PRIVACY LAWS FOR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION
• Make available a privacy policy; • Establish information safeguards, and retention, destruction, disposal and de-identifi cation proced- ures, and seek approval of such procedures where applicable;
• Establish a complaints policy; • Respond to access requests; • Use confi dentiality agreements with personnel and contractors;
• Train personnel on privacy practices; • Maintain records/logs of disclosures made without consent, to which patients shall have ac- cess;
• Report breaches (as discussed below); and • Comply with specifi c requirements when health re- cords are used for research. The Acts include reporting obligations in respect of
breaches, which vary slightly by province, but in gen- eral custodians must notify individuals if information is stolen, lost or subject to unauthorized access. De- pending on the specifi c Act, disclosure may not be re- quired if there is no potential harm for embarrassment, or if the custodian believes there will not be harm to provision of health care or the well being of the indi- vidual. The Acts also refer to "agents," defi ned as persons
acting for or on behalf of a custodian. This extends the Acts beyond the scope of health professionals directly involved in patient care. Agents are prohibited from collecting, using or disclosing personal health informa- tion unless permitted to do so by the custodian. Agents should be aware of the duties imposed by legislation, such as notifying custodians at the fi rst reasonable op-
portunity if the personal health information is stolen, lost or accessed by unauthorized persons. Review offi cers will have the power to investigate
and make recommendations, and appeals can be made to provincial superior courts. The Acts also include various offences, including the basic failure to protect health information. Fines vary by province, but may be as high as $10,000 for individuals and up to $50,000 for corporations in Nova Scotia. In NL and NS, guilty parties may be subject to imprisonment for up to six months.
Robert J. Aske Halifax, NS 902.420.3310 raske@smss.com
Rosemary Scott, Q.C. Charlottetown, PE 902.629.4503 rscott@smss.com
Stéphanie Luce Moncton, NB 506.383.2234 sluce@smss.com
Janet L. Grant St. John's, NL 709.570.5794 jgrant@smss.com
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Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 65 Grafton Street, P.O. Box 2140 Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 8B9 Telephone: 902.892.2485 Fax: 902.566.5283 charlottetown@smss.com
Fredericton, New Brunswick Suite 600, Frederick Square, 77 Westmorland Street P.O. Box 730, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5B4 Telephone: 506.458.1970 Fax: 506.444.8974 fredericton@smss.com
Halifax, Nova Scotia Suite 900, Purdy's Wharf Tower One 1959 Upper Water Street, P.O. Box 997, Halifax, NS, Canada B3J 2X2 Telephone: 902.420.3200 Fax: 902.420.1417 halifax@smss.com
Saint John, New Brunswick Suite 1000, Brunswick House 44 Chipman Hill P.O. Box 7289, Postal Station A, Saint John, NB, Canada E2L 4S6 Telephone: 506.632.1970 Fax: 506.652.1989 saint-john@smss.com
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Suite 1100, Cabot Place, 100 New Gower Street P.O. Box 5038, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1C 5V3 Telephone: 709.722.4270 Fax: 709.722.4565 st-johns@smss.com
Moncton, New Brunswick Suite 601, Blue Cross Centre, 644 Main Street P.O. Box 28051, Moncton, NB, Canada, E1C 9N4 Telephone: 506.853.1970 Fax: 506.858.8454 moncton@smss.com
