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Privacy Policy

Privacy is a fundamental right of every Ontarian. In order to protect that right, Ontario public institutions are required by law to protect your personal information, and to follow strict rules when collecting, using and disclosing your personal information.

In Ontario, public organizations are governed by the following access and privacy laws:

 

These acts help to protect your personal information held by Ontario public institutions, such as Grand Erie Public Health.

 

Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Health Information

Your request for care from us implies consent for our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal health information for the following purposes:

  • to provide and assist in the provision of health care to you through our services, programs, and facilities;
  • to get payment for health care and any related goods and services provided to you, including from OHIP, your private insurer, WSIB, and others as necessary;
  • to plan, administer, and manage the operation of our services, programs, and facilities;
  • to manage risk and improve the quality and safety of our services and programs;
  • to educate or train our agents to provide health care;
  • to conduct research activities as approved by a research ethics board;
  • to comply with legal and regulatory requirements; and,
  • to fulfill other purposes that are permitted or required by law.

From time to time, we may communicate about your care with your other health care providers, including collecting, using, and disclosing your personal health information through electronic medical information systems (sometimes called electronic health records, eHealth records, electronic medical records, etc.).  If you would like more information about the electronic medical information systems we use, please speak with our Privacy Contact.

Any uses of your personal health information other than those mentioned above would require your express consent.

 

 

How to submit a Freedom of Information request

You can make a request by completing an Access/Correction Request form and submit it with payment of $5 to:

Privacy Officer Grand Erie Public Health 194 Terrace Hill Street Brantford, Ontario N3R 1G7

If you are mailing a cheque, please make it payable to: Grand Erie Public Health

Additional fees may apply to process a request. The processing fee is determined by the:

  • type of information you requested (for example, general records or personal information)
  • format you wish to receive the information (for example, paper, electronic or multimedia records)
  • total costs incurred by Grand Erie Public Health to produce or prepare the information
  • Note: Grand Erie Public Health will not charge additional fees for manually searching or preparing a record for disclosure containing the requester’s own personal information

You have the right to request a waiver of fees if the payment will cause financial hardship or if the information will benefit public health or safety. The Privacy Officer at Grand Erie Public Health will discuss next steps in the process.

 

What happens next

Once your FOI request has been received by Grand Erie Public Health, the Privacy Officer will review your request, send you an acknowledgement letter, and begin the search for records. We have 30 days to respond to your request and may contact you for clarifications or we will notify you if a time extension may be required to process your request.

Within 30 days, the Privacy Officer will send you a decision letter indicating what information and records are available and what can be released to you. If any additional fees are required (for search-time, for example), the fees will be outlined in the decision.

Correspondence and records released in response to your request will be provided by email or mail. If payment is required, we will only release the records or information once the balance of payment is received.

 

 

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario is responsible for making sure that privacy law is followed in Ontario.  For more information about your privacy rights, or if you are unable to resolve an issue directly with our Privacy Contact and wish to make a complaint, contact:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario 2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400 Toronto, ON M4W 1A8

Email:  [email protected]

Toll Free:  1-800-387-0073

TDD/TTY:  416-325-7539

 

Our Privacy Contact

For more information or to raise a concern about our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Email:  [email protected]

Phone:  548-331-1743

Mailing Address:  194 Terrace Hill Brantford, ON  N3R 1G7

 

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