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Privacy and your Medical Record
We take your privacy very seriously. Neither your doctor nor the office staff will release any information about you to anyone without your prior consent. Even the fact that you visited the office or made an appointment is considered confidential.If you want information released to others, (like insurance companies, employers, relatives) please give us instruction in writing and try to specify exactly what information you consent to release. However, we will not ask for written consent to disclose your information in the process of providing appropriate care. In other words, we assume that you give us consent to send all or part of your health record to others involved in your direct care such as labs, hospitals, and other physicians.
Your medical record is kept on a computer in a very secure "data vault" in Vancouver. Our computers connect to the data vault, not through the internet, but through a special Private Physician Network run by Telus and funded by the Provincial Government. The whole system is protected by a very high level of encryption, passwords and redundant data backup similar to existing banking systems. Access is strictly controlled, audited, and limited to your doctor and the office staff only. Neither Telus, nor the Provincial government, have any access to your medical record. The overall privacy and security of your computerized medical record is better than it would be on paper.
You are entitled to see all the information in your medical record. Just ask the staff and this can be arranged. If you want to discuss what you see on your record, then you must make an appointment to see your doctor. There is a fee for printed copies. If you believe there is an error or omission in your records, you can request a correction. Your request and any corrections your doctor decides to make will then be documented on your record.
If you have a complaint or concern about how your personal information has been collected, used, or disclosed, there is a process in place to deal with it. You have the right to make a written complaint to your doctor. This should usually solve the problem. If your doctor has not dealt with your concern to your satisfaction, you can contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and speak with their privacy officer to help solve the issue. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC, who has the final word on the matter.
We abide by the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Medical Association and the Guidelines and Policies of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
