Access to the medical record of a deceased person

Responsibility: Access to Information Commission

It is possible, under certain conditions, to consult the medical record of a deceased person.

The persons who can consult it are usually :

  • the surviving spouse
  • the heirs and legal representatives
  • persons who are related to the deceased by blood;
  • persons entitled to payment from a life insurance or pension plan.

The medical or social record of a beneficiary of an institution within the meaning of the Act respecting health services and social services is confidential and, with the exception of the beneficiary himself or herself or the personnel who need the record to perform their duties and a few exceptions, no one may have access to it without the beneficiary's authorization. Furthermore, this authorization must be limited in scope and duration.

ACCESS TO THE BENEFICIARY'S RECORD

A beneficiary who has received medical or social care may demand, verbally or in writing, that any establishment in the health and social services network communicate the contents of his or her file to him or her.

***Restrictions :
Access to his or her file may, however, be denied if knowledge of his or her file may be detrimental to his or her health. In this case, the organization must inform the beneficiary of the time when his or her file can be released.

A beneficiary is not entitled to be informed of the existence of, or to receive communication of, information concerning him or her contained in his or her file that was provided to him or her by a third party and whose existence or communication would make it possible to identify the said third party, unless the latter has consented in writing to the disclosure of this information and its source to the beneficiary.

ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS WITHOUT THE BENEFICIARY'S AUTHORIZATION

Access to the medical record without the Recipient's authorization may occur in the following exceptional circumstances, among others:

  • by order of the Court;
  • for medical research purposes;
  • in certain specific situations provided for in the Act respecting health services and social services.

ACCESS TO THE MEDICAL RECORD OF A DECEASED PERSON

If the deceased person has not written down his or her refusal to have access to his or her medical record, certain people can obtain information about the cause of death.


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