OTNhub: Privacy Information

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Personal Health Information Protection Act

The Personal Health Information Protection Act, or PHIPA is a provincial law that sets out the rules for health care providers to collect, use and share your personal health information. This law also gives you the right to ask to see and ask for changes to your personal health information if the information is inaccurate or incomplete.

Personal Health Information

“Personal health information” or PHI, is any information that can identify you and link you to health care services you receive. This can include your name, address, telephone number, health card number, health professional’s name, reason for seeing a health professional, lab or examination results.

Who Sees Your Personal Health Information

Arranging virtual care appointments: Ontario Health uses your personal health information to arrange for your virtual care appointment and to share those details with you. This means that Ontario Health must provide your personal health information to hospitals and/or doctors involved in your appointment.

Call recording for quality purposes: If you call Ontario Health, your call will be recorded for quality purposes, securely retained and erased after it is no longer needed. You have the ability to opt out if you do not want your call recorded.

Paying health care providers: Your personal health information is also used to pay doctors for the services they provide to you through OTNhub.

Data for health system planning and management: Sometimes, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care may ask Ontario Health for data to help plan and manage the health care system. When we provide this kind of information to the Ministry, it does so in a way that prevents individuals from being identified.

Conducting evaluation or research projects: OTNhub Members may also ask to use information generated by OTNhub for conducting evaluation or research projects. If your personal health information is involved in this project, you would be notified and asked for your consent. You do not have to participate and may refuse to do so if asked.

Ontario Health Protects Your Personal Health Information

Ontario Health uses a variety of physical, administrative and technical methods to protect your personal health information from unauthorized access, use, copying, modification or disclosure. Some of these include locked drawers, to a private network over which data and images flow between sites. Ontario Health continually monitors, reviews and updates its practices to ensure the privacy and security of confidential information on the network.

Access Your Personal Health Information

You have the right to see your personal health information. Request Ontario Health will typically refer you to your health care provider or organization to access your personal health information. Should Ontario Health have personal information about you that you would like to access, please submit a request for access on our Privacy contact page. 

Ontario Health will confirm your identity and provide you with your record or a notice indicating why the record cannot be made available to you within 30 days of receiving your request.

Correct Your Personal Health Information 

If you think that your personal health information includes inaccurate or incomplete information, please submit a request for correction on our main Privacy contact page. The Privacy Office will investigate the complaint upon receipt and Ontario Health will respond to you within 30 days of receiving your request.

Make a Complaint About How Ontario Health has handled Your Personal Health Information

If you feel that Ontario Health has not handled your personal health information properly and wish to complain, please submit a complaint by visiting our main Privacy contact page.

General privacy information is available on Ontario Health's Privacy page. 

For more information about how OTNhub handles and protects your information, and the information of your patients please see the OTNhub Statement of Information Practices.