Rights, Responsibilities & Privacy

Client Rights

Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre supports the rights of clients to independent expression, choice, and action. We strive to ensure that each individual client is given respect, dignity, consideration, privacy, and opportunities to participate.

These rights include:

• The right to be listened to and to have their concerns taken seriously without ridicule.
• The right to refuse to participate in treatment or medication recommended by the healthcare provider.
• The right to obtain a second opinion on any treatments, surgical procedures, or health decisions recommended by the healthcare provider.
• The right to access and understand their medical records.
• The right to express grievances with treatment received and to bring their concerns and suggestions to the attention of Hamilton Urban Core management without negative impacts on their care.
• The right to confidentiality of all information related to their care, except in cases where the Centre is legally required to provide information.
• The right to know about all the services available at Hamilton Urban Core.
• The right to decline services provided by a student.

Client Responsibilities

Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre clients have the following responsibilities in accessing the Centre’s services:

• The responsibility to make every effort to arrive on time for appointments.
• The responsibility to notify Hamilton Urban Core to cancel if they are not able to make their appointment.
• The responsibility to follow the treatment or service plan the provider and client have agreed upon.
• The responsibility to treat the provider with respect and courtesy.
• The responsibility to tell the provider that they need more information or that they do not understand the instructions.
• The responsibility to report unexpected changes in their health, social, or living conditions to the provider.
• The responsibility to learn as much as they can about their health care problems so that they can make the best choices.
• The responsibility to look after their health and wellbeing to the best of their ability.

General Principle

This policy is designed to comply with applicable privacy legislation in Canada. It is also intended to help individuals understand how their personal information is managed at Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre. Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information of clients is an important aspect of how we work at Hamilton Urban Core. The appropriate collection, use, and disclosure of clients’ personal health information are fundamental to our day-to-day operations and care received by those accessing our services.

At Hamilton Urban Core, we strive to provide excellent care and services, which includes treating personal information with respect. Employees, members, or others engaged in the work of Hamilton Urban Core must observe this policy and abide by our commitment to privacy in the handling of personal information.

Definition

Hamilton Urban Core’s privacy policy is a document that informs clients about the Centre’s commitment to privacy and the ways in which the Centre will ensure that the client’s privacy is protected. Hamilton Urban Core’s Privacy Policy is intended to protect the personal health information of all clients that is within the possession and control of the Centre. Personal Health Information is any identifying information about a person relating to their physical or mental health. It includes information that relates to:

• Personal characteristics such as gender, age, income, home address or phone number, ethnic background, family status.
• Health information such as health history, health conditions, health services received by the individual, eligibility to receive health care, health number.
• Activities and views such as religion, politics, opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or valuation of an individual.

Accountability

Hamilton Urban Core is responsible for maintaining and protecting personal information under its control. Employees of Hamilton Urban Core are informed about the importance of privacy and receive information periodically to update them about the Privacy Policy and related issues. The Executive Director is the Privacy Officer, and matters related to privacy should be directed to them.

Identifying Purposes

Clients are asked for information to establish the relationship between themselves and the health provider and to serve the client’s health needs. Most client information may be obtained directly from the client or from other health practitioners who have been authorized by the client to disclose information to Hamilton Urban Core. Hamilton Urban Core will limit the information collected to only what is needed for the purpose of providing quality primary health care and social services and will only use the information for that purpose. If there is a need to use client information for any other reason, consent must first be obtained from the client.

Consent

Clients have the right to determine how their personal health information will be used and disclosed. For most health care purposes, consent is implied as a result of a client’s consent to treatment. However, in some circumstances, the client must provide their expressed, sometimes written consent. When releasing personal information of a client, expressed consent is required and as such the client’s consent must be documented using a Consent to Disclose Personal Health Information form and the following information must be included:

• The client’s name
• The Centre’s name and the staff person’s name
• The name of the person or organization and address to whom the information is being released
• Description of the personal information to be disclosed
• The reason for the release
• Date of consent
• Any limits to the consent, such as period of time, use, and so on

Withdrawal of Consent

Clients have the right to withdraw consent for the release of personal information. This means the individual expressly withholds or withdraws consent for the release of personal health information sent to particular individuals or organizations. Withdrawal of consent may apply to an item of information or their entire record. If a client requests that personal health information not be forwarded to a third party, and the provider agrees, the provider must:

• Explain to the client the possible consequences of a refusal to consent to the disclosure
• If the provider feels the third party needs the information, the provider advises the third party (by phone or in writing) that some relevant information has been withheld at the direction of the client.
• Note all communication regarding the withdrawal of consent in the client’s chart or record
• If the provider is informed by the third party that the client agrees to have the information made available to them, written consent must be obtained from the client and noted in the chart.
• If the provider believes that disclosure is necessary to eliminate or reduce significant risk of serious bodily harm to a person or persons, they must:
• Disclose the personal health information to the third party.
• Note the disclosure and circumstances surrounding it in the client’s chart and, if appropriate, inform the client that disclosure has occurred.

Limited Collection

Hamilton Urban Core will collect information by fair and lawful means and collect only that information that may be necessary for purposes related to the provision of care and service.

Limited Use, Disclosure, and Retention

Information required from clients is used for the purposes defined by Hamilton Urban Core in its policy. Hamilton Urban Core will seek client consent before using information for purposes beyond the scope of the posted Privacy Statement. Under no circumstances will Hamilton Urban Core sell client lists or other personal information to third parties. There are some types of disclosure of personal health information that may occur as part of the Centre fulfilling its routine obligations and/or management. This includes consultants and suppliers to the Centre on the understanding that they abide by our Privacy Policy, and only to the extent necessary to allow them to provide business services or support to the Centre. Client information will be retained for a period of not less than ten (10) years, except where the minutes relate to direct client service (such as case conference), in which case the minutes will be retained for a period of ten (10) years, or until ten (10) years after the day on which the minor client is or would have reached the age of 18, except where legislation stipulates differently.

Accuracy

Hamilton Urban Core will endeavor to ensure that all decisions involving personal information of clients are based upon accurate and timely information. Clients are encouraged to disclose all material information to the Centre and to inform the Centre of any relevant changes.

Safeguarding Personal Information

Security safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the information will protect personal information, in whatever form. The safeguards will protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. Measures of protection for Hamilton Urban Core include:

• Physical measures such as locking file cabinets and restricted access to offices
• Organizational measures such as security passes and limiting access to personal information on a “need-to-know” basis.
• Technological measures such as the use of passwords and encryption
• Procedural measures such as the shredding of sensitive personal information.

Openness

It is the intention of Hamilton Urban Core to use a plain-language approach in the Privacy Policy to inform clients of the policy or changes to the policy.

Access and Correction

With limited exceptions, clients of Hamilton Urban Core may request a copy of their personal information by submitting a written request to the Privacy Officer at the address provided in the policy. Acceptable proof of identification is required before such information is given out. Clients are requested to inform the Centre about inaccuracies in their information by contacting the Privacy Officer at the following address:

Privacy Officer
Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre
430 Cannon Street East, Hamilton, L8L2C8
E-mail address: administration@hucchc.com