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PrivacyHORIZON: Vol. 1, No. 8 |
With only weeks to go until full implementation of the Federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), we are finally starting to receive some guidance on the applicability of the Act to the health sector. In a speech December 8th to the Ontario Hospital Association, Federal Privacy Commission representative Carman Baggaley stated that a consensus has been achieved by the responsible Federal Agencies including Health Canada, Industry Canada and the Privacy Commissioner's Office on the impact of PIPEDA in health care.
In a nutshell, the Act will definitely apply to private pharmacies, labs and the private practices of health care professionals. PIPEDA won't apply to the core treatment and care activities within public hospitals, even if there are limited commercial transactions, such as charges for private rooms. This is also the case for long term health care facilities in the control of municipalities or charitable agencies, although this is a grey area. However, non-core commercial activities in hospitals that are not directly related to treatment and care might be captured by the Act. Fundraising activities are not covered by the Act except for the sale or barter of mailing and donor lists.
The Federal "consensus" also appears to acknowledge the applicability of notice and implied consent for treatment and care purposes and considers exceptions for health research. Specific guidance in the form of Q&A's will be made available on the Industry Canada website. [More…]
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PRIVA-C will be holding five sessions of the Chief Privacy Officer Workshop starting in January 2004. The CPO Workshop features hands-on exercises, real world examples, and take-home resources. With locations across Canada, there's no better time to get the training and guidance necessary to set up a privacy compliance program in your organization.
Be sure to sign up before Dec. 31, 2003 to be eligible for a $300 discount on each workshop purchased. For more information, including locations, pricing and registration, click on the ad above.
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Alberta and BC Pass Private Sector Privacy Legislation
Alberta and British Columbia have passed private sector privacy legislation that takes effect January 1, 2004. While the Federal government has not yet ruled that the legislation is "substantially similar" to PIPEDA, it is expected that this legislation will take precedence over the Federal Act.
Read the Alberta Act 
Read the BC Act
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Alberta OIPC Releases Stakeholder Survey
The Alberta Privacy Commissioner has published a survey of consumer attitudes towards privacy, including the privacy of personal health information and electronic health records. 82% of Albertans support having personal health information placed in an EHR that can be accessed whenever treatment is sought by an individual. [More…]
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New Federal Privacy Commissioner
Quebec Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has been appointed Federal Privacy Commissioner to replace George Radwanski who resigned during the summer. With Ms. Stoddart's background dealing with both public and private sector privacy legislation in Quebec, everyone is expecting a new era in the domain of Federal privacy legislation and policy. [More…]
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CHIPP Privacy Assessment
Health Canada's Office of Health and the Information Highway has published a Personal Information Privacy Assessment for the 29 CHIPP projects (telehealth and EHR). The privacy assessment was conducted by PRIVA-C [More…]
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Continuing Care Privacy Guidelines
The Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OAHNSS) has published privacy guidelines entitled "Simplifying Privacy: A toolkit for LTC facilities and Community Care". From the homepage click "OAHNSS Resources". [More…]
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What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario has published a report entitled "Privacy and Boards of Directors: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You". This is a useflul report that can help to sell your privacy program to your Board and senior management [More…]
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