The personal health information Protection Act (PHIPA) enables an individual with a right to access his/her personal health information held by a Personal health information custodian and with this regard it sets out a formal procedure by which an individual can request a custodian to access their personal health information. It is pertinent to note that the right to access does not apply to the following information and they are-
1) Quality of care information
2) Personal health information collected or created for the purpose of complying with the requirements of a quality assurance program (refer schedule 2 of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991)
3) Raw data from standardized psychological tests or assessments or
4) Personal health information of the prescribed type in the custody or control of a prescribed class or classes of health information custodians.
An individual may exercise this right by making a written request for access to the custodian which has custody or control of the information. However, oral requests are also not barred under the provisions of PHIPA. Upon receiving a request a health custodian must respond not later than 30 days after receiving the request for access but this time frame can be extended upon exceptional circumstances under which custodian is required to inform that individual in writing mentioning the reason for such extension.
When information custodian has granted an individual access to a record of his/her personal health information and if the individual believes that the record is inaccurate or incomplete for the purposes for which the custodian has collected, uses, or has used the information, the individual may request in writing that the custodian corrects the record. However, PHIPA does not prevent individuals from making an oral application for such correction and this amounts to informal requests.
Within 30 days of receiving a request for correction, the health information custodian must by written notice to the individual, grant or refuse the individual’s request of extend the deadline for replying for not more than 30 days in the following circumstances:
a) Replying the request within 30 days would unreasonably interfere with the activities of the custodian; or
b) The time required to undertake the consultations necessary to reply to the request within 30 days would make it not reasonably practical to reply within that time.
Health information custodian may extend the prescribed time limit giving the individual written notice to such extension along with its reason and grant or refuse the individual’s request as soon as possible within the time limit stated above, in case a health information custodian that doesn’t not grant a request within the prescribed time limit it shall be deemed to have refused the request.
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