The Jefferson Health patient portal — branded as MyJeffersonHealth and powered by the Epic MyChart platform — is more capable than most patients ever use. People typically create an account after a hospital visit to look at one lab result, and never return. This is a missed opportunity. The portal gives you genuine control over your healthcare: you can see results before a follow-up appointment, message your care team without waiting on hold, manage prescriptions, book appointments yourself, and share your records with other providers. This article goes through every major feature in detail, so you actually know what you have access to.
Getting Into the Portal — Setup and First Login
The MyJeffersonHealth portal is accessed at myjeffersonhealth.org. Before you can log in, you need an account. There are three ways to create one:
Activation Code (After a Visit)
After any appointment at a Jefferson Health facility — outpatient visit, emergency room, scheduled procedure — you should receive an activation code in your after-visit summary or by email. This code is valid for 90 days. Go to myjeffersonhealth.org, click “Sign Up Now,” enter the code along with your date of birth and ZIP code, and follow the prompts to create your username and password. This is the most straightforward method.
Self-Verification (No Code Needed)
If you have been seen at Jefferson Health but did not receive a code, you can verify your identity directly on the signup page using your legal name, date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security Number. This method requires that your information in Jefferson’s records exactly matches what you enter. If there is a discrepancy — a name variation, an old address — the verification will fail and you will need to use the third option.
Request Access by Phone
Call Jefferson Health Patient Services at 1-833-JEFF-123 (1-833-533-3123). A representative will send an activation code to the email address on your patient record. If you are not sure which email is on file, tell the representative and they can confirm the last few characters. The code arrives within a few minutes and is valid for 90 days.
Test Results — What You See, When You See It, and Why Some Results Are Delayed
Test results are one of the most-used features of any patient portal, and MyJeffersonHealth is no different. When your results are ready, they appear in the portal under Test Results in the main navigation. Clicking any result opens the full lab report, including reference ranges and — for many tests — a brief explanation of what the result means.
Most routine blood work and urine tests appear within 24 to 48 hours of your sample reaching the lab. Rapid tests done in-office (strep, flu, COVID, urinalysis) may appear the same day. Imaging results — X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds — depend on when the radiologist completes their interpretation. This typically takes 24 to 96 hours after the scan, though urgent findings are reported more quickly.
Some results are released with a brief delay built in by your provider. This is intentional. For results that are likely to be distressing or require significant explanation — certain pathology results, oncology markers, genetic testing — providers often choose to review the result and potentially call you before it appears in the portal. If you are awaiting results for something significant and they do not appear within the expected timeframe, it may be worth calling your provider’s office rather than assuming no news is good news.
When an abnormal result is released, the portal marks it clearly. You may also receive a notification via the MyChart app or email that a new result is available. Your provider should follow up on clinically significant abnormal results, but if you see something marked abnormal and have not heard anything within a few days, send a message through the portal asking about it.
Messaging Your Doctor — How It Works and When Not to Use It
The secure messaging feature in MyJeffersonHealth lets you send a message directly to your provider’s care team. To use it: click Messages in the main menu, select Send a Message, choose your provider from the list, select a subject from the dropdown, and type your message.
Most care teams respond within one to three business days. Some providers are faster; some high-volume practices take the full three days. For non-urgent questions — a medication question, a request for a referral, clarification about instructions you received — MyChart messaging is the right tool. It creates a documented record of the exchange and you do not have to wait on hold.
Not all Jefferson Health providers are accessible through MyChart messaging. If your provider is not in the list when you try to send a message, it means they have not enabled this feature or they receive messages through a shared inbox for their practice. In that case, call the clinic directly.
One important limitation: do not use MyChart for urgent medical concerns. If you are having chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe pain, signs of a stroke, or any symptom that might require immediate attention, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. MyChart messages are not monitored in real time and are not appropriate for emergencies. Even “same-day” responses are not guaranteed.
Booking Appointments — What You Can Schedule Online vs. What Requires a Call
MyJeffersonHealth allows online appointment booking for many visit types. Click Appointments in the navigation, then Schedule an Appointment. You can search for a provider by name, or search by specialty and location to find available providers near you. Both in-person visits and video visits (telehealth) can be scheduled through the portal.
The appointment types available online include primary care annual wellness visits, follow-up appointments with established providers, many specialty visits, and video visits for conditions that can be assessed remotely. New patient appointments with specialists often cannot be scheduled online — you typically need a referral from a primary care provider, and the specialist’s office manages that scheduling manually. If you cannot find scheduling options for a provider you want to see, call the office directly.
After scheduling, you will receive a confirmation in both your email and your MyChart notifications. Appointment reminders are sent automatically one week and one day before your appointment. You can cancel or reschedule appointments from the portal up to 24 hours before your appointment time — cancellations within 24 hours typically require a phone call to the office.
Prescription Refills — The Correct Way to Request Through the Portal
For ongoing medications, MyJeffersonHealth makes refill requests straightforward. Click Medications in the menu. You will see a list of all medications currently associated with your care at Jefferson Health. Find the medication you need refilled and click Request Refill. Select your preferred pharmacy from your saved pharmacy list or enter a new pharmacy. Submit the request.
Refill requests go to your prescribing provider for review. Most are processed within two to three business days. The prescription is sent electronically to your pharmacy — you do not receive a paper prescription. Your pharmacy will contact you or send you a notification when the prescription is ready for pickup.
Controlled substances (Schedule II medications like some ADHD medications and strong pain medications) generally cannot be refilled through the portal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. These typically require an in-person or telehealth appointment. If you attempt to request a refill for a controlled substance through MyChart and it does not go through, call your provider’s office to schedule an appointment.
If you realize you are running low on a medication, request the refill at least a week before you run out. Requests submitted on a Friday afternoon may not be processed until Monday, and your pharmacy may need additional time to fill the prescription.
Video Visits — What They Cover and How to Prepare
Jefferson Health offers telehealth appointments through MyJeffersonHealth for a wide range of conditions. Video visits are appropriate for follow-up appointments after a stable condition, medication management, minor illness evaluation (cold, sinus infection, UTI symptoms), mental health check-ins, and many specialty consultations where a physical exam is not necessary. They are not appropriate for conditions requiring blood draws, imaging, or a hands-on physical examination.
To join a video visit, log in to the portal or open the MyChart app about 15 minutes before your scheduled time. Navigate to your upcoming appointment and click Begin Visit when the button becomes active. Your camera and microphone must be enabled — the portal will prompt you to grant permissions if they are not already allowed. Use Google Chrome on a desktop or laptop for the most reliable experience; the MyChart mobile app works well on most modern smartphones.
You will be placed in a virtual waiting room until your provider joins. Most providers join within five to ten minutes of the scheduled time. If you have been waiting more than fifteen minutes, refresh the page — occasionally the notification of the provider joining does not update automatically.
Sharing Your Records and Managing Family Access
Two features that most patients do not know exist: record sharing and proxy access.
Sharing Records With Another Provider
If you are seeing a specialist outside the Jefferson Health network, you can share your Jefferson Health medical records electronically through MyChart. Go to Menu → Sharing → Share My Record. You can generate a share code that a provider at another institution can use to access your records, or you can request that Jefferson Health send records directly to another provider or institution. This is faster and more reliable than requesting paper records and waiting for them to be faxed.
Proxy Access — Managing a Family Member’s Account
Parents can access their children’s MyJeffersonHealth accounts through their own login. For children under 12, parents automatically have full access. For teenagers aged 12 to 17, access is more limited due to privacy laws around adolescent health (reproductive health, mental health, substance abuse). At 18, the young adult’s account becomes fully private — parents lose access unless the adult child grants it explicitly.
Adult patients can also grant a trusted person — a spouse, partner, or caregiver — access to their MyChart account as a proxy. The proxy can see the account, manage appointments, and communicate with the care team on the patient’s behalf. To set up adult proxy access, go to Menu → Sharing → Share My Record → Invite Someone, and enter the person’s email address. They will receive an invitation to link to your account within their own MyChart profile.
Billing and Payment Through the Portal
MyJeffersonHealth allows you to view and pay bills directly through the portal. Click Billing in the main menu to see your current account balance, outstanding statements, and payment history. You can pay by card directly through the portal, set up a payment plan for larger balances, or apply for financial assistance if you qualify.
The portal also provides itemized statements showing what you were charged for each visit and what your insurance covered. If you see a charge you do not recognize or believe was billed incorrectly, use the billing portal to send a message to the billing department, or call Jefferson Health billing services at 1-833-JEFF-123. You can also find billing guidance on the Jefferson Health billing and insurance page.
Call 1-833-JEFF-123 (1-833-533-3123) for MyJeffersonHealth patient services, including MyChart account help, activation codes, and billing questions. Lines are open Monday through Friday during business hours.
Log in at myjeffersonhealth.org and click on ‘Health’ in the main navigation. From there you can access your health summary, problem list, medications, allergies, immunizations, and visit summaries. For a full record download, go to Menu → Sharing → Download My Record to export your records in a structured format.
Yes. Emergency room visits at Jefferson Health facilities are included in your MyChart record. You can view your ER visit summary, any labs or imaging ordered during the visit, and discharge instructions through the portal. The visit appears in your visit history under Care Visits.
Not all Jefferson Health providers have enabled the MyChart messaging feature, or they may receive messages through a shared clinic inbox rather than an individual inbox. If your provider is not in the list, call their clinic directly. Some high-volume practices prefer phone contact to manage message volume.
Log in and click Health → Immunizations. Vaccinations administered at Jefferson Health facilities appear here. For a downloadable vaccination record, go to Menu → Sharing → Download My Record. Note that vaccines given at pharmacies or other health systems may not appear unless those records were shared with Jefferson Health.
You can request a referral by sending a message to your primary care provider through MyChart. However, your PCP will typically want to see you before issuing a referral for a new concern, and many insurance plans require a telehealth or in-person visit before a referral is approved. If you need an urgent referral, call your provider’s office directly rather than using MyChart messaging.