Patients of a Regina medical clinic have found themselves caught in the middle of a bizarre turf war.
Their doctors have relocated, but it wasn't clear whether the patients' medical records can move with them.
When the group of doctors recently left Midway Health Care Centre in the Cornwall Centre and moved to Gateway Alliance Medical Clinic in east Regina, most of the files for 18,000 patients were left behind.
The doctors were among the first to use electronic patient files and there's no protocol on if or how the transfer of files should take place.
But it caused problems.
"If we were sent a paper copy, we'd lose about 25 per cent of the documentation, and that's just the way the system is set up," said Robin Anderson with Gateway Alliance Medical Clinic.
The patients’ records are currently stored at the doctor's former walk in clinic at the Cornwall Centre. The clinic was printing off medical files for patients who request them.
On Tuesday, Max Hendricks, associate deputy minister of health, contacted Midway owner Sam Khan, who subsequently agreed to release the digital records within 24 hours.
Hendricks says the government didn`t want a business dispute getting in the way of patients having access to their records.
The Health Information Protection Act in Saskatchewan says a physician or a clinic can act as a trustee for medical records.
With a report by CTV Regina’s Wayne Mantyka and files from The Canadian Press
