How we manage your personal health information

Collection

When you arrive at West Park as a patient, we will collect personal health information from you or from an individual who is authorized to act on your behalf. We will collect only information that we reasonably need for the purposes identified, and will let you know why we need it. We collect:

We may also collect information about you that has been provided, with your consent, from another caregiver (e.g. your physician) or from another health care organization (e.g. an acute care hospital).

Use

Only those staff who are directly involved in your care, or those who are conducting authorized administrative tasks, will have access to your personal health information. This information may be used for any of the following purposes:

• To make decisions about the types of services you need
• To provide direct patient care
• To verify eligibility for payment by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
• To meet legal and regulatory requirements
• To monitor the provision of services and evaluate your response to services provided
• As part of the organization's fund-raising activities
• For the administration of hospital services, strategic planning, quality control, research, teaching, resource utilization and allocation

Disclosure

Disclosure means providing specific information about you to a third party. Although our practice is to not disclose your personal health information without your consent, there may be circumstances that require us to do so. These circumstances may include:

• Instances when it is not reasonably possible to obtain your consent in a timely manner in order to provide health care services
• Circumstances where there is a statutory requirement
• Where there is a legal obligation to disclose information under a court or government order (i.e. to police)

Retention

West Park will keep your personal health information as long as necessary to provide care or as required by law. The Public Hospitals Act requires us to keep your information for a period of 10 years after your discharge from hospital.

Disposal

Your information will be safely destroyed when it is no longer required.

Security

West Park will keep your personal health information in a secure manner.

Withdrawing Consent

As a rule, consent cannot be withdrawn for the collection or use of information required by West Park staff who deliver care and provide services, or for the disclosure of information required by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care.

However, you have the right to withdraw your consent for the collection and use of your information for activities such as fundraising