Everywoman's Health Centre Privacy Policy
Statement and Purpose
Everywoman's Health Centre (EHC) respects and upholds an individual's right to privacy and to protection of his or her personal information. EHC is committed to ensuring compliance with provincial privacy legislation, namely Bill 38 - the Personal Information Protection Act.
Accountability
EHC is accountable for the personal information collected from employees, patients, donors, society members and board members. EHC has appointed a Privacy Officer who is responsible for the organization's compliance with this Policy.
Purposes for Collection, Use and Disclosure
EHC collects and uses personal information about employees for the following purposes:
1) payroll
2) superannuation
3) Medical Service Plan (MSP) benefits
4) extended health / dental benefits
5) performance evaluations
6) incident reports
7) issuing T4's
EHC collects and uses personal information about patients for the following purposes:
1) provision of care (ie. medical history)
2) contact information
3) MSP billing for services
4) referrals for medical services (ie: ultrasounds at outside facilities, blood tests)
5) research study collection for statistical purposes only, no patient identifiers are used
6) maintenance of patient database for the following uses: providing the Ministry of Health (MOH) with information used for statistical purposes (database includes patient DOB, postal code, sex, PHN all information is encrypted when sent to MOH and patient names are not included); and for EHC to compile statistics to provide to the National Abortion Federation.
EHC collects and uses personal information about unpaid interpreters (friends or family members of ESL clients) for the following purposes:
1) to assist with interpretation in booking an appointment, counselling, pre, peri and post operative procedures.
EHC collects and uses personal information about donors for the following purposes:
1) solicit donations
2) recruit new Society members
EHC collects and uses personal information about EHC Society members for the following purposes:
1) to mail tax receipts
EHC collects and uses personal information about Board members for the following purposes:
1) applying for funding (ie. grant and casino applications)
2) contact information
3) comply with the Society's Act
Disclosure of Information to Third Parties
The only circumstances under which personal information may be disclosed to third parties is for the fulfillment of any purposes stated above and as required by Bill 38. If personal information is disclosed to third parties for the fulfillment of any purposes identified above EHC will ensure that appropriate security undertakings, such as confidentiality clauses in contractual agreements, are employed to protect the transfer and use of personal information. EHC does not sell, trade, or rent information to third parties.
Limiting Collection
We collect patient, employee, donor, society and board member personal information only for the purposes stated above.
Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
We do not use or disclose personal information for any purpose other than those for which it was collected, except with consent, or pursuant to a court order, or as required by Bill 38.
Personal information is retained only as long as is necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.
Accuracy
EHC will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information is as accurate, complete, and current as required for the purposes for which it was collected.
Safeguards
EHC protects information with appropriate security safeguards. Safeguards include physical, administrative, and electronic security measures.
Access
You have the right to access your personal information under the control of EHC. The Privacy Officer will assist you with your access requests. In certain exceptional situations, EHC may not be able to provide access to certain personal information that it holds about you. If access cannot be provided, EHC will notify you, in writing, of the reasons for the refusal.
Concerns or Questions Regarding EHC's Compliance
You may direct your questions, concerns or complaints regarding EHC's compliance with this policy by:
Calling the Privacy Officer at: (604) 322-6692
Writing to EHC at:
210 – 2525 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
V5N 4C1
Attention: Privacy Officer
Everywoman's Health Centre - www.everywomanshealthcentre.ca