At William Osler Health System we are open about how we protect the privacy of your personal health information. We have assigned a contact person to address your privacy-related inquiries or privacy investigations, complaints and your requests for access to your personal health information records.

Osler collects personal health information for the purpose of providing you with appropriate health care. If you are unable to provide us with the information we need to treat you, we may collect the information from other health care professionals who are or who have been involved in your treatment or someone who has been designated as your substitute decision-maker.

We will also collect personal health information about you from someone other than yourself if you provide us with consent to do so or if we are authorized to do so by legislation. We will only collect the information we need to treat you.

• When you provide us with your personal health information we assume that you understand that the information will be used and/or disclosed to others involved in your health care
• If you do not wish your personal health information to be used or shared, you have the right to refuse to provide all or part of the information to us at the time we request the information or anytime afterwards.
• We may not be able to fulfill your wishes if they impact our ability to deliver quality health care to you or if we are legislated to use or disclose the information to which you object. In these cases we will discuss the impact of your objection with you.
• If we find it necessary to disclose your information for purposes other than providing health care, we will notify you of the purpose for the disclosure and ask you for consent to disclose the information.
• The way we collect your consent may vary depending on the purpose for the consent.

• Plan and enhance our services to you, including:
• Evaluation and monitoring of our programs
• Chart reviews
• Monitoring or preventing fraud or any unauthorized receipt of services or benefits
• Educating our agents to provide health care
• Contacting you to gather information on your satisfaction with or concerns about your visit. This will help us to continuously improve our services to you
• Contact you for donations. Our hospital foundation will always provide you with an opportunity to decline further contact.

Our staff, physicians and volunteers are required to abide by our privacy policy and sign an agreement to that effect. We use up-to-date technology standards to secure your information, and we monitor internal compliance with our information and privacy practices. In some cases we may share your personal health information with third party data processors, vendors, suppliers or providers responsible for administering our programs. These organizations must sign a contract with us to follow privacy and health information practices that are the same or similar to our own.

• Child Health Network (eCHN): visit http://www.echn.ca/
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus Program (RSVP DMS): visit http://www.mountsinai.on.ca/care/nicu/rsvp-dms-description/view
• Diagnostic Image Repository Services (DiR): visit http://www.ehealthontario.on.ca/en/initiatives/view/diagnostic-imaging-program
• Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS): visit http://www.ehealthontario.on.ca/en/initiatives/view/olis
• Integrated Assessment Record (IAR): visit https://iar.williamoslerhs.ca/concerto/Login.htm
• Connecting GTA (cGTA): visit http://www.ehealthontario.on.ca/en/initiatives/view/connectingOntario
• (REACH): visit https://www.reachportal.ca/clinical/

We establish and maintain a record of your personal health information. You have the right to access your health record by submitting a written request to our HIM department.

For access to your own personal health information/medical record contact Osler's HIM Office.

We must provide you with access to your file within 30 days of your request. If your request requires us to conduct a lengthy search, we may request an extension for another 30 days.

You may request corrections to the information in your file by providing us with additional information that supports your request. If your file contains information that was not provided by our hospital, we may not have the knowledge to correct that particular information and you may need to go back to the source to request the correction.

You may direct any inquiries or requests for your own personal health information record/health chart, to Osler's HIM Office. If you are unable to resolve your complaint by working with our Privacy Office you may contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
2 Bloor Street East Suite1400
Toronto, Ontario M4W1A8
(416) 326-3333
Website: www.ipc.on.ca