The Powassan and Area’s Family Health Team’s mission is to engage and empower our patients, families and communities to support health and wellness. As part of our mission, we are committed to promoting privacy and protecting the confidentiality of the health information we hold about you. Our doctors belong to a Family Health Organization and area each health information custodians under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA). For the purposes of privacy obligations, the Powassan and Area Family Health Team and our staff are agents of the Family Health Organization for the physicians patient records. The Powassan and Area Family Health Team is the health information custodian for records of people that have clinical interaction with our team and are not patients of our physicians.
Your Health Record
Your health record includes information relevant to your health including your date of birth, contact information, health history, family health history, record of your visits, the care and support you received during those visits, results from tests and procedures, and information from other health care providers.
Our Practices
We collect, use and disclose your health information to:
- Treat and care for you
- Deliver our programs
- Plan, administer and manage our internal operations
- Be paid or process, monitor, verify or reimburse claims for payment
- Provide appointment reminders to you
- Conduct risk management, error management and quality improvement activities
- Educate our staff and students
- Dispose of your information
- Seek your consent (or consent of a substitute decision maker) where appropriate
- Respond to or initiate proceedings
- Conduct research (subject to certain rules)
- Compile statistics
- Allow for the analysis, administration and management of the health system
- Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
- Fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law
Our collection, use and disclosure of your health information are done in accordance with Ontario law.
Your Choices
For most health care purposes, your consent to use your health information is implied as a result of your consent to treatment, unless you tell us otherwise. We may also collect, use and share your health information in order to communicate or consult with other health care providers about your care unless you tell us you do not want us to do so. There are other circumstances where we are not allowed to assume we have your consent to share information. For example, we must have permission to give your health information to people who do not provide you with health care, like your insurance company or your employer. We may also need consent to communicate with any family members or friends with whom you would like us to give more detailed information about your health. If we ask for your consent, you may choose not to give consent. If consent is given, you may withdraw consent at any time, but the withdrawal cannot be retrospective. The withdrawal may also be subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. However, there are some cases where we may collect, use or disclose (meaning share) your health information without your consent as permitted or required by law. For example, we do not require consent for using or disclosing your information for billing, risk management or quality improvement purposes or to fulfill mandatory reporting obligations.
Your Privacy Questions and Concerns
If you would like a copy of our Privacy Policy, please go to www.paafht.ca under the Information for Patients. We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about our privacy practices. Please ask to speak with one of our Privacy Officers - the Executive Director or Lead Physician. If, after contacting us, you feel that your concerns have not been addressed to your satisfaction, you have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at 1-800-387-0073.