Privacy and confidentiality
Our privacy, planning and performance team at Eastern Health is responsible for:
- overseeing Eastern Health compliance with access and privacy legislation;
- providing advice and guidance on access and privacy issues;
- processing access to information (ATIPP) requests (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015);
- facilitating investigations by the Citizens’ Representative & Child and Youth Advocate;
- investigating possible privacy breaches of the Public Health Information Act (PHIA);
- providing education and training on the PHIA and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act; and
- coordinating and reviewing Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs).
What does privacy mean to us?
At Eastern Health, we are committed to keeping all information about you and your family members (our patients, clients and residents) confidential.
As part of our ongoing commitment to you, we want you to know why we ask for your personal information, how we use it and keep it safe, and how you can ask about your information.
What health information do we collect?
- Information that accurately identifies you as an individual such as your name, address, date of birth, and provincial health card (MCP) number.
- Information about your needs in order to plan services with you.
- Information about the services you receive from Eastern Health.
- Additional information as determined by you and your health-care team.
Where does your health information come from?
Your health information comes from:
- you (our patient, client, resident);
- other organizations or health professionals who refer you to us for services;
- other professionals, when it is required by law that information be reported; and
- other sources, with your consent.
Why do we collect your health information?
We collect your health information so we can:
- correctly identify you as the person needing our services;
- contact you when necessary;
- provide you with appropriate services;
- plan and manage our services; and
- meet legal requirements as outlined in the Public Health Information Act (PHIA).
Sharing your health information
Our employees work together as a team to provide you with services. This means that some of your information may be shared among the team members to make sure you get the best possible service.
Information may also be shared for additional purposes including, but not limited to, planning, evaluation, statistical purposes, or research in accordance with PHIA.
Safeguards
We take our duty to keep your information private seriously. It will only be released when you give us consent to do so or as permitted by legislation. Eastern Health has policies and procedures in place to make sure that your information is protected from being lost or shared. Employees are guided by their professional codes of ethics and are required to sign an oath of confidentiality. Your information is also protected through the use of:
- secure locks on cabinets and doors;
- limited access to records and work locations by approved employees only;
- passwords, encryption, and other security measures for electronic devices;
- auditing capabilities; and
- other security/privacy measures.
What are your rights?
- The right to review and obtain a copy of your health records (exceptions may apply, please see Accessing your Health Records).
- The right to know who has accessed your records and for what reason.
- The right to correct or add information to your record.
- The right to ask about our privacy policies.
- The right to tell us if you think we are not following our policies or if you have concerns that you wish to be heard.
Privacy policy
For more information, please see Eastern Health’s Privacy & Confidentiality Policy (PDF).
Questions or concerns
If you have questions or concerns about the privacy of your information, please talk with your health-care or service provider or contact us.
Contact Us
Privacy, Planning, and Performance Department
Mount Pearl Square
760 Topsail Road
Email: privacy@easternhealth.ca
Telephone: 709-777-8025