Privacy Principles

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) abides by the following 10 principles in handling personal health information.

  1. Accountability – TBRHSC is responsible for personal health information under their control and has designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for its compliance with the principles.
  2. Identifying Purposes – TBRHSC will identify the purposes for which personal health information is collected at or before the time the information is collected.
  3. Consent – The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information.
  4. Limiting Collection – TBRHSC will limit the collection of personal health information to that which is necessary for the purposes identified.
  5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention – Personal health information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than that we state. Personal health information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
  6. Accuracy – Personal health information will be as accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
  7. Safeguards – Personal health information will be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
  8. Openness – TBRHSC will make available to individuals specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal health information.
  9. Individual Access – Upon request, an individual will be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal health information and will be given access to that information. An individual will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
  10. Challenging Compliance – An individual will be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the preceding principles to the designated individual accountable for the organization’s compliance.