HealthElife

To sign up for a HealthElife account, you need to exist in our health care system. This means you must have visited a health care facility in Northern Health at least once.

First, you’ll need to:

1. Verify your identity. Once your identity has been verified, you will be given a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) to complete the enrollment process.
2. Complete your HealthElife enrollment.

Verify your identity

There are two options to verify your identity. You can: 

1. Visit a Northern Health Registration desk in person. Locations and contact information.
2. Call the Northern Health contact center at 1-833-933-5373  from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Statutory Holidays.
   1. An agent will guide you through a virtual session to verify your ID and provide you with the information you need to set up your HealthElife account.
   2. You will need a device with a camera, microphone, and speaker capable of video calls.

Key points:

• Whichever identity verification method you choose, please have your government-issued ID ready, including your personal health number. Examples are:
  • BC Services Card.
  • Combined BC driver’s license and BC Services Card.
• You will need a unique email address to connect to your HealthElife account. This email address cannot be associated with any other HealthElife account.

Complete your HealthElife enrollment

1. Follow the instructions in the email sent to the address you shared during the identity verification process.

Parents and guardians must have their own HealthElife account before signing up a child. Don’t have an account? Follow the steps to sign up an adult (19 years or older).

1. Fill out the Parent/Guardian of Incapable Minor/Incapable Adult Requesting Access to HealthElife Account form or visit your local health information department to get a copy.
2. Submit the completed form to your local health information department in-person, by fax, or mail.  
3. Your local health information department will contact you to complete the final steps.

Note: You cannot phone the Northern Health contact center to sign up a child.

A mature minor is a person 18 years old or younger who has been deemed mature enough to understand and access their own health information. As a mature minor, you don’t need a parent’s or guardian’s permission to gain access to your own health information.

To request mature minor access, you need to exist in our health care system. This means you must have visited a health care facility in Northern Health at least once.

1. Fill out the Mature Minor Requesting for their Health Records form or visit your local health information department to get a copy.
2. Go to your doctor, nurse practitioner, or psychologist and have them complete the form with you.
3. Submit the completed form to your local health information department in-person, by fax, or mail.
4. Your local health information department will contact you to complete the final steps.

Note: You cannot phone the Northern Health contact center to sign up as mature minor.

When you’re a proxy for someone, you can see their health care information in HealthElife. You won’t be able to change it, but you can view, print, copy, or share it.

To be a proxy, you must have your own HealthElife account. Don’t have an account? Follow the steps to sign up an adult (19 years or older).

Are you thinking about giving someone proxy access to your own health information? Be sure you trust the person not to share your information inappropriately or misuse it.

1. Visit your local health information department. Both you and the person whose health information you will be getting access to must be present. Both of you must bring a piece of government-issued ID.
2. As the person requesting proxy access, you will be given a PIN to register for HealthElife.
3. Complete your HealthElife enrollment. When you log into your HealthElife account, you’ll see the other person’s name in your dashboard. To view their health information, click their name.

Note: You cannot phone the Northern Health contact center to sign up as a proxy for another adult.

Problem: I finished the virtual verification process and entered my information on the HealthElife enrollment page, but the system says it can’t find me.
Solution: Please call 1-877-767-1046 where an agent will help you troubleshoot the issue.

Problem: I finished the virtual verification process, but when I click Activate your account, I get an error.
Solution: Your web browser might be causing this. Please call technical support at 1-877-767-1046.

What health information can I see in HealthElife?

• You can see some information as soon as it's available in our system:
  • Personal demographics, including your emergency contact and your family doctor or nurse practitioner.
  • Your lab results since 2007, and your microbiology reports since 2020 and going forward.
  • All COVID-19 test results performed in BC. For more information, see Accessing COVID-19 test results below.
• You can see other information about one week after testing:
  • Pathology and radiology reports, including most X-ray, ultrasound, and CT scans, from 2020 and going forward.

If you need to see other information from your health record, please contact your local health information department.

What else can I do in HealthElife?

• View your appointments: See booked appointments in our hospital system, including lab and medical imaging, with more appointment types coming soon.
• Check in online: HealthElife links to the NH Check In service: save your spot in line and see your wait times for lab and other outpatient services.
• Find locations: Looking for Northern Health addresses and contact information? HealthElife links to Northern Health's locations page.
• Check to see if you might have COVID-19: HealthElife links to the BC COVID-19 self-assessment tool, letting you check your symptoms anonymously online.
• Look up health topics: HealthElife links to HealthLinkBC, letting you look up health topics, symptoms, and treatments.
• Schedule lab appointments: Schedule all lab appointments quickly and easily with the site closest to you.

• Getting your HealthElife PIN (PDF)
• Overview of the HealthElife dashboard (PDF)
• Scheduling, viewing and cancelling appointments (PDF)
• Viewing, downloading and printing your health record and test results (PDF)
• Requesting mature minor access (PDF)
• Requesting proxy access (PDF)

What web browser is recommended for use with HealthElife?

The latest versions of Google Chrome, Apple Safari or Mozilla Firefox work best. Internet Explorer delivers inconsistent user experiences and is not recommended.

Is there an app to download?

No. For now, HealthElife is only available as a mobile-friendly website that you can use on your desktop computer, tablet or smartphone. It adjusts to the screen/device you are using. We strongly recommend you bookmark it or create a shortcut on your desktop or phone.

How do I end a HealthElife session? 

To keep your information safe, always click the Sign Out link at the bottom left of the menu where you see your name, then close the internet browser.

Why do I have to have my ID verified?

For security reasons, we need to verify who you are. During face-to-face appointments such as a lab test or X-ray, we verify your ID in person and then can give you a unique PIN. However, if you have not recently had an appointment, we need to verify who you are before giving you a PIN. You can either do this virtually or by coming to the registration desk of your local health information department. During the pandemic, we recommend using the virtual method.

Why are some reports released earlier than others?

The delays give your family doctor or nurse practitioner time to review the report and contact you if needed.

How long do I have to wait to see my results?

The current delays are: Up to 24 hours for lab tests, 3 days for pathology results, and 7 days for medical imaging.

Why don’t I see the image from my scan along with the report?

Radiologists get images for review and interpretation; HealthElife shows you the summary report from the radiologist. As well, imaging files are very large, and they require special viewing software.

I know I had a specific test done. Why doesn’t it show up in HealthElife?

• HealthElife currently shows only part of your health record, but we hope to expand this over time. If you think a particular test should be shown, please contact the health records department of your local health information department.
• Even though your test was done at a Northern Health site, it might be sent to another organization for processing, (e.g., the BC Centre for Disease Control). We’re currently working through a rigorous approval process so that we can share all results within HealthElife.
• Some examples of results Northern Health is unable to share at this time:
  • Mammograms
  • Autopsies

Why do results only go back to 2007? And why are some available only from 2020 on?

• Starting in 2007, Northern Health began using our Cerner digital hospital EMR (electronic medical record) system.
• Before 2020, radiology results might have been in paper or digital form.
• For more information, please contact the health records department of your local health information department.

Are all COVID-19 test results available in HealthElife?

Yes. As of December 16, 2020 all COVID-19 results will be available through HealthElife.

Why are my COVID-19 test results not showing in HealthElife?

This is because your results haven't been processed yet.

How do I get access to COVID-19 results that don’t show in HealthElife?

To learn more about getting your COVID results by text or phone, go to the BCCDC’s Test Results page

I have a general question about my health information in HealthElife. Who should I talk to?

For general inquiries or questions about medical topics, visit HealthLinkBC. Please do not contact the lab or medical imaging department. If you would like to talk to someone, please contact your family doctor or nurse practitioner.

I went to a walk-in clinic or emergency room. Who do I contact about my test results and medical imaging reports?

For any questions about your health information in HealthElife, please contact your family doctor or nurse practitioner. If you don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, go back to the walk-in clinic to discuss your results with the doctor or nurse practitioner who ordered the test.

What if I have questions about my health or health services in my community?

Contact your family doctor or nurse practitioner. If you don’t have one, visit HealthLinkBC.ca for non-urgent health advice and information:

• Health service navigators can help you find health services in your community and registered nurses can provide health information and advice day or night.
• Qualified exercise professionals can answer your physical activity questions and registered dietitians offer nutrition counselling, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm.
• Licensed pharmacists are available 5 pm to 9 am every day when many local pharmacies may be closed.
• Translation services are available in 130 languages.

You can call HealthLinkBC for free by dialing 8-1-1, or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing. 

• Please note: If your local telephone provider does not support 8-1-1 dialing, you can call 1-604-215-8110.

How do you keep my health information private and safe?

The privacy and security of your health information is very important to Northern Health:

• HealthElife is hosted on a system that’s as secure as some banking or financial systems. This ensures your health information remains private and safe.
• Your passwords and data are encrypted (converted into code to prevent unauthorized access) and the system is monitored and audited to identify privacy breaches.
• However, you should always follow best practices for passwords, including using a password that’s different from other passwords you might have.
• HealthElife also has an Access Logs feature so you can see who accessed your health information and when.
• For more information, please review our privacy policy and terms of use.

What personal information does HealthElife collect from me, and why?

• Northern Health takes your privacy very seriously and when enrolling you for HealthElife, we collect only the personal information we need.
• This information is collected under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of BC (FIPPA)and includes your first name, last name, date of birth, gender, and personal health number (PHN), which are used to identify you in Northern Health’s hospital electronic health record system.
• We will also ask for your email address so we can send you an automated HealthElife invitation email that you can use to complete your account setup.

What security safeguards does HealthElife have in place?

• HealthElife is securely hosted in Canada by Amazon Web Services. The portal has similar security technologies in place as banks use for online banking portals. If you are concerned that your account may have been compromised, reset your password immediately. Then contact HealthElife Technical Support at 1-877-767-1046 (available 24/7) to report your concerns.

What can I do to ensure my health information in HealthElife remains secure?

• Keep your HealthElife logon ID and password safe, and don’t share them with anyone.
• If you decide to download or print your personal health details from HealthElife, you are responsible for keeping them safe.
• Don’t access HealthElife from publicly accessible devices or networks (such as Internet café kiosks and other public Internet access points) – this is a security risk.
• Don’t access your health information in public areas where others can easily see your computer screen.
• Always sign out of your session by clicking the Sign Out link at the bottom left of the menu where you see your name. Then close the internet browser.

The web link you sent me to reset my password/login isn’t working. Why?

To keep your information safe, the link works for only a short period of time. If you’re still having trouble, please call HealthElife technical support at 1-877-767-1046 (available 24/7).

How do I get help for other HealthElife technical issues?

Please call HealthElife technical support at 1-877-767-1046 (available 24/7).

Some of my health information is wrong or missing. How do I fix it?

Please contact your local health information department, who will start the process.

How do I cancel my HealthElife account?

Please contact your local health information department, who will start the process.