Under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA in Ontario, Canada), individuals have rights to their Personal Health Information. Specifically, they have a right to:
- Access their record.
Sections 52 through 54 states that an individual has a “right of access” to their record of personal health information. These sections also state that the HSP must provide a response within 30 days and if the individual believes that the HSP has refused or is thought to have refused the request, they have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner.
- Change/correct information within their record.
Section 55 states that an individual may request that the custodian correct their record, if the individual believes the record is inaccurate or incomplete. In this case as well, the custodian must grant or refuse the request within 30 days, and if the individual believes that the HSP has refused or is thought to have refused the request, they have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner.
- File a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner regarding an HSP’s privacy practices.
Section 56 of PHIPA states that an individual has the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner if they have “reasonable grounds” to believe that someone has contravened or is about to contravene a provision of the Act. Applying this right to these circumstances, an individual has the right to file a complaint if they believe that the Custodian has sub-standard privacy practices or they have failed in someway to protect their privacy.
To comply with the legislation, the Health Service Providers have an obligation to:
- Provide access to a client’s PHI to the client upon the client’s request
- Respond to a client’s request for a correction to their PHI
- Address a client’s challenge or complaint concerning compliance with privacy legislation
Client Privacy Rights Support processes should be established and integrated into the existing clinical processes to support the client’s privacy rights prescribed in the legislation.