What Parents Should Know About MyChart® Proxy Access for Teens Ages 12-17

As children grow into adolescence, their medical privacy rights grow with them. That change often catches parents off guard—especially when it comes to MyChart. If your child is turning 12 soon or is in the 12-17 age range, here's what you need to know about how MyChart proxy access works and what steps you may need to take.

The Basics: What is MyChart proxy access?

Proxy access allows a designated person (the proxy) to gain access to another individual's MyChart account. If you have proxy access to someone's account, you can see their healthcare information, as well as your own, from within the same MyChart account. It is commonly used by parents for children, caregivers for elderly patients, or partners to manage health, appointments or billing. Learn more about setting up proxy access here.

Proxy Access Changes at Age 12

Due to Minnesota state statutes protecting minors' privacy, parents and legal guardians of teens ages 12-17 receive limited proxy access in MyChart.

This means that starting on the child's 12th birthday, parents can only view and act on certain parts of their teen's medical record, including:

• Scheduling appointments
• Messaging members of their child's care team
• View:
  • Upcoming appointments
  • Growth charts
  • Allergies
  • Immunizations
  • Preventative care recommendations

These privacy protections help support adolescents as they begin managing their own health and making age-appropriate decisions with their care teams.

Encourage Teens to Use Their Own MyChart Account

Beginning at age 12, teens can and should have their own MyChart account. This opens the door for them to start actively participating in their care.

How teens can sign up:

• Teens can sign up for their own MyChart account by visiting MyChart.CentraCare.com
  • Teens must use their own mobile phone number and email address (different from their parent's).
• If a teen doesn't have a mobile phone:
  • The teen should contact their clinic and ask a member of their care team to send an activation code to the child's email.

Because privacy laws prevent staff from creating an adolescent account at the request of a parent or guardian, the teen must be present for account setup—especially when calling the clinic or the MyChart Support Team.

How Parents Can Stay Connected

Even with limited access, parents can still stay informed about key aspects of their child's care. To view a teen's available information:

1. Log into your MyChart account.
2. Click the dropdown next to your profile picture in the upper right corner.
3. Select your teen's name to switch views.

If your teen does not appear in your patient list:

1. Go to the MyChart Menu.
2. Select Request Family Access.
3. Choose Request Access to a Minor's Records.

From there, you can complete a request to establish proxy access.

Make Communications Work for your Family

MyChart makes it easy for you and your teen to receive notifications in the way that fits best.

To review or update communication settings:

1. Open your MyChart Menu
2. Select Communication Preferences
3. Choose how you want to receive updates—email, text or both

Look for whether you're opted in to text messaging. If not, you'll see an option to subscribe on the right side of the screen.

These settings help ensure that nothing gets missed—whether it's an appointment reminder or an important follow-up.

Need Help? We're Here to Support You.

If you have questions about creating a teen account, viewing proxy information or navigating any part of MyChart, call the MyChart Support Team at 320-240-7897 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

For teen account creation, please call with your child present.

Visit our MyChart patient resources page for more MyChart tips, frequently asked questions and to see what's new.

MyChart® is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation.