Mackenzie Health has partnered with PocketHealth to give patients online access to view and share their images from our hospital and other participating organizations for free. This includes x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI scans and other diagnostic imaging tests.
Log in to your MyChart account to access your images and take advantage of additional features including eCheck-In, lab and test results, preparation instructions for upcoming appointments and more!
What are the benefits to accessing my images online?
By accessing your images online, you can:
- Save time, no need to visit the hospital to obtain a CD
- Save money on parking and reduced fees
- Share your images online directly with your requesting physician
- View images from our hospital and other participating hospitals and x-ray clinics
How do I sign up?
Log in to your MyChart Account, visit the Test Results page and follow the link to our partner site, PocketHealth. From there, you can access your images in three easy steps:
- Enter your patient information, including name, date of birth and health card number
- Consent to the terms and conditions of the services being provided
- Select the plan that is right for you
What is PocketHealth, and what problem is it solving?
Being able to easily view diagnostic imaging files like ultrasounds, mammograms, CT scans and MRI scans is often critical for your ongoing or future treatment. Your physician may need rapid access to your recent diagnostic imaging to aid or direct their decision-making in developing a diagnosis and treatment plan.
In the past, patients needed to pick up a physical CD with their imaging files from the hospital and deliver them to their doctor at their next visit. While courier options have been available, they are not cost effective or quick.
PocketHealth is a big step in the right direction. It’s a simple, secure web platform that is designed to mimic how image sharing works ‘outside’ of health care — it’s user-friendly, reliable and fast. PocketHealth allows you to permanently store your complete imaging history from more than 500 hospitals/clinics across North America.
How does online access to images help patients and their care team?
Reliable access to your images equips patients with the tools to becometruly active participantsin their own care. With the ability to easily access and control where their health record goes, patients can become more engaged, informed and empowered to make a difference in their own health.
The ability to access and share your records indiagnostic qualitymeans patients avoid unnecessary tests or repeat radiation when prior exams are required by a physician and can’t be quickly located. Instant, remote sharing also means you can leave the CD behind and save multiple trips acting as a courier between the hospital and your doctor’s office.
Plus, with online access to images you also have the option to upload and digitize any imaging already in your possession on old CDs or USB keys and complete your imaging record. That way, even if your hospital/clinic isn’t part of the PocketHealth network, you can upload and share a comprehensive capture of your imaging record, in full diagnostic quality.
Having online access to your images means you and your health care providers receive secure access to the imaging information you need, when you need it.
What can I do with my images online?
By logging onto yourMyChartaccount atmychart.mackenziehealth.caand accessing our partner site, PocketHealth, you have access to a wide variety of features. For example, you can:
- Share imaging electronically:Share your images with any health care professional in full diagnostic quality by fax, email or print-a-link. The recipient can then view the records instantly within their web browser via a Health Canada/FDA-certified diagnostic viewer.
- Burn your own CD or USB:With the simple self-serve function in your account, you can easily burn your entire imaging record onto a CD or USB with an integrated diagnostic viewer for your physician.
- Download:Download individual images as PNG files (for non-diagnostic use only) or download entire records as DICOM files (for diagnostic use). These files can be stored locally on your computer or shared via USB or by burning to CD.
- Request records from new clinics/hospitals:Search from more than 500 clinics and hospitals across North America and enroll for access from new imaging providers, helping build a more comprehensive health record.
- Upload your old CDs:Upload and digitize any imaging already in your possession on old CDs or records from hospitals not currently connected to PocketHealth, and truly complete your imaging record.
- Have your record wherever you go:You can access your images from any device with an internet connection, anywhere in the world, at any time.
The most important feature of accessing your images online is that your imaging record(s) will be securely stored in full medical quality that you can access and share at a moment’s notice.
How long does it take to receive my images online?
Through our partner, PocketHealth, we are electronically connected to your imaging provider (and more than 500 other imaging providers across North America), meaning that there is typically no clerical or manual processing related to retrieving your records.
That means that once your consent is provided to PocketHealth, within a few minutes you can expect to receive an email notification that all historical exams have been added to your account. If you have a very large record set (some patients have hundreds of historical imaging exams), this may take up to two to three hours.
Your imaging records are typically released between three and 14 days after the reports are finalized. If you do not see your images after 14 days, please contact MyChart support:
- By e-mail:mychart@mackenziehealth.ca
- By phone: 905-883-2202 from Richmond Hill or 905-417-2000 ext. 2202 from across Vaughan.
- Hours: Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Do I still need to talk to my doctor after I receive my results?
Yes, your doctor will be able to analyze and interpret your results and go over them with you. Unless you’re a trained medical professional, please don’t try to analyze your imaging record yourself.. Diagnostic images require highly specialized training to interpret and often require a sophisticated DICOM viewer to aid analysis as well as a full, professional understanding of your medical history. Having online access to images is a powerful tool for you to control and share your imaging records, but that still means you should workclosely and collaborativelywith your physician at every step of your diagnosis and treatment plan.
If you are not sure which medical professional is the best person to speak to about a particular exam, try starting with the physician that referred you for the testing! To find your referring physician, check the area on the left of every exam to find their name.
How long are my records stored?
Your records are stored permanently within your account for your future access. If you prefer to keep your records offline, you can always download your entire record onto your computer. You can also permanently remove all of your records from our partner site, PocketHealth, anytime, and revoke access from anyone you’ve shared your records with.
What is included in my record?
All of the imaging in the exam(s) you have requested will be included in your record in their original diagnostic format (DICOM). These images also include a number of embedded attributes (e.g., date of exam, body part, patient identifier, etc.) that make up an important and essential part of your imaging record. You should also receive the typed radiologist report for the exams, though on rare occasions depending on the individual policy of the imaging provider that transferred your imaging record, this may not be possible.
I think an imaging record is missing, what should I do?
If you believe any exams are missing from your account, please reach out to MyChart Support at mychart@mackenziehealth.ca. Let us know the date and type of exam performed. With this information we can better advise you on how to access your records.
How do I share my record with my physician?
You can securely share your entire imaging record (or even just a few, selected exams) directly through our partner site, PocketHealth. Simply click on the ‘Share My Records’ button, and select either email, fax or print.
Email: Enter the email address for your physician (or their registration/front desk) or health care institution. Be sure to confirm the correct address with your physician/health care institution to ensure the records are sent to the right place. Click “Share” and your recipient will receive an email with a unique secure link and an access code that will allow them to view your imaging record within their web browser. They can also download your diagnostic-quality imaging as DICOM files to import to their internal system.
Print: Print a secure access page and bring it to your appointment. The code on this access page is unique to this specific share only and will expire after seven days. Your physician can follow the steps on the page to view your imaging within their web browser and can download your diagnostic-quality imaging as DICOM files to import to their internal system.
Fax: Enter the recipient’s fax number and click “Send Fax.” A secure access page will be faxed over to the recipient. Your physician can follow the steps on the page to view your imaging within their web browser and can download your diagnostic-quality imaging as DICOM files to import to their internal system.
Your recipient does not need to have a MyChart or PocketHealth account to receive your imaging results. They also do not need to download any specialized software or install any plugins to access the full viewing and downloading functionality of the platform.
Can I check on the status of my share, resend a share, or revoke access?
Yes. You are able to view the status of your share, resend it or revoke access to your imaging at any time. To do so, please select ‘My Shares’ in your top menu. You’ll be presented with a detailed history of how you have shared your records, with status logs and buttons that allow you to resend/revoke any past share.
My physician won't accept an email, fax or printed link — what are my options?
While sharing and accessing imaging online is the fastest and most secure way for health care professionals to access imaging, we understand that certain health care professionals may prefer that you provide your imaging in the form of a CD or USB. If that is the case, you can burn your imaging records with a DICOM viewer onto a CD or USB directly by selecting the ‘Share My Records’ button within your account and then selecting “CD/USB.” You can then burn your imaging records onto a CD/USB in their original format, along with a DICOM viewer.
I’ve had multiple imaging studies done at one institution — do those need to be requested separately?
No, when you enroll for access at an imaging provider you will receive all available imaging records in your history there, without a limit to the number of studies. If your imaging studies are from a location that is different from the location you submitted your original request to, then you will need to submit a new request for another location. Each clinic or hospital group has their own online request form and they each require your consent to having information released.
How do I access images of someone who I have proxy access to?
If you have full proxy access to a patient’s health information, you can access their imaging by toggling to their account, going to the Test Results page and clicking on the link to view images. As images are released through a third party vendor, to maintain the privacy and security of the patient’s information, if the patient has not previously accessed their imaging, an email will be sent to the patient’s email on file to verify the request and confirm their information. Once this has been done, imaging will be available to those that have proxy access.
How do I remove my records permanently from PocketHealth?
Please submit your request for permanent deletion tomychart@mackenziehealth.ca. A member of our Support Team will walk you through several steps to verify your identity before processing your deletion request. Please note that deletion requests must be made from the email address associated with your PocketHealth account. This process will not impact the storage status of any diagnostic imaging files at your imaging center or physician’s office.
I require further assistance; what resources are available to me?
Please feel free to emailmychart@mackenziehealth.caand a member of our Support Team will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also contact the MyChart Support Line, at 905-883-2202 from Richmond Hill of 905-832-4554 ext. 2202 from Vaughan. Our telephone support hours are Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. EST. Our MyChart Support Team is always on hand to answer your questions (big or small) so, when in doubt, reach out and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.
Can I access images from other hospitals or clinics?
Yes, you can view images from more than 500 imaging providers across North America. For more information, visit thePocketHealth website.
