Flourish Occupational Therapy Privacy Policy
Flourish Occupational Therapy values privacy and is committed to ensuring the privacy and security of your personal health information that is held in our custody. As a “custodian” of health information under the Nova Scotia Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) we are responsible for ensuring that we follow all regulations as outlined in the Act. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
What personal information do we collect?
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. This includes but is not limited to your name, date of birth, provincial health card number, email address, phone number, diagnoses, etc. We are required to collect and use relevant personal information to provide you with occupational therapy services, and to comply with the Nova Scotia Occupational Therapy Act and College of Occupational Therapy of Nova Scotia’s Standards of Practice.
How do we collect your personal information?
We collect information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible we collect your personal information directly from you throughout the course of our relationship.
Sometimes we may need to obtain information about you from other sources, which may include but are not limited to your insurance company, other health care professionals, your employer, your hospital, or others within your circle of care.
Consent
In most cases, we will ask your direct consent, if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Normally, we ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your verbal permission to collect this information. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with us. If you are unable to legally provide consent, your legal guardian or substitute decision maker will be contacted to provide consent on your behalf.
You may request to limit or revoke your consent for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal health information by contacting Flourish Occupational Therapy and providing notice of your change in consent. If you are revoking your consent for Flourish Occupational Therapy to share your personal health information with another individual or organization, the change in consent is not retroactive. This means that previously shared information will not be asked to be returned.
Use of Your Information
We use your personal information to provide occupational therapy services to you and to complete billing and administration tasks. We may utilize your personal information to share information regarding changes or updates to Flourish Occupational Therapy, the services we provide, or information about the profession. You may revoke your consent to receive updates from Flourish Occupational Therapy at any time.
Disclosure of your Personal Information
Under certain circumstances, we will disclose your personal information to a third party. Examples of these circumstances include; when you have consented to your personal information being disclosed, when it is required to provide occupational therapy services (with your consent unless otherwise required by law), when it is necessary to collect fees or complete administrative tasks, if we are required to engage a third party to provide administrative tasks, or when we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena.
We do not disclose your personal information to any third parties to enable them to market their products and services. For example, we do not provide our client mailing lists to other occupational therapists or businesses.
Updating Your Information
As your personal health information is used to provide occupational therapy services to you, it is important that it is kept up to date. We ask that you inform us if your personal information changes throughout the course of our relationship.
Is My Personal Information Secure?
We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification, or unwarranted disclosure. Flourish Occupational Therapy uses a secure electronic software (Jane) for storage of your personal health information. This software allows for Flourish Occupational Therapy to manage access, use, disclosure and retention.
Access to Your Personal Information
As per the Personal Health Information Act, you may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. If you would like access to your personal health information, contact the Flourish Occupational Therapy Privacy Officer listed at the end of this document.
Correcting Errors
If there is information about you that you can establish is not accurate, complete and/or up- to-date, please notify us so we can take the steps to correct it.
Can I be Denied Access to My Personal Information?
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. You may be denied access to your personal health information held by Flourish Occupational Therapy if granting access to you would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others, if the rights and property of Flourish Occupational Therapy are at risk, or if the request is deemed frivolous or vexatious. If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, an explanation will be granted.
Communicating with Us
Communication regarding appointments or sharing assessment findings often occur using email. You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information. If you are not comfortable using email for this purpose, please notify us and we will take reasonable steps to find an alternative means of sharing information.
Privacy Officer
If you have any questions, wish to access your personal information, or wish to file a complaint please contact our privacy officer Madeline Sherman at the contact information below.
Madeline Sherman, MSc. OT (NS)
Phone: 902-402-4209
Email: maddieannesherman@outlook.com
If you are not satisfied with our response, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia can be reached at 902-424-4684.