N.S. patients can access healthcare summaries through YourHealthNS, share with doctors

CITYNews halifax / By Rachel Morgan

The YourHealthNS app will now allow users to share a summarized version of their medical records with a healthcare advisor or other trusted person.

The summary is generated from the secure provincial electronic health record, the Department of Health and Wellness said. It would provide pertinent health information like allergies and intolerances, medical conditions, diagnostic imaging, immunizations, lab tests, medications and hospital stays.

“The more information a provider has about a patient’s health history, the faster they can assess and recommend treatment, especially in an emergency when every moment counts,”Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness, said in a press release. “We can’t predict when and where we may need care, but we can be prepared. This allows any Nova Scotian to share a summary of their medical history with any provider, anywhere, in minutes.”

To share the secure summary, patients can log into YourHealthNS and generate a secure link to send to the recipient. The summary will also be locked by a pin.

The department says summaries expire automatically 24 hours after they are created, but patients have the authority to recall and delete then at any time.

“Patient summary expands on our commitment to empower Nova Scotians to be in control of their healthcare journey,” Scott McKenna, Chief Information Officer at Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health, said in a press release. “This snapshot allows YourHealthNS users to not only access their own data but share it with folks involved in their care, to ultimately see them get the best care possible.”

The patient summary is said to be the most comprehensive of its type virtually available in Canada. It is part of an Atlantic Canada initiative to standardize patient health information.

Since digital records were made available through YourHealthNS in January 2024, the Department of Health and Wellness said there have been more than 1.2 million logins by Nova Scotians.

At the end of June 2025, patients were able to begin to view reports from mammogram, MRI, CT, and PET scans.

According to the province, approximately 209,000 CT scans, 73,000 mammograms, 40,000 MRIs, and 3,800 PET scans were performed in Nova Scotia in 2023.