In addition to information needed to identify you, such as your name, address, telephone number and health insurance number, your personal information also includes information about your health. Personal health information relates to health services you have received, past health conditions, current symptoms, medications prescribed, examination and test results, diagnoses, and treatment plans. This information is often referred to as your health record. Knowing what is in your health record and understanding how your personal information is used, helps you to:

• ensure its accuracy;
• better understand who, what, where, why and how others may access your personal health information; and,
• make informed decisions regarding disclosures to others.

• provide the highest level of confidentiality around the collection, use and disclosure of your personal health information
• collect only necessary information and use that information solely for the care and treatment you are seeking
• do not disclose your personal information to anyone who is not directly involved in your care and treatment unless you give permission, or it is required and/or authorized by law. Those involved in your direct care may include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, radiologists, dentists, psychologists, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, activity therapists, nutritionists and other health care providers. Some of your personal information may be disclosed without your permission to governments (Ministries of Health and others), where this is required or authorized by law. This will provide statistical information to the ministries of health for planning, evaluation and monitoring purposes. Also, your health data will be provided to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) for reimbursement of health services
• store and safeguard your personal information using appropriate security measures – this includes paper and electronic format
• are available to respond to your questions and/or concerns about the way we handle the privacy of your personal health information and requests to access and/or make changes to your health information.

• Your personal information protection rights include knowing why your personal information is collected, and how it is used and to whom it is disclosed.
• The right to request access to your personal information and to be provided with a copy of that information for a minimal fee.
• To ask how and to whom your personal information may have been disclosed.
• Assurances that your personal information is protected regardless of the format in which it is held (e.g. paper/electronic).
• Assurances that your personal information is safeguarded from unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.
• The right to question the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and the right to seek amendment to that information.
• You have a right to complain. Patients can complain about our information practices to Runnymede’s Health Records Department by calling 416-762-7316, (Ext. 230) if they feel rules have been broken, or they can make a direct complaint to the office of the Information Privacy Commissioner/Ontario by calling 1-800-387-0073.

If you are/were a patient of Runnymede Healthcare Centre, and you wish to receive a copy of your health record, please complete Request Access to Personal Health Information form and submit to Runnymede’s Health Records Department. A fee to cover the cost of retrieving and copying personal health information will apply.

Your request may be denied for reasons as set out in Runnymede’s policies that comply with legal requirements, such as if other legislation or court order prohibits disclosure to the requestor, if the record contains quality of care information, etc.

Runnymede will inform you in writing as soon as reasonably possible with a maximum of 30 days if your request has been granted or denied. If a request for access or disclosure cannot be completed with 30 days, Runnymede will inform you in writing that an extension of an additional 30 days is required to complete the request.

Although you have the right to access your charts, this right does not automatically extend to family members and/or friends. If you consent to let a friend or family member see your chart by completing Runnymede’s Consent to the Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Health Information form and submit to Runnymede’s Health Records Department, then the friend/family member may access the part(s) that you have consented to let them see.

If you are unable to give consent to allow an individual with access to your chart due to reasons of competency or consciousness, the consent decision falls to the appointed substitute decision maker such as a spouse or guardian. This person is bound by law to act on your behalf and must make decisions based on their belief of what you would wish done if you were able to decide.

Should you wish to withdraw consent for (a) specific purpose(s) at a later date, you may do so by completing Runnymede’s Withdrawal of Consent form and submitting it to Runnymede’s Health Records Department.

Runnymede Healthcare Centre may disclose personal health information about a deceased individual for the purpose of identifying the individual and informing persons that the individual is deceased and the circumstances of the death, where appropriate. Also, information may be disclosed to close family members if the information is required to make health care related decisions. All other circumstances will require consent from the deceased patient’s estate trustee to collect, use, or disclose any personal health information.

A Health Information Custodian is required to grant a request for a correction if you demonstrate to the satisfaction of the custodian that the record is incomplete or inaccurate and gives the custodian the information necessary to enable the custodian to correct the record.

Complete Runnymede’s Request Correction to Personal Health Information form and submit to Runnymede’s Health Records Department.

Health Information Custodians, however, are not required to correct a record of personal health information that consists of a record that was not originally created by the custodian and the custodian does not have the sufficient, knowledge, expertise and authority to correct the record, or consists of a professional opinion that a custodian made in a good faith about the individual.

We welcome any questions or concerns with Runnymede Health Care Centre’s information practices.

Phone #: 416-762-7316 (Ext. 2117)
eMail: info.privacy@runnymedehc.ca
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 5:00