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, we respect our patient’s rights regarding their health information, 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

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.

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
- Home and Community Care when you require their follow-up care in the community. Also, we notify Home and Community Care 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, e.g. Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS)
the hospital’s 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

See the following sections of CKHA’s website for:

Release of Information for personal health records
Freedom of Information requests and public reporting

Contact Us

Privacy Office
privacy@ckha.on.ca

Melissa Johnson, Privacy Officer
519.352.6400 x 6316

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