Houston said at the launch of the pilot project at the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub in Halifax.

Currently, through the app, Nova Scotians can book blood tests, X-rays and flu and COVID-19 vaccine appointments, search to find the nearest health services, access same-day virtual care and see predicted emergency department wait times. 

But as of Tuesday, 12,000 patients at four clinics will be able to log onto the app and access their medical records. 

Scott McKenna, chief information officer at Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health, said that while all Nova Scotians can currently access their immunization records through the app as of Tuesday, the pilot project includes more of a patient’s historical information. 

Nova Scotians in the pilot project will be able to see a list of:

• their medications, including the prescriber, drug name, when it was dispensed and directions
• labs and diagnostics, including results for blood, urine and some general lab tests, as well as appointment information for other imaging
• hospital visits, including inpatient stays and emergency room visits, and
• health visits, including primary care provider visits, virtual care appointments and outpatient visits.

Medications, hospital visits, outpatient visits and immunization records will include up to 10 years of historical data, while general labs, diagnostic imaging, primary care visits and oncology appointments will include roughly one year of historical data. 

People will not have to pay to access their medical records, nor will they have to fill out any forms. 

McKenna said that while Nova Scotians will be able to access and review their information through the app after verifying their identity, there are no health records stored inside the application so he’s not concerned about this increasing the risk of a data breach. 

The pilot project, which came at a cost of $2 million, is set to run until the end of March. 

McKenna said it will “ideally” be available to all Nova Scotians by the summer “if things go well.” 

Dr. Aaron Smith, medical executive director for the northern zone of Nova Scotia Health, said allowing more people to have access to their medical records will give patients a better understanding of their health conditions, as well as reduce administrative burden for health-care providers. 

Houston said this is just the first of many additions and modifications to YourHealthNS. 

“Patients have a right to know what’s happening with their own health and results.”

– Premier Tim Houston

“The next step is forward-looking, what appointments you have coming up,” Houston said. 

“I can tell you a big problem, a big issue in our health-care system, is missed appointments. If I could ask Nova Scotians to do one thing; the cost of missed appointments is incredible.” 

Aside from the app, Houston said his government is doing other things to improve the province’s health-care system. He said his team recently visited with Apple, Google, Microsoft and Varian to talk about potential partnerships. 

But for now, Houston said the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub in downtown Halifax is turning out products, such as YourHealthNS, that are helping many have better access to care. 

People can download the app for their iPhone or Android devices through the Apple or Google Play app store. Those without a mobile device can access YourHealthNS online.

Houston said there have been 175,000 people who have downloaded the app since its launch and 30,000 people who have used the app to access virtual care.