Alberta Health Services (AHS) will no longer be changing how youth accounts in online patient portal MyAHS Connect can be accessed by parents and guardians via proxy access. Proxy access via MyAHS Connect would not end right away when a youth turns 12 years old, according to a Monday press release. The Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) said this decision was being reversed because of 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 first wave of Connect Care launched. The ACFP acknowledged community providers should be aware information related to the care they provide to patients, including test results and prescriptions, might or might not be viewable by parents in this situation. Healthcare workers could not grant MyAHS Connect proxy access, as youth and their parents have to discuss this with an AHS official. Youth healthcare workers advocated for this change to proxy access based on experience with vulnerable youth. When it comes to this change, they said it is at 12 years old when at-risk populations might begin to access or require healthcare independent of their parents or guardians. By limiting access to information to parents and guardians when youth turn 12, the ACFP said it is designed to protect vulnerable ones and continue to enable proxy access for families in situations where it is most valuable. As healthcare providers and as a community, it said it is their responsibility to protect those most at risk.
