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Other Infosheets - Professionals

Accessing Personal Files Kept by a Professional

If you have an appointment with a doctor, lawyer or other professional, chances are he or she will open a file containing information about you.

What is a personal file?

The expression “personal file” also refers to personal information. There must be a serious and legitimate reason for a professional to have a file on you. Also, the personal information it contains must be necessary for the purpose of the file. Any information about you that can identify you is considered personal information. It doesn’t matter whether the information is kept in a paper file, computer system or voice recording–it’s still personal information.

Who can access my file?

As a general rule, only you and the professional have access to your file. You have the right to consult your file and make copies of it. The professional has 30 days to respond to your request for access. If the professional does not reply, this is considered a refusal to give you access.

In some cases, the law allows the professional to communicate personal information about you to other people without your permission. For example, the professional can communicate your personal information to his or her lawyer, to lawyers from the Attorney General’s office if the information is necessary for charging someone with a crime, or to a person responsible for preventing, detecting or controlling crime.

In certain situations, the professional can refuse to let you see your file. For example, children under the age of 14 are not allowed access to their medical or social files. However, this rule is not intended to restrict normal communication between a healthcare professional and a patient under the age of 14. Also, it is not intended to prevent parents of children under the age of 14 from consulting their children’s files. In addition, a child’s lawyer is allowed to consult the file in the context of legal proceedings.

If your file is kept in a healthcare institution, you will be refused access if the professional believes that access to the information in the file may have serious effects on your health. For additional information on access to your medical file, please refer to the Infosheet entitled “Access to Medical Records  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/health_care_users_and_professionals/56/).”

Can I correct the information contained in my file?

Yes. If you discover that your file contains outdated, inaccurate or incomplete information, or that the information is misleading given the reason it was collected, you are allowed to have the information corrected or deleted. You can also provide written comments and have them put into your file. The professional must respond to your request for correction within 30 days. If no response is provided, this will be considered a refusal.

What can I do if a professional refuses to let me consult my file or correct the information it contains without a valid reason?

If a professional refuses to give you access to your file without a good reason or refuses to correct the information it contains, there are two things you can do: First, you can complain to the professional order concerned by filing a complaint with the “syndic” of the order. Please refer to the Infosheet entitled “Complaints Against Professionals.  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/other_infosheets/103/)” Second, you can complain to the Commission d’accès à l’information  (http://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/index-en.html) (access to information commission).

If you complain to the Commission, you must ask for an examination of the disagreement within 30 days of the professional’s refusal. Your application must briefly explain the reasons for your request. The Commission will let the professional know about your complaint. The staff of the Commission is available if you need help with the application.

If the Commission finds that no agreement is possible between you and the professional, it will examine the complaint itself. After it has investigated the complaint, it will inform you and the professional of its conclusions in writing, along with the reasons for its decision. It can order the professional to give you access to your file or correct the personal information it contains. The professional then has 30 days to do this. The Commission can also refuse your request and instruct the professional not to give you access to the file.

The Commission’s decision can’t be appealed as far as the facts of the disagreement are concerned. However, the Court of Québec, if it agrees to hear the case, can review how the law was interpreted, and it can also rule on issues of jurisdiction.