My family was recently charged an exorbitant fee for access to my late father's medical records, once again bringing to light a serious, long-term, systemic problem regarding access to medical information. Such fees go against the recommendations of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC).  A large majority of the complaints received by the IPC relate to inaccessible fees, and the Center for Patient Protection has commented in CTV's recent coverage of my family's story that “it happens all the time, it’s one of the most frequently raised issues when people come to The Center for Patient Protection.”

In 2006, the Ministry of Health proposed a regulation for fee enforcement (under subsection 54(11) of the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004) but it has been sitting on the back burner ever since, despite support from the IPC. Without such clear and enforceable regulations, information custodians will continue to “go rogue”, causing undue hardship and stress to patients and families who have already suffered tremendously, as well as inundating a tribunal that could otherwise allocate its resources to other matters.

Inaccessible fees are a barrier to transparency and an obstruction of access to medical information. If health care institutions have nothing to hide, access to medical files should be hassle free!  We are petitioning for enactment of the Ministry's 2006 proposed regulation, which is long overdue.  Fee enforcement is a necessary step in enabling accessibility, transparency and accountability.  Please join our call to action: @myhealthmyfiles #myhealthmyfiles