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Personal health Information and your privacy

Yukon's Health Information Privacy and Management Act (HIPMA) protects the privacy of your personal health information. As a custodian, we are responsible for collecting, using, disclosing and protecting your personal health information in accordance with HIPMA, as well as other applicable law. Our employees and other authorized persons are only authorized to collect, use, and disclose the personal health information needed to do their jobs. This notice outlines our approach to protecting your personal privacy.

Collection of Personal Health Information

We collect personal health information directly from you or the person acting on your behalf. The personal health information that we collect may include your name, address, telephone number, email address, gender, date of birth, personal health card number, health history, records related to the care you have received, and information about your health care providers. Sometimes, we ask other health professionals or health care organizations involved in your care for your personal health information to help us provide you with care. We may collect personal health information from other sources only if the law allows or if you consent.

We collect only the personal health information needed to provide you with health care and to administer this care.

How we use and share your personal health information

We use and disclose your personal health information in order to:

  • Provide treatment and care for you
  • Help other health care providers outside our organization who are involved in your care to provide you with health services
  • Receive payment from your territorial/provincial or federal health care plan, private insurer, or other body for the health care services we provide you
  • Plan and manager our internal operations and conduct quality improvement activities
  • Teach our staff how to provide care
  • Fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law, e.g. report abuse, respond to a court order

Sometimes it may be necessary for your personal health information to be disclosed to organizations outside Yukon in order to provide you with care. For example, some lab tests cannot be performed in Yukon and must be processed in another province. When personal health information is disclosed to another province, the laws of that province apply.

In cases where your consent is not required, your personal health information can only be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with HIPMA and its regulations.

Your Rights

HIPMA gives individuals specific rights in regards to their personal health information. You have the right, subject to certain limited exceptions, to:

  • Withhold or withdraw your consent for us to collect your personal health information from, allow its use by, or share it with a specific health care provider or organization for the purpose of providing you with care. We will do what we reasonably can to comply with your wishes, unless we are authorized by law to do otherwise;
  • Request to examine or receive a copy of your personal health information. A reasonable fee may be charged. We keep your personal health information for 10 years.