QEII Halifax Infirmary Emergency Department is working with reduced space, which may lead to delays for those with less urgent concerns. Learn more here.
Starting Saturday, December 14, the entrance to the QEII Halifax Infirmary Emergency Department will change to 1840 Bell Road. Learn more.
The YourHealthNS application is a tool that provides citizens with a centralized location to access health care records, information and services. YourHealthNS can be accessed through a website or mobile app.
Nova Scotia Health, the Department of Health & Wellness, and IWK Health are committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding personal health information. Personal health information (PHI) means information that could be used to identify an individual, such as a name and date of birth and information relating to the medical care or health of an individual, including a health card number.
The collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal health information accessed via the YourHealthNS application is governed and protected by provincial privacy legislation: specifically, the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA), Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act (PIIDPA), and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) Act .
Collection and Use of Personal Health Information
To provide services to you through the YourHealthNS application, we collect your personal health information. The information we collect includes:
Demographic: Used for the purpose of patient communications and record identification:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email Address
- Date of Birth
Location: Used for the purpose of supporting access to 911 and for recommending appropriate health care services based on location:
- Address
- IP address (used to also determine location [latitude/longitude] and time zone)
Health: Used for the purpose of clinical triaging and clinical care delivery by Nurse or Physician roles:
- Health Card Number
- Clinical assessments (if required)
- Responses to chat triaging questions
- Chat transcript
Personal Health Record: Used for the purpose of creating, maintaining and displaying your personal health records to you in the YourHealthNS app, under the authority of the Personal Health Information Act. You have the right to refuse or revoke your consent to the display of this information at any time. Learn more in the Revoke Consent section below.
Secure Login
To securely display your personal health information and provide other services, YourHealthNS uses the My NS Account login service. Your health records are not shared with the My NS Account Service. For further details on the My NS Account service, please see:
My NS Account Privacy Statement
Display of Personal Health Information Within YourHealthNS
The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) authorizes Nova Scotia Health, IWK Health and other providers to send personal health information to the Department of Health and Wellness for the purpose of displaying your health records to you in the YourHealthNS application to allow you to access your health records and improve your experience as a patient.
The personal health information that will be displayed is outlined here.
Errors In Your Personal Health Information
If you see any information within YourHealthNS that appears incorrect, please contact the Department of Health and Wellness Health Privacy and Records Management using the contact information below.
Questions or Concerns
If you have a question or concern regarding the display of your personal health information within YourHealthNS, please contact the Department of Health and Wellness Health Privacy and Records Management using the contact information below.
Revoking Consent
You may revoke your consent for displaying your personal health information within YourHealthNS at any time by updating your “My NS Account” to remove the association with your Health Card. This will disable all digital health services for that account. Instructions for revoking consent are outlined here.
You can also contact the Department of Health and Wellness Health Privacy and Records Management using the contact information below.
Disclosure of Personal Health Information
The personal health information collected within the YourHealthNS application may only be disclosed in circumstances where we have the legal authority to do so.
Secure Retention and Destruction of Personal Health Information
The personal health information you have authorized us to collect will be retained following the Department of Health and Wellness organizational retention policies for the type of information submitted.
Nova Scotia Health and Department of Health and Wellness security practices are constantly evolving to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of your information is held to the highest possible standards. Updated security safeguards are in place to protect our networks and websites from misuse, modification, tampering, duplication, disclosure, monitoring, and unauthorized access. Some examples of the safeguards we have in place to protect your information include security software and encryption protocols as well as physical, technical, and procedural controls. All reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards will be utilized to protect your information from unauthorized use or disclosure.
Use of Cookies
Like many other websites, YourHealthNS uses “cookies” to collect and store user preference data on your computer or device to help improve your experience using while using the application. Most web browsers (including Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, Safari, and Opera) are set up to accept cookies, unless you choose to disable this feature.
If you have cookies disabled on your web browser, you will be able to access YourHealthNS; however, you will not be able to set personalized preferences.
Protecting Your Information
Nova Scotia Health, the Department of Health & Wellness, and IWK Health take protecting your privacy seriously, and there are also steps you can take to keep your information safe. Always be sure to keep your device in a safe place so it won’t be lost or stolen. You should use a secure password or other method to lock your device when it is not in use.
The phone number associated with your Health card is used to confirm your identity. That phone number can be updated by contacting MSI Registration for assistance: 1-800-563-8880. Protect your personal account information, and do not share with others. This includes:
- Your account username and password
- Your health card information
- Access to the email used on your account
- Access to the phone number used to verify your health account.
If you are unable to protect this information, you can contact the Department of Health and Wellness Health Privacy and Records Management office to discuss available options to prevent your information from being displayed in YourHealthNS.
Contact Information for Inquiries
For additional information regarding Privacy, please see the following Nova Scotia Health, Department of Health & Wellness and IWK Health’s Privacy Statements:
Nova Scotia Health Privacy Statement
Department of Health & Wellness Privacy Statement
For general questions about Nova Scotia Health, please contact:
By phone: 1-844-491-5890
By e-mail wearelistening@nshealth.ca
By mail:
Privacy Office
1-031 Centennial Building,
1276 South Park St.,
Halifax, NS
B3H 2Y9
For general questions about Nova Scotia Health’s privacy policies and practices, please contact Nova Scotia Health Privacy:
By phone: 1-833-213-1634.
By e-mail: privacy@nshealth.ca
By mail: Privacy Office, 1-031 Centennial Building, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, NS B3H 2Y9
For general questions about IWK Health’s privacy policies and practices, please contact IWK Health Privacy:
By phone: 1-902-470-6309
Toll-free: 1-855-678-9811
By e-mail: privacy@iwk.nshealth.ca
By mail:
IWK Health
Privacy Office
5850/5980 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia
For general questions about the Department of Health and Wellness’ privacy policies and practices, please contact the Department of Health and Wellness:
By phone: 902-424-5818
Toll-free: 1-800-387-6665
By e-mail: phia@novascotia.ca
By mail:
Department of Health and Wellness
Health Privacy and Records Management
1894 Barrington Street
PO Box 488
Halifax, NS B3J 2R8
YourHealthNS App
Much of Nova Scotia's healthcare program and service information is now available on the YourHealthNS mobile app. Download for free on the Apple Store and Android Apps for Google Play.
