An elderly Nova Scotia couple has been forced into making some difficult financial decisions after being slapped with a big bill to get access to their medical records.

Eighty-seven-year-old Grace Cove and her 92-year-old husband Wyman Cove have been seeing the same doctor in Amherst, N.S., for two decades.

With complex health needs, they rely on a doctor who knows their medical history.

But when they learned their doctor was closing his practice and leaving town, they didn't expect their medical records would be gone too.

"I called and they said I'd have to pay $309 and so many cents to get them," said Grace Cove. "They would send them to me, but I have to give them the money first."

Grace has had a serious illness, numerous surgeries, and is on multiple medications.

Wyman has Alzheimer's and an implanted pacemaker.

Their niece, Beverly Harvey, says having access to their records could be a life-or-death situation.

She called the toll-free number provided by the clinic. It was a company in Ontario called Record Storage and Retrieval Services.

"There's got to be something that they can do," Harvey said. "What if they cannot pay? She said 'I cannot help you anymore.'"

The company specializes in medical record storage for clinics that close throughout the country. They will release the information to patients for a price, but the elderly couple says they can't afford to pay the bill.

"It's quite a bit, quite a bit," Grace Cove said. "Especially in the winter. We pay over $1,000 for heat for the electric and the stove, too, so it's bad. It's hard."

The group representing doctors in Nova Scotia says handing over documents is a big administrative task and can be expensive. Many contract this service out to companies to help.

"It can be a fairly big undertaking, and it's a non-insured service in Nova Scotia, so often times the patient is charged," said Kevin Chapman, the director of finance and partnership with Doctors Nova Scotia.

One solution is digital records, which are easily transferrable, but at this point, it's a little too late for the couple.

Grace and Wyman Cove have managed to get another doctor in Amherst. She's starting her practice on Oct. 1, but unless the couple can find a way to pay for their medical records, their new doctor may not have critical information about their medical history.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Amy Stoodley.