Commitment to Privacy
Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information has always been an important aspect of Dr. Michael White and Beamsville Chiroplus’ operations. The appropriate collection, use and disclosure of patients’ personal health information is fundamental to our day-to-day operations and to your care.
We strive to provide you with excellent chiropractic care and service, which includes treating your personal information with respect. Each member and employee of Beamsville Chiroplus must abide by our commitment to privacy in the handling of personal information.
Applicability of this Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy informs you of our commitment to privacy and tells you the ways we ensure that your privacy is protected. Our Privacy Policy applies to protecting the personal health information in our possession and control.
What is Personal Health Information?
Personal health information means identifying information about an individual relating to their physical or mental health (including medical history), the provision of health care to the individual, payments or eligibility for health care, organ and tissue donation and health card number.
THE TEN PRINCIPLES OF PRIVACY
1. Accountability
We take our commitment to securing your privacy very seriously. Dr. Michael White and every employee or worker at Aches ‘n’ Pains Therapy Centre is responsible for the personal information under their control. Our employees are informed about the importance of privacy and receive information periodically to update them about our Privacy Policy and related issues.
In addition to establishing this Privacy Policy, Dr. Michael White is the point of contact for all privacy matters pertaining to the operations of Beamsville Chiroplus
2. Identifying Purposes: Why we Collect Information
We ask you for information to establish a relationship and serve your chiropractic needs. We obtain most of our information about you directly from you, or from other health practitioners whom you have seen and authorized to disclose to us. You are entitled to know how we use your information and this is described in our Privacy Statement. We limit the information we collect to what we need for those purposes, and we will use it only for those purposes. We will obtain your consent if we wish to use your information for any other purpose.
3. Consent
You have the right to determine how your personal health information is used and disclosed. For most health care purposes, your consent is implied as a result of your consent to treatment, however, in some circumstances your express, sometimes written, consent may be required.
4. Limiting Collection
We collect information by fair and lawful means and collect only that information which may be necessary for purposes related to the provision of your chiropractic care.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
The information we request from you is used for the purposes defined. We will seek your consent before using the information for purposes beyond the scope of the posted Privacy Statement.
Under no circumstances do we sell patient lists or other personal information to third parties. There are some types of disclosure of your personal health information that may occur as part of Beamsville Chiroplus fulfilling its routine obligations and practice management. This includes consultants and suppliers to Beamsville Chiroplus, on the understanding that they abide by our Privacy Policy, and only to the extent necessary to allow them to provide business services or support to Beamsville Chiroplus.
We will retain your information only for the time it is required for the purposes we describe and once your personal information is no longer required, it will be destroyed. However, due to our ongoing exposure to potential claims, some information is kept for a longer period.
6. Accuracy
We endeavor to ensure that all decisions involving your personal information are based upon accurate and timely information. While we will do our best to base our decisions on accurate information, we rely on you to disclose all material information and to inform us of any relevant changes.
7. Safeguards – Protecting your Information
We protect your information with appropriate safeguards and security measures. Beamsville Chiroplus maintains personal information in a combination of paper and electronic files. Recent paper records concerning individuals’ personal information are stored in files kept onsite at our office. Older records may be stored offsite.
Access to personal information will be authorized only for the personnel associated with Beamsville Chiroplus, the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (the regulatory body for chiropractors in Ontario), and to those otherwise authorized by law.
We provide information to health care providers acting on your behalf, on the understanding that they are also bound by law and ethics to safeguard your privacy. Other organizations and agents must agree to abide by our Privacy Policy and may be asked to sign contracts to that effect. We will give them only the information necessary to perform the services for which they are engaged, and will require that they not store, use or disclose the information for purposes other than to carry out those services.
Our computer systems are password secured and constructed in such a way that only authorized individuals can access secure systems and databases.
If you send us an email message that includes personal information, such as your name included in the “address,” we will use that information to respond to your inquiry. Please remember that email is not necessarily secure against interception. If your communication is very sensitive, you should reconsider sending it electronically unless the email is encrypted or your browser indicates that the access is secure.
8. Openness – Keeping you Informed
Beamsville Chiroplus has prepared this plain language Privacy Policy to keep you informed. You may ask to receive a copy from Dr. Michael White or view it online at www.drmikewhitechiro.com
If you have any additional questions or concerns about privacy, we invite you to contact us and we will address your concerns to the best of our ability.
9. Access and Correction
With limited exceptions, we will give you access to the information we retain about you within a reasonable time, upon presentation of a written request and satisfactory identification. We may charge you a fee for this service and if so, we will give you notice in advance of processing your request.
If you find errors of fact in your personal health information, please notify us as soon as possible and we will make the appropriate corrections. We are not required to correct information relating to clinical observations or opinions made in good faith. You have a right to append a short statement of disagreement to your record if we refuse to make a requested change.
If we deny your request for access to your personal information, we will advise you in writing of the reason for the refusal and you may then challenge the decision.
10. Challenging Compliance
We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about your privacy or our Privacy Policy. We will investigate and respond to your concerns about any aspect of our handling of your information.
In most cases, an issue is resolved simply by telling us about it and entering into discussion. You can contact Dr. Michael White at the following location:
· Beamsville Chiroplus, 5014 Serena Dr, unit 3, Beamsville, ON L3J 0T2
· 365 312 1110
· drmikewhitechiro@yahoo.com
If you are not satisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario if you think we have violated your rights. Contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at:
· Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, 2 Bloor St E Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
· 416-326-3333 or 1-800-387-0073
Please note, any changes to this Privacy Policy shall be acknowledged in a timely manner.
This Privacy Policy was adapted from the OMA Sample Privacy Policy, www.oma.org/phealth/privacymain.html
