Short answer: Ask for proxy access. If their health system offers it, an adult patient can invite you from the Sharing Hub under Manage friends and family access; otherwise, or for a child, you request it from the health system, sometimes with a signed form. Each health system sets its own rules, including when a parent's access to a teen's record becomes limited. Once approved, you switch between accounts from your own MyChart login.
Proxy access lets you see another person's MyChart information from inside your own MyChart account. Epic, which makes MyChart, says that with proxy access you can see their health information and your own from within the same account, and that you move between accounts with the Switch menu in the top right corner.
There are two common ways to get it. The first is an invitation from the patient: Epic's help page describes going to the Sharing Hub, selecting Manage friends and family access, then Invite friends or family and entering the person's name and email address. The person invited confirms that they know the patient and then sees the information through their own account. The second is a request to the health system. Epic's help page notes that some organizations require you to contact them directly rather than setting it up yourself, and some require a signed paper form. If the invite option is not in the patient's MyChart, contact the health system to find out how it handles proxy access.
Epic and the three health systems below all describe the proxy using their own MyChart account, so create yours at that health system first. Epic says each healthcare organization sets its own policies around proxy access, including who can have it, so the steps at your parent's hospital may differ from the steps at your child's pediatric clinic. Look for a page called MyChart proxy access, Friends and Family Access or Sharing access on the health system's website, or ask the front desk at the next visit.
The table shows how three health systems that use MyChart describe the process on their own help pages. These are examples, not a rule for every organization.
| Health system (state) | Adult patient | Child under 12 | Teen 12 to 17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| M Health Fairview (Minnesota) | Adults may use the Sharing Hub to give full proxy access to other adults; court-appointed guardians and health care agents submit a form | Parents can request full access at a routine clinic visit or through MyChart Support | Access changes automatically to limited at 12 under Minnesota law; full access needs the teen to meet with their provider and both to sign the request form; for a teen unable to consent, the provider signs |
| University of Vermont Health (Vermont) | Patients 18 and older can invite others with the Proxy Invite feature, or use a request form signed by the patient or their legal representative; access lasts until the patient revokes it | Activated automatically for parents if the child is born at a UVM Health hospital; otherwise a form signed by the parent or legal guardian; converts automatically to default access at 12 | Form completed by the parent or guardian; the teen must also sign for full access; online submission not available |
| Loma Linda University Health (California) | Proxy access to a patient's account is revoked automatically at 18; to continue, the adult patient signs the Designated Proxy Access Form for Adults in person | Parents have full proxy access from birth through age 11, granted by Health Information Management or any clinic with evidence of parenthood or guardianship | Parent access is revoked automatically at 12; the teen can grant a restricted level by signing a form in person at the clinic, or arrange full access with the care team |
For an adult, the patient's own consent is the starting point. University of Vermont Health says adults who manage the medical care of someone 18 or older can request access, and that the patient or their legal representative must also sign the form. M Health Fairview says adult patients can use the Sharing Hub to grant full proxy access to other adults themselves.
If your parent can no longer decide for themselves, ask the health system what it needs. M Health Fairview, for example, asks court-appointed guardians to submit a form with their legal documents and revalidates that access every five years, and asks a person named as a health care agent to complete a form, with access lasting until the patient regains decision-making capacity. Loma Linda University Health says special circumstances involving incapacitated patients are reviewed case by case.
At M Health Fairview and University of Vermont Health, adult proxy access lasts until the patient revokes it. University of Vermont Health says a patient can call the doctor's office to remove a proxy, or remove it on the Friends and Family Access page in MyChart. Epic's family page describes adult proxy access as a way to help a spouse, partner, parent or other adult manage appointments, keep track of medications and understand test results.
For young children, parents get full access at all three health systems above. Loma Linda University Health grants parents full proxy access from birth through age 11, and Epic notes that parents can use MyChart to view a child's growth charts and immunization history.
Access changes as children get older. Epic says proxy access to a child's account changes with age because of privacy rights, and that each organization decides the ages at which access becomes limited or is removed. At all three health systems we checked, the change happens at 12. Depending on the organization, a parent's access may be revoked automatically (Loma Linda University Health) or switched to a limited or default level (M Health Fairview, University of Vermont Health). Fuller access generally needs the teen's agreement and signature, except that at M Health Fairview, for a teen who is unable to consent, the provider can approve full access.
Teen confidentiality is the reason. Loma Linda University Health explains that, under California law, the care team cannot share sensitive information with parents or legal guardians without the teen's written authorization. It lists family planning, contraception, pregnancy and abortion; sexually transmitted diseases and some other infectious diseases; and some cases involving rape or sexual assault, mental health treatment or treatment for substance abuse. M Health Fairview says teens can choose to share information with their parents but are not required to. State law differs, so the same request can have a different answer in another state.
What a limited proxy can see is set by each health system. The table below reproduces Loma Linda University Health's own chart for its standard proxy level; check your teen's health system for its list. Loma Linda's page also describes an administrative level, and uses both names for the level the teen form grants. Full proxy access there gives the same access the teen has and is arranged with the care team during a visit. Loma Linda also says teens can revoke proxy access on their own in MyChart at any time.
At all three health systems we checked, access to a minor's record ends at 18. M Health Fairview, University of Vermont Health and Loma Linda University Health all say a parent's proxy access to a minor ends when the patient turns 18 (or earlier if the teen revokes it, at University of Vermont Health and Loma Linda). M Health Fairview says that, for a teen unable to consent and if the provider approves, access can run to 19 to allow time for guardianship to be obtained. After that, the young adult can grant an adult proxy if they choose.
MyChart proxy levels are portal settings. They are not a full statement of anyone's legal right to a record. For questions about your legal right to a family member's records, ask the health system's Health Information Management or medical records office. This page is general information, not legal advice.
| MyChart feature (Loma Linda University Health chart) | Standard proxy access |
|---|---|
| eCheck-In, secure messaging with the care team | Yes |
| Request, view and cancel appointments | Yes |
| Payment and account balance | Yes |
| Clinical visit notes and after-visit summaries | Limited view |
| Review problem list | Not available |
| View medications and request refills | Not available |
| Review allergies, immunizations and growth charts | Yes |
| View labs and test results | Immunizations and growth charts only |
| Health reminders | Yes |
| History | Family history only |
If you help an aging parent or spouse, especially after a dementia diagnosis, two questions come up: how to get into their MyChart, and whether a message you send will look like it came from them. The answer starts with one question: can the person still make their own health care decisions?
If they can still consent. Set up proxy access while they can approve it themselves. For an adult, the patient grants it: Henry Ford Health says patients 18 and older must grant proxy access to family members through MyChart and can ask a staff member for help, and Virtua Health says full proxy access to an adult is granted at the patient's request and can be revoked by that patient at any time. The University of Kansas Health System asks families to set up proxy access rather than share passwords, says no one should use someone else's username or password to get into their account, and says proxy access means you can still reach the account if the patient is ever unable to give you their passcodes. Epic says a proxy sees the patient's information through their own MyChart account. Spouses are no exception: University Hospitals, Henry Ford Health and Virtua Health each say two people cannot share one MyChart account, and Henry Ford suggests requesting proxy access for each other.
If they can no longer decide for themselves. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 164.502(g), when a person has authority under applicable law to make health care decisions for an adult, a health care provider or other organization covered by HIPAA must treat that person as the adult's personal representative for the health information relevant to that role, with limited exceptions, for example where it believes that person may be endangering the patient (164.502(g)(5)). Whether a particular document, such as a health care power of attorney or a guardianship order, gives that authority depends on state law and on the document itself. Being a personal representative is also not the same as having MyChart proxy access, which each organization sets up under its own policy. Some health systems ask for legal paperwork. University Health in San Antonio says adults who cannot make and understand their health care decisions may have an adult proxy through a medical power of attorney, a legal guardianship or a court-ordered guardianship, with legal documentation of the relationship. Henry Ford Health lets a legal guardian of an incapacitated adult request proxy access, with the guardianship paperwork on file, and says a medical durable power of attorney document verifies authority to discuss, not access, the patient's information. Inova says that if a family member with diminished capacity is under your care, you may set up proxy access from their provider's office. M Health Fairview's forms for guardians and health care agents are described earlier on this page. Ask the health system's MyChart support or medical records office exactly which documents it accepts. This is general information, not legal advice.
What a proxy can see and do. Epic says each healthcare organization decides what a proxy can see and do in MyChart, and that when you view someone's account as a proxy, the name of that account appears at the top of the activity. Four examples from health systems' own pages:
| Health system | What an adult's proxy can do | Limits it states |
|---|---|---|
| University Hospitals (Cleveland) | The patient picks one of three adult levels: clinical information (health information, scheduling and messaging providers), view clinical information (read-only), or scheduling and messaging only. Its proxy description includes viewing health history, test results and after-visit summaries, requesting refills, managing appointments and sending secure messages to the care team, at the levels that include them. | Proxy access does not make the proxy responsible for the bill; the guarantor can grant billing access separately. Only the patient can invite another proxy. |
| Virtua Health | A full adult proxy can see, download and transmit medical information, view and send messages, request appointments and medication refills, and see and edit certain profile information. | A proxy cannot add or delete another proxy or change the patient's email account, username or password. |
| Henry Ford Health | The proxy logs in to their own MyChart account and connects to the family member's information. | Only the patient can reset a MyChart password. |
| Emplify Health | Its adult proxy form offers full access: clinical information such as test results and medications, plus messaging and scheduling. | Limited access shows clinical information but does not allow messaging or scheduling. |
Will a message look like it came from the patient? Two health systems' proxy forms touch on this. NeighborCare Health's form says proxy activity in MyChart is tracked by computer audit and that any entries a proxy makes on the patient's behalf will be identified as such and may become part of the patient's medical record. Emplify Health's adult proxy form says activities in MyChart are tracked and that messages the proxy submits become part of the permanent medical record. We did not find an Epic page that shows exactly how a proxy's message is labeled for the care team, so ask the health system if it matters to you.
Send the message from the right account. John Muir Health and Henry Ford Health say a question about a family member sent from your own MyChart would go into your own record, and Children's Mercy tells parents to select the correct person's profile before messaging. MyChart messages are not for emergencies: for urgent needs, call the care team, or 911.
Family members may get care at different health systems. A parent may see a cardiologist at one hospital and a primary care doctor at another, and a child may have a pediatrician, a dentist and a specialist in different places. Because each organization sets its own proxy policy, expect a separate request, and possibly different rules, at each health system that uses MyChart.
Inside MyChart, a few features help. The Switch menu moves you between your own account and the accounts you can access as a proxy. Epic's Happy Together feature lets a person link their own MyChart accounts from different organizations on the Link My Accounts page so they see their information in one view, if both organizations take part; Epic notes it might not be available yet, depending on the health system's version of Epic. Epic also offers MyChart Central, a single login for MyChart accounts at participating organizations. Epic says MyChart Central does not display your family's health information: if you have proxy access, you select Friends and family on a linked account card to see the accounts you can access at that organization, then go to that organization's MyChart to view them.
Some practical habits make the job easier. Keep a short list for each family member of every place they receive care, which MyChart account belongs to it, and whether you have full or limited access there. Note the dates a child turns 12 and 18, because access may change on those days. When you download or print a record, add the person's name to the file name so records for different family members do not get mixed up.
Records outside MyChart, such as those from a therapist who uses a different portal, a pharmacy, or papers from a visit, will not appear in a MyChart proxy view. Keeping them together for someone else should always be done with that person's agreement and within what their health system allows.
PatientPower (beyondmychart.com) is an independent personal health record app. Its Epic MyChart connection is live and was approved for use on 16 September 2026; that approval does not mean Epic endorses PatientPower, and PatientPower is not affiliated with or endorsed by Epic. PatientPower does not replace MyChart proxy access and has no proxy feature like MyChart's; the sharing tools on its features page are described for practitioners and doctors. Keep using MyChart to message a care team, schedule appointments or pay bills for a family member.
PatientPower's privacy policy says the service is intended for adults and for caregivers acting on behalf of someone they are authorized to assist, and that it is not directed to children under 13. Its terms say the user decides whether to share their information with a clinician, caregiver or anyone else, and can revoke that sharing at any time. A teen's records should be added only with the teen's agreement and within what their health system allows.
Features that are live today include: connecting MyChart accounts from Epic health systems; adding other records by hand, with an AI that can read a PDF or a photo of a document; sharing chosen categories, for a set time and with access that can be revoked, with a practitioner found in the PatientPower directory; a revocable, time-limited read-only summary link for a doctor who is not on PatientPower; a printable emergency card with allergies, current medications and an emergency contact; and support groups by condition, including groups for caregivers. The sharing tools are designed for practitioners and doctors. PatientPower is for education and organization, not medical advice.
Related: How to organize MyChart records from multiple providers · How to download your MyChart records · Connect your Epic MyChart records to PatientPower · Is it safe to connect third-party apps to MyChart?.
If their health system offers it, your parent can invite you from the Sharing Hub in their MyChart, under Manage friends and family access. If it does not, contact the health system: some require a signed proxy form from the patient or their legal representative. You need your own MyChart account at that health system.
Only partly at the three health systems we checked. At each of them, a parent's access is limited or removed when a child turns 12, and fuller access generally needs the teen's signature. Epic says each organization sets its own ages and rules, and state law matters: in California, sensitive services such as contraception, mental health or substance use treatment are not shared without the teen's written authorization.
At M Health Fairview, University of Vermont Health and Loma Linda University Health, a parent's proxy access to a minor's record ends at 18 (M Health Fairview can extend it to 19 for a teen unable to consent while guardianship is obtained). After that, the young adult can grant a parent adult proxy access if they choose.
No. With proxy access you use your own MyChart login and switch between your account and the accounts you can access with the Switch menu. You do need your own MyChart account at each health system where you have proxy access.
Not through a single MyChart proxy view. Each health system sets its own proxy policy, and Epic says MyChart Central does not display family members' health information; you open each organization's MyChart to view it. Epic's Happy Together links a person's own MyChart accounts from participating organizations.
At University of Vermont Health, the patient can remove a proxy on the Friends and Family Access page in MyChart or call the doctor's office. At Loma Linda University Health, teens can revoke a parent's proxy access in MyChart on their own. Ask your health system how it handles removal.
If your parent can still make decisions, ask them to grant it now, from the Sharing Hub or with the health system's proxy form. If they cannot, ask the health system what it needs: University Health in San Antonio asks for legal documentation of a medical power of attorney or guardianship, Henry Ford Health lets a legal guardian request access, and Inova says proxy access for a family member with diminished capacity can be set up at their provider's office.
Not automatically. The HIPAA Privacy Rule (45 CFR 164.502(g)) treats a person with legal authority to make an adult's health care decisions as their personal representative, but MyChart proxy access is set by each health system. University Health in San Antonio accepts a medical power of attorney, with legal documentation, for adults who cannot make and understand their own health care decisions; Henry Ford Health says that document verifies authority to discuss, not access, the patient's information. This is not legal advice.
No, at University Hospitals, Henry Ford Health and Virtua Health: each adult needs their own MyChart account. Henry Ford Health suggests requesting proxy access for each other instead.
Two health systems' proxy forms say proxy activity is tracked. NeighborCare Health's form says entries a proxy makes on the patient's behalf will be identified as such and may become part of the medical record, and Emplify Health's form says messages a proxy submits become part of the permanent medical record. We did not find an Epic page that says how a proxy's message is labeled for the care team; ask the health system. Switch to the patient's account before writing, so the message goes into their record rather than yours.
It depends on the health system and the access level. At Virtua Health a full adult proxy can see, download and transmit medical information, send messages, and request appointments and refills, but cannot add or delete proxies or change the patient's email, username or password. University Hospitals lets the adult patient choose clinical access, read-only access, or scheduling and messaging only.
Ask the child's health system for its proxy form and what proof it needs. M Health Fairview asks legal custodians, foster parents, stepparents, non-custodial parents and people with shared parental authority to complete its proxy request form with legal documents or the custodial parent's approval, and foster parents and those with shared parental authority must update the documents every year. Inova asks each parent who wants access to complete their own form.