Protecting your Privacy

Protecting Your Privacy

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the Personal Health Information (PHI) to which our patients entrust with us. Your PHI will only be used under the authority of the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA).

At CKHA, a patient’s rights regarding their health information is respected, including the right to:

• Consent or refuse the collection, use and disclosure of your PHI.
• Access and/or make requests to correct your PHI.
• Know if your PHI is inappropriately accessed and request an audit.
• Know whom your PHI is shared with.
• Challenge CKHA’s compliance with privacy legislation.

What information is collected?

CKHA only collects, uses, discloses and retains the PHI of our patients in compliance with PHIPA and our Privacy Policy. Your PHI is used by CKHA for the following purposes:

• For direct, quality patient care.
• For administration and management of the health care system.
• For quality improvement activities (such as patient satisfaction surveys).
• For risk management activities.
• Where required or permitted by law and to comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
• For research, education and to collect statistics to make our organization the best it can be.
• To obtain payment for your care through agencies that pay for health services.
• Email Communications: With your consent, some departments may use your email address to send you basic, non-clinical information. You may also receive patient experience surveys and emails from the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation related to fundraising initiatives. If you choose to provide your email address, staff will give you an email consent form to complete. Once completed, the form will be scanned into your health record. You may choose to withdraw your consent and opt out of email communications at any time by informing a staff member that you no longer wish to receive emails from CKHA.

Who is this information shared with?

CKHA is partnered with organizations across Ontario to provide you with health care using shared electronic patient record systems. 

CKHA shares your information with:

• Health care providers at other hospitals, health care agencies, nursing homes etc. who become a part of your health care team for the purpose of your continuing care. Examples include:
  
  • Your family physician/primary care provider.
  • Ontario Health at Home when you require their follow-up care in the community. Also, we notify Ontario Health at Home when one of their current clients is admitted for emergency care in our hospital.
• Agencies that pay for health services such as OHIP, health insurance companies, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Ministry of Health.
• Individuals who contact the organization to inquire about you. Unless you instruct otherwise, we may confirm that you are a patient, your room number and a general, high-level condition report.
• Provincial networks and registries to help providers make better informed, faster decisions when treating you and to support health system needs. For example, Ontario Health’s Acute and Community Care Clinical Data Repository, Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), and Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS).
• The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation. Unless you request otherwise, we may share your name and address for the purpose of fundraising for the hospital.
• Other health care providers to continue to care for you. This includes health care providers at other organizations who can view your information through shared electronic systems/databases to continue to care for you.
• If at any point you or your substitute decision-maker do not want your health information shared with one or more of the health care providers or organizations listed above, you may limit or withdraw your consent at any time by contacting CKHA’s Privacy Office at privacy@ckha.on.ca or 519-352-6400 ext. 6617.