Privacy Statement

At Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre we believe that your health information deserves to be treated with respect and sensitivity and that your privacy must be protected. We are committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of all personal health information. Access to your personal health information is available to those who are involved in your ongoing care and treatment.

Collection of Personal Health Information:

We collect personal health information about you directly from you or from the person acting on your behalf. The personal health information that we collect may include, for example, your name, date of birth, address, health history, records of your visits to TBRHSC, and the care that you received during those visits. Occasionally we collect personal health information about you from other sources as permitted by law.

Uses and Disclosures of Personal Health Information

We use and disclose your personal health information to:

• To treat and provide care
• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements
• To obtain payment for your care
• To improve our health services efficiency
• To carry out quality assurance activities to improve care and support TBRHSC research programs, risk management activities, education activities, fundraising and promotion

Personal health information may be disclosed to a prescribed planning entity for the purposes of analysis, or compiling statistics with respect to the management of, evaluation or monitoring of, the allocation of resources to or planning for all or part of the health system without the consent of the patient provided the entity meets requirements outlined in the Personal Health Information Protection Act. Four prescribed planning entities in Ontario are Cancer Care Ontario, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario.

Important Information:

• We take steps to protect your personal health information from theft, loss, and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure, and disposal.
• We conduct audits and complete investigations to monitor and manage our privacy compliance.
• We take steps to ensure that everyone who performs services for us protect your privacy and only use your personal health information for the purposes you have consented to.
• Your personal health information is in a shared electronic information system and is available to health care providers involved in your care.
• Your personal health information can be disclosed to:
  • You, your legal guardian or substitute decision maker
  • Health care providers involved in your care
  • Government agencies [i.e. Workplace Safety & Insurance Board], or if you give your consent, your private insurer to get payment for your treatment or care
  • Provincial Electronic Health Records and Health Information Networks [i.e. eHealth ConnectingOntario, Ontario Laboratory Information System (OLIS) and Northern and Eastern Ontario Diagnostic Imaging Network (NEODIN), Integrated Assessment Record (IAR), Electronic Child Health Network (eCHN)]

Your Choices:

You may access and correct your personal health records, or withdraw your consent for some of the above uses and disclosures by contacting us (subject to legal exceptions). Family physicians routinely receive copies of hospital reports unless you notify us otherwise.

How to Contact Us

To contact our Privacy Officer, please email TBRHSC.Privacy@tbh.net.

For more information about our privacy protection practices, or to raise a concern you have with our practices, contact us at:

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

You have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario if you think we have violated your rights. The Commissioner can be reached at:

 Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario

eHealth ConnectingOntario

ConnectingOntario enables doctors and clinicians to share your medical information in a safe, secure digital format that will improve the care you receive. This means that authorized members of your health care team have immediate access to your important personal health information including:

Medical history, Medication information, Emergency department visits, Lab results, Hospital reports, Home care services information, Diagnostic Imaging reports and images (e.g. X-rays). https://www.ehealthontario.on.ca

Contact eHealth Ontario at 1-866-250-1554 or privacy@ehealthontario.on.ca:

• If you don’t want to share your information in ConnectingOntario
• To receive copies of your information from ConnectingOntario
• To request a correction to your information in ConnectingOntario
• To make an inquiry

Ontario Lab Information System (OLIS)

The Ontario Laboratories Information System enables hospitals, community laboratories, public health laboratories, public health labs and physicians to securely access lab test results. https://www.ehealthontario.on.ca
If you wish to restrict access to your information in OLIS, please contact Service Ontario at 1-800-291-1405 (TTY 1-800-387-5559).

Northern and Eastern Ontario Diagnostic Imaging Network (NEODIN)

Diagnostic Imaging Repository includes images, xrays, CTs, MRIs etc collected from all 66 hospital sites in Northern and Eastern Ontario and makes them available for viewing to health service providers involved in providing care to you.

If you wish to restrict access to your information in NEODIN, please contact the TBRHSC Privacy Officer.

Integrated Assessment Record (IAR)

The Integrated Assessment Record (IAR) is a tool that provides a central repository for data collected from multiple assessments for clients and allows health service providers involved with your care to view your previous assessment information from other care providers.

If you wish to restrict access to your information in IAR, please contact the TBRHSC Privacy Officer.

Electronic Child Health Network (eCHN)

The electronic Child Health Network (eCHN) was established in 1999 and is operated as a not-for profit, government funded organization, dedicated to using modern technology to promote the sharing of paediatric health care data, information and knowledge among health care providers for the purpose of medical care. It is designed to provide the communications infrastructure to support children’s health services in Ontario.

If you wish to restrict access to your child’s information in eCHN, please contact the TBRHSC Privacy Officer.