Personal Health Information

What is Personal Health Information?

Personal health information means any information that identifies an individual and relates to his/her physical or mental health, including information about family health history, and any information that identifies the individual’s Substitute Decision Maker.

Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act establishes the rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information.  The Act creates a comprehensive approach to protecting personal health information across the health care system.

Momiji tenants and clients have the right to access, correct or withdraw consent for the uses and disclosures of their personal health information, by contacting:

Support Services Manager
3555 Kingston Road, Scarborough, ON  M1M 3W4
416.261.6683 x 228
info@momiji.on.ca

How Does Momiji Use Personal Health Information?

Momiji uses and discloses tenants’ and clients’ personal health information for:

  • Treatment and care
  • Linking with other health service providers
  • Improving care processes
  • Conducting risk management activities
  • Ensuring tenant/client safety
  • Administering programs and services
  • Complying with legal/regulatory requirements
  • Obtaining government funding
  • Compiling statistics

In some cases, Momiji may use your personal health information to conduct research, provided the information cannot identify you.

Momiji’s Privacy Principles

Our role at Momiji is to ensure a patient’s personal health information is kept confidential.  As part of our commitment to protect our tenants’ and clients’ personal health information and to ensure transparency and accountability, Momiji has developed and published privacy principles for the collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal health information.  The following principles are based on 10 internationally recognized “privacy principles” of fair information practice:

  1. Accountability
    Momiji is responsible for personal health information under its control and has designated an individual, the Chief Privacy Officer, who is accountable for Momiji’s compliance with these privacy principles.
  2. Identifying Purposes
    Momiji, at or before the time information is collected, shall identify the purposes for which the personal health information is collected. The primary purposes are to monitor, evaluate and provide care and treatment for the patient/tenant/client, the administration of the health care system, to collect statistics, and to comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
  3. Consent
    The knowledge and consent of the individual is required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal health information, unless the Act[1] allows Momiji to do so without consent.
  4. Limiting Collection
    The collection of personal health information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by Momiji. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.
  5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
    Personal health information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal health information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
  6. Accuracy
    Personal health information shall 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 shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.  Momiji shall follow reasonable information practices to protect personal health information against theft, loss and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure and disposal.
  8. Openness
    Momiji shall make readily 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 shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal health information and shall be given access to that information.  An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
  10. Challenging Compliance
    Any questions or concerns about Momiji’s privacy policies or practices should be directed to Momiji’s  Privacy Officer at 416.261.6683 x 228 or by email to info@momiji.on.ca or to the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario at 416.326.3333 or 1.800.387.0073 or by email to info@ipc.on.ca.

Disclosing information to any third party requires the client’s written consent.  Choosing to use email to communicate with an external service provider or family member/Substitute Decision Maker also requires written consent.  Please note email communication is not secure and could result in the disclosure of the information to another party other than the recipient.

Clients who do not want to share their personal health care information with other health service providers are advised to meet with Momiji Support Services Manager to discuss the positive and negative consequences of sharing or not sharing.
For more information on protecting your privacy, you can contact:

Information and Privacy Commissioner
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
416.326.3333 or 1.800.387.0073    www.ipc.on.ca

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:   To whom will my personal health information be disclosed?  Will my personal health information be used by anyone else?

A:    Momiji may use personal health information to plan, deliver, evaluate and monitor programs and services, to allocate resources to those programs and services, to manage risk, to ensure your  safety, to improve quality of care, to process claims for payment, and to conduct research provided the information cannot identify you.  Unless you tell us not to, we may share your assessment information with other health service providers who will provide you with support now and in the future.  Also, unless you indicate otherwise to the Support Services Manager, Momiji may use only your name and contact information for the purpose of fundraising activities.

Q:   If the tenant or client is not capable of providing consent to collect, use or disclose his/her personal health information, who can give consent?

A:    A Substitute Decision Maker will be asked to make these decisions. According to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, the individual(s) who is/are highest on the following list will have the authority to approve or refuse consent to the collection, use and/or disclosure of your personal health information if that person is capable of consenting, is at least 16 years old or the parent, is not prohibited by court order, and is available and is willing to assume the responsibility of making the decision.  A Substitute Decision Maker could be a:

  • Court appointed guardian for personal care;
  • Attorney for personal care;
  • Representative appointed by the Consent and Capacity Review Board;
  • Spouse or partner;
  • Child or parent (or other person lawfully entitled to take the place of a parent);
  • Parent who only has right of access;
  • Brother or sister
  • Any other relative related by blood, marriage or adoption;
  • Public Guardian and Trustee

Q:  Do I have the right to access my personal health information?

A:    Yes.  You also have the right to request corrections.

Q:   My relative is a tenant at Momiji , but he is not capable of asking to see or review his own health record.  As the Substitute Decision Maker, am I allowed to access my relative’s records?

A:    Yes.  A Substitute Decision Maker has the same right to access the health record as the tenant would if he/she were capable.  You will be asked to complete a form requesting access and you will need to provide evidence that you are the tenant’s Substitute Decision Maker.

Q:   What kind of information can staff members provide to family and friends if they call or ask about my condition?

A:    Unless you object, we will provide general information about your health status.  This includes the name of the clinical program you are in, where your room is located, and your general health status, such as ‘doing well’ or ‘no change’. If someone is seeking more detailed information on your health, they will require written consent from you or your Substitute Decision Maker.

Q:   What happens to my health record after I move out of Momiji?

A:    Upon discharge, health records are kept on file for a period of 10 years, in accordance with provincial legislation.