Non-AHS Community Physician Advisory Group: Important updates

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Changes to MyAHS Connect Proxy Access

Alberta Health Services is changing how youth accounts in their online patient portal, MyAHS Connect, can be accessed by a parent or guardian via proxy access. Proxy access (i.e., parents/guardians being able to view a youth’s health records) via MyAHS Connect will now automatically end when a youth turns 12 years of age.

This decision is expected to be met with sensitivity by some parents and guardians, especially within child health programs and family medicine clinics where MyAHS Connect proxy access has been offered since the Connect Care Wave 1 launch.

Community providers should be aware that information related to the care they provide to patients, including test results and prescriptions, may or may not be viewable by parents/youth in this situation. In addition, as a community provider, you may receive questions about proxy access from parents and guardians. Community providers cannot grant MyAHS Connect proxy access; youth and parents/guardians must discuss this with an AHS provider who is part of their care team at a site with Connect Care in place.

Healthcare providers for youth advocated for this change to proxy access, based on experience with vulnerable youth. In their experience, it is at approximately age 12 when at-risk populations may begin to access or require health care independent of their parents or guardians. Limiting access to information for parents and guardians when a youth turns 12 is designed to protect vulnerable youth, while continuing to enable MyAHS Connect proxy access for families in situations where it is most valuable. As healthcare providers and as a community, it is our responsibility to protect those most at-risk. Protecting patients in vulnerable situations aligns with AHS values of patient-centered care.

Additional resources:

• MyAHS Connect Proxy Access
• Changes to MyAHS Connect Proxy Access – Information for Community Providers
• Parent/Guardian Proxy Access FAQ

Connect Care Identifiers and Launch Sequencing Update

Connect Care continues to be one of Alberta Health Services’ highest organizational priorities. Upcoming launch dates have been confirmed:

AHS’ executive leadership continues to monitor the situation related to managing COVID-19, and should these dates change, the information will be shared through usual AHS channels. The final implementation, Launch 9, is scheduled for the fall of 2024. Connect Care is already being used in parts of the Edmonton and North Zones. See which sites are included with each Connect Care launch here.

All community providers in Alberta need to act so laboratory, diagnostic imaging and other investigation results and reports are delivered to their office. As of February 2022, Connect Care identifiers have been distributed to providers and clinics throughout Alberta, via letter mail. To confirm Connect Care IDs for providers and clinics, please visit provideridlookup.ahs.ca.

Please start using Connect Care IDs immediately and continue to include non-Connect Care IDs on requisitions.

Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL), DynaLIFE and AHS Diagnostic Imaging (DI) have all introduced requisitions that include space for Connect Care and other current (“legacy”) healthcare identifiers. Please use the current requisition forms (updated in 2020), and provide current identification information, legacy IDs (e.g., Millennium ID) AND new Connect Care IDs on requisitions. For more information, please see Using Connect Care IDs on Laboratory and Diagnostic Imaging Requisitions.

To facilitate results delivery, providers are also asked to maintain updated practice, demographic and clinic information with AHS using the Request for Provider/Prescriber Set-Up in Health Information Systems form.

Additional resources:

• Delivery of Results to Community-based Providers from Connect Care
• Connect Care ID Look-up tool
• Connect Care Information for the Community
• Connect Care Information