Many clinics offer a patient portal where test results, visit summaries, appointment times, and messages live. Getting family access is often possible, but the rules differ from one office to the next. Before you ask for a login, find out what kind of access you are asking for, because seeing her results and messaging the office on her behalf are different permissions.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Ask what kind of access exists
Call the front desk and ask what family or proxy access looks like at that office. Ask whether they have a form, whether she must sign it in person or can sign it through the portal, and whether they need identification from you. Ask whether access can be limited to viewing, or whether it includes sending messages. Ask separately how refill requests are handled, since medication questions run between her, her doctor, and her pharmacy, and you should know what the portal allows before you assume anything.
Ask who the clinic will talk to
Portal access is not the same as a phone conversation. Ask who the office will speak with when they call about results or scheduling, and whether the consent on file covers you. Get that answer in writing, on the same form if possible. If she is in the hospital, ask whether the clinic can reach you there or whether her hospital chart is kept separately.
Check the settings before you need them
Ask where notifications go. An alert sent to her email works well if you can both read that inbox, and badly if nobody checks it. Ask whether she can revoke access at any time, how she does it, and whether the clinic will confirm the change. Ask whether an unused login expires, and what she needs to do if she forgets the password.
Talk to her first
She is the person whose privacy is involved. Tell her what you want to see and why. Some parents agree to viewing results but not messages, and some say no altogether. Take her answer as the answer, and ask the clinic what other way exists to get the information she is willing to share.
Tonight
Call the front desk or open the portal's help page. Write down the name of the access form, whether it needs her in person, and the direct number for the staff who handle it. Then ask her whether she already has a login, and if she does, whether she is comfortable with you seeing it.
What to leave with the doctor
Hand the doctor's office a short written list: the people you are authorized to hear from, the kinds of information you may receive, and the one number to call when a result is late. Ask them to confirm it is on her chart. A portal login only helps if the clinic knows who you are.