Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit

The Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit is dedicated to the security of all information in our possession and the privacy of our clients. We have strict policies and procedures in place to govern how we collect, use and safeguard all information you provide to us whether in person, by telephone or through the Internet.

Your Protection Under The Law

All information placed in the care of the Health Unit is regulated by:

the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) which governs information related to your health and medical treatment, and
the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) that governs the use of “personal information” held by municipal organizations like the Health Unit.

Ensuring Your Consent

We only collect the minimum amount of information needed to do our jobs in providing service to you. Whenever we require your information, whether in person, on a form or on our website, we will inform you of why it is needed and its intended uses. You or anyone legally acting on your behalf may then give us informed consent to collect and use your information.

Before disclosing your information to any outside party we will get your direct consent to release it. We will also get your consent before using your information for any other reason than what it was originally provided for.

You may withdraw your consent at any time or chose not to release your personal information to us or contact us through other means to limit the amount of information we need to serve you.

In certain, rare instances we may collect or transfer information with other parties without direct consent where such actions are clearly defined by PHIPA, MFIPPA or other laws.

Use of Our Website

In instances where you may be providing us with your personal information via our website such as when using a form, the page will provide the necessary notice of how the information will be used and that submitting the form electronically gives us the necessary consent.

If you do not wish to send information via the website, all of our services have instructions on how we may serve you in person or over the telephone.

Safeguarding Your Information

The Health Unit takes our responsibility to protect your privacy very seriously. We have in place reasonable methods to protect all information from accidental or unauthorized access, disclosure, duplication, destruction or modification. These methods include:

Clean desk policy where desks and offices are locked while unattended,
Physical measures such as fire protected vaults for critical information,
Technological measures for secure computer networks employing passwords, encryption, data backup, virus checking and access audits

Access and Accuracy

To the extent reasonably possible, information in the possession of the Health Unit shall be as accurate, complete and up to date as possible for the purposes for which it was collected. You may request to review your personal information and submit corrections by contacting the Health Unit.

Openness and Privacy Concerns

You may address any questions regarding privacy matters you have to:

Privacy Officer
Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit
179 North Park Street
Belleville, Ontario
K8P 4P1
(613) 966-5500

or you may contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) at

Information and Privacy Commissioner
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M4W 1A8
www.ipc.on.ca
(416) 326-3333