Privacy And Your Health Information

We understand that your health issues are private. To best serve you, all members of the Northumberland Family Health Team are committed to respecting your privacy. This notice explains your privacy rights and the steps the Northumberland Family Health Team takes to protect your Personal Health Information in compliance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA).

Our Doctors belong to a Family Health Organization, and they are each health information custodians under PHIPA. For the purposes of privacy obligations, the Northumberland Family Health Team and our staff are agents of the Doctors and the Family Health Organization. This means we all follow the same rules and work together to protect your privacy.

We collect personal health information about you directly from you or from the person acting on your behalf. The personal health information that we collect may include, for example, your name, date of birth, address, health history, records of your visits to other care providers, and the care that you received during those visits. Occasionally, we collect personal health information about you from other sources if we have obtained your consent to do so or if the law permits.

We use and disclose personal health information to…

  • Treat and care for you
  • Get payment for your treatment and care (from OHIP, WSIB, your private insurer, or others)
  • Plan, administer and manage our internal operations
  • Conduct risk management activities
  • Conduct quality improvement activities (such as sending patient satisfaction surveys)
  • Teach
  • Compile statistics
  • Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
  • Fulfill other purposes

Our collection, use and disclosure (sharing) of your health information are done in accordance with Ontario law.

You may access and correct your personal health records or withdraw your consent for some of the above uses and disclosures by speaking with your family doctor, who is the custodian of your health information record.

We take steps to protect your personal health information from theft, loss and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure and disposal. We conduct audits and complete investigations to monitor and manage our privacy compliance. We take steps to ensure that everyone who performs services for us protect your privacy and only use your personal health information for the purposes you have consented to.

You are welcome to request a copy of our Privacy Policy and encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have.

  1. If you are comfortable doing so, speak with your family doctor or someone else on your care team.
  2. If you are not comfortable speaking with your family doctor or another member of the care team, contact the Executive Director (Privacy Officer) at the Northumberland Family Health Team (289-252-2189, info@nfht.ca attn: Privacy Officer, 1111 Elgin St W, Northumberland Mall – Unit 10, Cobourg ON K9A 5H7)
  3. If, after contacting us, you feel that your concerns have not been addressed to your satisfaction, you have the right to contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario.

Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
Suite 1400 – 2 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
Phone: 1-800-387-0073 | Fax: 1-416-325-919
Website: www.ipc.on.ca | Email: info@ipc.on.ca

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