Statement Of Information Practices

How We Protect Your Privacy

Information about your health is personal and private. We are committed to meeting our obligations as a Health Information Custodian under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). We take steps to keep your information protected, and to ensure your information is only accessed or viewed by those authorized or required to access or use it. Our privacy and security policies apply to all Shouldice Hospital operations, including our mobile clinics. Everyone who works for or with us must also protect your privacy. We carefully review, manage, and monitor the use of the electronic systems and technology tools we use to manage your personal health information.

Where do we get your information? Most information comes directly from you or the person legally authorized to act for you, using secure channels including our Cortico patient portal. We will also collect information from your other health care providers and hospitals if the information is necessary to provide your treatment and care. We may access your personal health information contained in provincial repositories such as ConnectingOntario. We will get your consent if we need to get information about you from other people or other sources, where required.

How does Shouldice Hospital use your information? We need your health information to offer you the best possible care and treatment. Anyone who is part of your care team may see and use your health information as necessary to provide your care. Your care team may include doctors, nurses, medical residents, other types of care providers and administrative staff who support your care team. We also may use your information to process payments for your care, conduct satisfaction surveys, plan and manage our operations, conduct quality improvement, and meet our reporting obligations. As a learning and research centre, we may also use your information to educate our staff and students and conduct approved Shouldice Hospital research. To help our clinicians document your care accurately and efficiently, our hospital uses a secure AI scribe tool. The AI scribe does not store your personal health information. Your information is not used to train AI models or for any other purpose. All notes are reviewed and approved by your care provider. We follow strict privacy and security requirements to protect your information.

Who do we share your information with outside of Shouldice Hospital?
• Health care providers who work outside Shouldice Hospital, but only if they need it to provide follow-up or ongoing care for you.
• Your next-of-kin or other family or friends, or others if we have your consent.
• Others that the law allows or requires (for example, to get paid by OHIP or an insurance company, to help make health care safe and effective across the province, to help prevent the spread of infections, and to comply with other laws)

You have rights and choices
• You have the right to see your health record, to get a copy of it, or to correct it. Contact your care team or Health Information Services to request access or correction of your records.
• You have the right to ask your care team not to tell callers or visitors you are in the Hospital, or where to find you.
• You have the right to request that we keep your health information private from some of the people caring for you. To ask for your information to be ‘locked’, contact the Privacy Office at
905-889-1125, extension 250 or [email protected].
• You have the right to ask us to review audit logs to determine who may have accessed your records, and to have any privacy concerns addressed in a timely manner.

How to Contact Us
For more information about our privacy protection practices, or to raise a concern you may have about your privacy, contact us at: Tel: 905-889-1125, extension 250 or [email protected]
If we cannot satisfactorily address your concern, you may also contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario at: www.ipc.com or by phone: 416-326-3333