Our Commitment to Your Privacy and Confidentiality

SE Health is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding personal information in our custody or control.

SE Health’s Privacy Office

SE Health’s policies are governed by the relevant privacy legislation in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.

Your Health Record

Your health record includes information relevant to your health including your date of birth, contact information, health history, family health history, details of your physical and mental health, record of your visits, the care and support you received during those visits, results from tests and procedures, and information from other health care providers. Your record is our property, but the information belongs to you. With limited exceptions, you have the right to access the health information we hold about you, whether in the health record or elsewhere.

Access and Correction

You can request a copy of your record. Please click here to complete the Client Access and Correction Form. A copy will be provided at a reasonable fee. In rare situations, you may be denied access to some or all of your record (with any such denial being in accordance with applicable law). We try to keep your record accurate and up to date. Please let us know if you disagree with what is recorded, and in most cases, we will be able to make the change, or we will ask you to write a statement of disagreement and we will attach that statement to your record.

Confidentiality

We will take steps to ensure that anyone who performs services on behalf of SE Health respects your privacy rights and only uses or discloses your personal health information for permitted purposes. We collect, use and disclose (meaning share) your health information to:
  • Provide quality care to you
  • Provide care reminders to you
  • Coordinate your care with your other health care providers including through shared electronic health information systems such as Ontario Health Teams and local, regional and provincial programs to provide you quality patient care
  • To plan, evaluate and monitor the services we provide to you
  • For research, quality improvement activities (such as sending patient experience surveys) and statistical analysis of data purposes
  • For any other purpose that may be identified to you before or at the time the information is collected
  • To educate our staff and students
  • Respond to or initiate proceedings
  • Conduct research (subject to certain rules)
  • Update you of upcoming events, activities and programs
  • Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
  • Fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law

It’s your choice

Where your consent is required for any collection, use or disclosure of your personal health information, you may withdraw or withhold consent by contacting SE Health’s Privacy Office. You have the right to ask that we not share some or all of your health record with one or more of our team members or ask us not to share your health record with one or more of your external health care providers (such as a specialist). This is known as asking for a “lockbox”. If you would like to know more, please read our Information about a Lockbox. To request a lockbox, please complete this Lockbox Request Form and email to: privacyofficer@sehc.com.

Information collected through our website

We collect some information which is not attributable to an identifiable individual. For example, when you visit one of our websites, our web server automatically recognizes only your computer’s domain name, but not your e-mail address or any other information that identifies you personally. This renders your visit virtually anonymous, unless you log in to one of the controlled-access areas of our site or otherwise volunteer other personal information. We may also collect anonymous aggregate information on what pages you access or visit. The aggregate information we collect is used for many different purposes in order to serve you better. Among these purposes are to improve the content of our website, provide services such as technical support, to customize the content and/or layout of our website for each individual visitor, and to notify consumers about updates to our website.

Anti-spam

Where applicable, we will seek your express consent to send you information, including by way of commercial electronic messages. You can unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions in the commercial electronic message, or by contacting us. Please be aware that even if you have opted out of receiving marketing communications from us, we may still contact you for other purposes. For example, we may contact you to provide newsletters or other communications you have consented to receive, regarding the services we provide to you, or if you contact us with an inquiry.

Transfers and disclosures of personal information

SE Health will not disclose personal information to any external organization unless we have previously informed the client in disclosures or agreements, have been authorized by the client, or are required to do so by law. We may also disclose your personal information in the event of a corporate amalgamation, reorganization, change of control or sale. We sometimes use third party service providers, including the financial institution processing payments, satisfaction survey providers (at your option). Whenever SE Health hires other organizations to provide support services, they will be required to conform to our privacy standards and to allow us to audit them for compliance.

Security and retention

SE Health takes all reasonable steps to protect the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We protect the personal information within our custody or control with appropriate organizational, technological and physical safeguards. We store personal information in electronic and physical files that are secure, and our security measures include secure on- and off-site storage, restricted access to records and data processing equipment, password protocols, and encryption and security software. We conduct audits and monitor compliance with our privacy practices. SE Health only permits those employees or agents who are either providing health care or assisting with the provision of health care to have access to personal health information, as necessary to perform the individual’s functions and duties. Only those staff and agents who have a need to know are granted access to personal health information, regardless of form. SE Health employees and agents are required to sign an individual confidentiality and privacy commitment and to undergo comprehensive privacy education and training. Employees who violate our Privacy Commitment will be subject to our normal performance management process. Personal health information is only retained for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. When we no longer are required to retain the information, we will destroy, erase, or de-identify the information. Legal requirements, however, may require us to retain some or all of the personal information we hold for a period of time that is longer than that for which we might otherwise hold.

Contact information

Our office consists of a Chief Privacy Officer and a Privacy Advisor educated and trained to provide privacy guidance. For more information about our privacy protection practices, or to raise a concern you may have about our practices, please contact us at: Privacy and Accessibility Office SE Health 90 Allstate Parkway, Suite 300 Markham, Ontario L3R 6H3 Tel: 1-866-636-9914 Fax: 905.940.9934 privacyofficer@sehc.com You have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario if you think we have violated your PHIPA rights. The Commissioner can be reached as follows: Information and Privacy Commissioner / Ontario 2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400 Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8 416-326-3333 commissioner@ipc.on.ca www.ipc.on.ca