Privacy Statement
This is a general privacy statement for all of the clinicians at Kaleidoscope Child and Family Care. If you have any questions, please contact the clinician managing your care.
Introduction
We are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. This statement outlines our policies and procedures with respect to collecting, using, and disclosing your personal health information under all relevant legislation, including the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Collection of Your Personal Health Information
We only collect your personal health information directly from you, except: 1) when you have given consent to collect such information from others (e.g., reports from previous assessments or other services); and 2) where the law requires or allows us to collect information without your consent (e.g., in an urgent situation, or to prevent potential harm). We only collect information that we believe is reasonably necessary to provide services to you.
Use of Your Personal Health Information
Your personal health information used only to provide you with service, including treatment planning, monitoring and billing. On very rare occasions, your record may be accessed by a government regulatory agency (such as the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers or the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario) for professional auditing or licensing purposes. If this does occur, we will inform you and the reviewer will not be allowed to remove any information that identifies you from our clinic's premises. All persons who do such work are required by law to maintain the confidentiality of all records they see.
Disclosure of Your Personal Health Information
The professionals working out of our clinic maintain individual private practices, including confidential records that are not accessible by one another. At times, we may have other professionals working with us in our private practice. These individuals are either under direct supervision, are regulated health professionals or members of a professional college, such as the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers or the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario . We may discuss your personal health information with these other professionals as it relates to the services you are receiving from them under direct supervision or within a collaborative approach. Your consent is required before any information is shared and these professionals are required to maintain confidentiality of all personal health information they obtain.
There are only a few additional circumstances during which your personal health information may be disclosed without your consent. There are some legally recognized “limits of confidentiality.” These limits include circumstances in which disclosure is justified by law and allowed by our professions' ethical standards (e.g., risk of serious bodily harm to you or someone else, our need for confidential professional or legal consultation), or required by law (e.g., reporting a child in need of protection; reporting a health professional who has sexually abused a client; a court order to release information from a record). If there are ever any other limits of confidentiality in your situation, we will identify and discuss them with you before proceeding with your services.
When you consent to the disclosure of your personal health information, you may restrict us from sharing all or any part of your personal health information. However, if we believe that the information you restrict is reasonably necessary to another health service provider to offer appropriate service to you, then we are required by law to inform the other health service provider that you have restricted us from providing some necessary information.
Finally, it is important that you understand how we treat your personal health information in the context of our other private practice work (including contracts with community agencies) and our full-time employment. The services you receive from the clinicians at Kaleidoscope Child and Family Care are completely separate from the services we provide elsewhere. The rules for keeping records private and confidential will always apply, and we are not able to discuss or share your records without your consent. Ms. Alves and Ms. Wathy reserve the right to refuse to accept clients in private practice who are currently involved with Chatham-Kent Children's Services.
Electronic Communication and Limits to Privacy
We are willing to communicate via email, text message and other forms of electronic communication, but will not initiate contact via these formats without your express and documented permission. When possible, we will make use of the most secure platforms available. However, you should be aware that electronic communications cannot be guaranteed secure. For this reason, we will not communicate personal health information via electronic communication without your consent and the use of password protection when available.
Your Right of Access to your Personal Health Information Record
With only a few exceptions, you have the right to access any record in your personal health information. If you believe that any information in your record is not accurate, you may make a written request to correct your record. If we do not agree with the correction you request, you may file a notice of disagreement into your record. If you give us any original documents to place in your record, you may take the original back at any time, and we will keep a copy.
Further Information
We are always willing to speak to you directly to answer any questions you might have regarding this Privacy Statement. If you: 1) would like more detailed information at any time; 2) would like access to your file; 3) would like to ask for a correction of your record; 4) have a concern about my privacy policies and procedures; or 5) have a complaint about the way your privacy or personal health information has been handled, then we encourage you to speak or write directly to the clinician managing your care.
Information regarding the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) is available on the internet at:
www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/legislation/priv_legislation/priv_legislation.html
Information regarding the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act is available at:
Complaints regarding this Privacy Statement may also be addressed to:
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M4W 1A8
Phone: 416-326-3333 or 800-387-0073
Fax: 416-325-9195
TTY: 416-325-7593