How We Collect, Use and Share Your Health Information

Why we collect your information

We collect your health information to assess and treat you, coordinate your care with other health providers, process payment and insurance billing, and meet our professional and legal obligations.

When we may share your information without your consent

We only share the minimum information needed for a given purpose, and we use de-identified or summary information whenever we can.

The HIA allows us to share identifying health information with other health custodians, such as your family physician, without asking you first. We only do this for the following purposes:

• Providing health services
• Determining or verifying your eligibility to receive a health service
• Investigations, discipline proceedings, practice visits or inspections by a health profession's regulatory body, such as the Physiotherapy Alberta College + Association
• Any purpose authorized by a law of Alberta or Canada
• Internal management, including quality improvement, audit, reporting, and processing payment for your care

If you tell us how you would like your information shared, or not shared, we will take your wishes into account. We weigh them against the need to share it for one of these authorized purposes. We also take reasonable steps to make sure your information goes only to the person intended and authorized to receive it.

When we will ask for your consent

We will always ask for your consent before sharing your information for any other purpose, or for a purpose we didn't identify when we collected it. This includes requests from insurers, employers, lawyers or family members. Before we accept your consent, we will confirm your identity.

We will usually ask for consent in writing or electronically. If that isn't reasonably possible, we may accept verbal consent. If we do, we will confirm your identity and record the conversation in your chart. Whether written or verbal, your consent will include:

• What information will be shared
• Who it will be shared with
• Why it is being shared
• The benefits and risks of agreeing or declining
• When the consent starts and ends, if it has an end date
• Your right to withdraw consent at any time

Questions

If you have questions about how your health information is handled, contact our Privacy Officer, Brianna Bruce, at info@flourishphysio.ca.