As we know that the provisions of PHIPA governs with the personal health information of an individual and its dealing with custodian or agent of custodian authorised to act on their behalf. Now here we will discuss what all information amounts to personal health information under the PHIPA act and how it is related to custodian.
Personal Health Information
Section 4 of the act says that personal health information means identifying information about an individual in oral or recorded form if the information relates to –
- The physical or mental health of the individual, including information that consists of the health history of the individual’s family.
- Providing healthcare to the individual, including the identification of a person as a provider of health care to the individual.
- The plan of service within the meaning of the Home Care and Community Services Act, 1994 of the individual.
- The plan that sets out the home and community care services for the individual to be provided by a health provider or Ontario Health Team pursuant to funding u/s.21 of the Connecting Care Act, 2019.
- The payments or eligibility for health care, or eligibility for coverage for health care, in respect of the individual.
- The payments or eligibility for health care, or eligibility for coverage for health care, in respect of the individual.
- Relates to the donation by the individual of any part or bodily substance of the individual or derived from the testing or examination of any such body part or bodily substance.
- The health number of an individual.
- Identifies an individual’s substitute decision-maker.
Subsection 2 of section 4 of the act clarifies that identifying information’s meaning and says that information that identifies an individual or for which it is reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances that it could be utilised, either alone or with other information, to identify an individual.
Further, the act clarifies about mixed kinds of records under which personal health information includes identifying information which is not personal health information as described under section 4 of subsection 1 but it is contained in a record that contains personal health information.
Exception to Personal health information
Personal health information does not include identifying information contained in a record that is in the custody or under the control of a health information if, the identifying information contained in the record relates primarily to
- one or more employees or other agents of the custodian
- The record is maintained primarily for a purpose other than provisions of health care or assistance in providing healthcare to the employees or other agents.
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