KFL&A Public Health is committed to respecting privacy and protecting personal health information. The Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) directs how personal health information is managed by health care agencies.

The employees of KFL&A Public Health collect personal health information about individuals directly from them or from the person acting on their behalf. Employees collect only as much personal health information as is needed to do their jobs. It may be necessary to collect personal health information about individuals from other sources, if consent to do so has been given and if the law permits.

KFL&A Public Health collects, uses, and shares personal health information to:

• provide public health programs and services,
• plan, administer, and manage programs and services,
• conduct quality improvement and risk management activities,
• compile statistics to assess the health of our population,
• comply with legal and regulatory requirements, and
• fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law.

Individuals may withdraw consent for some of the above collections, uses, and disclosures, subject to legal exceptions.

Protecting Personal Health Information:

KFL&A Public Health takes steps to ensure that all employees who provide services protect privacy and use personal health information only for the purposes described above.

KFL&A Public Health takes steps to protect personal health information from theft, loss and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure, and disposal. Personal health information is kept confidential and is available only to authorized employees. Personal health information is kept secure in a locked or restricted area or in the case of computer records is password protected.

Accessing Your Own Record(s) Containing Personal Health Information:

Any person for whom KFL&A Public Health holds a record containing personal health information may request a copy of that record, unless the law restricts access.

Correcting Your Own Record(s) Containing Personal Health Information:

If you notice a mistake or information is missing in your record, you have the right to request a correction to that record.

How to Contact KFL&A Public Health:

For more information about KFL&A Public Health’s privacy protection practices, or to raise a concern about these practices, contact:

Manager, CQI and Central Resources
KFL&A Public Health
221 Portsmouth Avenue
Kingston, ON K7M 1V5

How to Contact the Privacy Commissioner:

Individuals have the right to contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario if they believe that their privacy rights have not been handled properly. The Commissioner can be reached at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario
2 Bloor Street East
Suite 1400
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8

1-800-387-0073