Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital (HNDH) is committed to protecting privacy, confidentiality and security of all personal health information to which we are entrusted.  NNDH as well as North Eastern Ontario Network (NEON) have information practices which comply with the requirements of The Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, Bill 119 Health Information Protection Act, 2016 and The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 1990 and the regulations associated with these acts.

Privacy of personal health information (PHI) is a priority at HNDH and is therefore protected by security safeguards, appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.  Access to HNDH and NEON clinical and financial information systems by users is governed by the privacy statement and the applicable legislation.

Under Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), HNDH collects personally identifiable information such as name, date of birth, home or work address or telephone number and other.  HNDH also collects demographic information such as postal code, age, gender and other as well as other means including but not limited to video surveillance cameras and others.

We may collect, use and disclose PHI on a need to know basis with the Circle of Care (without a written consent) or to a third party requesting information but with your written consent.  PHI can be disclosed on an urgent basis to comply with other legislations and/or duties to report.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Privacy Officer:

Hôpital Notre -Dame Hospital – Privacy Office

PO Bag 8,000 – 1405 Edward St

Hearst, ON   P0L 1N0

Phone: 705 372-2958     Fax: 705-372-2937

Email: privacy@ndh.on.ca

We have electronic and paper records of your personal health information that are updated each time you visit Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital. This information is used by our health professionals and students involved in your care. There are other health-care providers external to Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital who can access your electronic health record if they or their team are involved in your care.

We assume you consent to share your health information with external health-care providers involved in your care, such as doctors, hospitals, clinics, long-term care homes, and community agencies. We may also ask external health-care providers for information about you if we need it for your care.

We may also collect, use and disclose your personal health information on a need to know basis for other purposes, including to:

• Educate our students and staff;
• Notify you of an appointment or change to an appointment;
• Locate you or your family in urgent/emergent situations using an overhead paging system;
• Conduct research;
• Compile statistics;
• Plan, administer and manage our internal operations;
• Enhance safety and security;
• Conduct risk management and quality improvement activities;
• Conduct patient satisfaction surveys;
• Raise funds (your name and address only).
• Get payment from OHIP, WSIB, private insurers or others;
• Obtain required information for patients detained under the Mental Health Act or Criminal Code of Canada
• Refer you to an authorized community partner, such as the Red Cross, who may be able to assist you in accessing available community services;
• External electronic health record systems such as: Health Information System (HIS), Thunder Bay Mosaiq and Sudbury Mosaiq,as well as NEON Meditech to facilitate the provincial government’s goal of providing a commonly available electronic health record;
• Ministry of Health and Long Term Care e-health projects such as: the Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI), Drug Profile Viewer, and Ontario Laboratory Information System (OLIS);
• Approved provincial agencies such as: Cancer Care Ontario, the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research,and BORN;
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

We may collect, use and disclose personal health information on a need to know basis with the Circle of Care, which includes:

• Our staff who need to know to provide care, including: physicians, nurses, technicians, therapists and other health care professionals;
• Other health care providers who are not our employees but may be required to assist in providing health care for you, including:
  • Health care practitioners and groups of health care practitioners;
  • Hospitals–public, psychiatric and private;
  • Pharmacies;
  • Laboratories;
  • Ambulance Services;
  • Homes for the Aged;
  • Rest Homes;
  • Nursing Homes;
  • Retirement Homes;
  • Other care homes;
  • Homes for Special Care;
  • Community health or mental health centres;
  • Community Care Access Centres (CCAC);
  • Community Service Providers;
  • Independent health facilities;
  • Programs and services whose primary purposes are providing health care;

Asking permission before disclosing any information for purposes not related directly to care (e.g. insurance companies, lawyers, etc.), unless otherwise required by law.

You may withdraw your consent for some of the different ways we use or disclose your personal health information by contacting us (subject to exceptions, such as where disclosures are required by law or contractual obligations).

Unless you tell us differently, we may:

• Advise visitors or callers that you are a patient in the Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital and which unit you are on.
• Disclose your personal health information to external health care providers who need it to provide you with care or to help provide you with care.
• Share your information with provincial electronic health information databases.
• Give your name, your location in the hospital, and your religious affiliation to community faith group representatives, but only if you tell us your religious affiliation.
• Disclose your contact information (name and address only) to our foundation so that they may conduct fundraising to improve our health care facilities, services and programs.

• Withdraw consent for some of the above uses and disclosures by contacting us;
• Access and/or request corrections to personal health information you have legal rights to.

For more information about our privacy practices, to discuss withdrawing consent, or to raise privacy concerns or complaints, please contact:

Privacy Officer
Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital
1405 Edward St; PO Bag 8000
Hearst ON P0L 1N0
705-372-2958
privacy@ndh.on.ca

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For more information about accessing or correcting personal health information, please contact:

Health Records Coordinator
Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital
1405 Edward St; PO Bag 8000
Hearst ON P0L 1N0
705-372-2958
privacy@ndh.on.ca

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If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concerns, you can call or make a formal complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
1-800-387-0073
www.ipc.on.ca

• Patients or their eligible substitute decision makers are entitled to access their health information. Some requests may be subject to approval by the health care provider.
• All requests must be made in writing by completing the consent for release of personal health information form.
• Records are processed according to medical priority sequencing and will be completed in a timely manner. In accordance with the “Personal Health Information Protection Act” PHIPA, we have up to 30 days to process a completed request, but we strive to complete your request as soon as possible. Please discuss timelines further with Release of Information staff.
• Release of Information staff are unable to interpret or advise on health issues or on the care documented in the records. We recommend that health information be reviewed in conjunction with your health care provider, so that interpretation may be provided if necessary.
• Email is not considered a safe and secure means of communication. We do not use email to respond to requests for health records.

Completed requests can be mailed, faxed or hand-delivered to Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital to the attention of the Health Records Department–Release of Information. Contact details can be found below.

Please refer to the Fee Schedule for costs associated with a third party request.

All third party requests for health records must be:

• Made in writing, detailing the specific information and time period being requested.
• Accompanied by a valid consent form signed by the patient or the substitute decision maker. The hospital’s consent for release of personal health information form can be used.
• Email is not considered a safe and secure means of communication. We do not use email to respond to requests for health records.

Completed requests can be mailed, faxed or hand-delivered to Hôpital Notre-Dame Hospital to the attention of the Health Records Department–Release of Information. Contact details can be found below.

Please refer to the Fee Schedule for costs associated with a third party request.

• There is no fee for providing information to other publicly funded health-care facilities or to physicians for continuity of patient care.
• For other purposes, an administrative charge may apply based on the current fee schedule (please see fee schedule below).
• Prepayment is required – Release of Information staff will provide the fee amount.