Emergency Medical Services Information Practices

Protecting your Personal Health Information is important to ADSAB.

ADSAB's Emergency Medical Services Unit provides emergency pre-hospital medical services and transportation to the ill and injured in Algoma District.  In order to provide these services and ensure that you receive proper care, ADSAB EMS Paramedics need to ask you for certain personal health information. 

As an individual who uses our services, you have the right to know how we collect, use, maintain and disclose personal health information.  You have a right to expect that, to the best or our ability, the personal health information held by us remains accurate, confidential and secure.

Privacy of your Personal Health Information

ADSAB EMS is committed to maintaining the confidentiality and security of personal health information and has a number of practices in place to protect the privacy of your personal health information.  For example, your health information that is collected by our Paramedics is maintained in a secured file at our EMS Administration office in a location that has restricted access.  Only those who are directly involved in your care and service or those who have a legal right to see your records are permitted access to your personal health information.

Previously, the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (MFIPPA) protected all personal information collected by the EMS Unit.  The Government of Ontario has enacted new privacy legislation for all health care providers in the province that took effect November 1, 2004.  This legislation, called the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) requires that strict rules be followed to protect the personal health information collected, used and/or disclosed by a 'health information custodian'.  Algoma District Services Administration Board Emergency Medical Services Unit is considered a 'health information custodian' under this legislation.  As such, we have taken additional steps to further protect your personal health information.

Collection and Use

ADSAB EMS collects, uses, discloses and maintains facts about you and your health.  These facts are collected to help provide you with care and service by Paramedics and the health care system or to process payments for health related services.  They include:

• your name, address and Ontario Health Care number

• facts about your health, health care history and the health care that you have been provided

Non-identifying information related to your care and service is used for administration, management, strategic planning, decision-making, research and quality of care reviews with staff and for regulatory compliance requirements.

Access and Disclosure

You have the right to request access to your personal health information and to receive a copy of your personal health care records subject to limited exceptions as set out in PHIPA.  You also have the right to ask us to correct a record if it is inaccurate.

Your personal health information is private.  Unless ADSAB EMS is required to disclose your personal health information for law enforcement purposes, or is specifically authorized to share your health information with others, we cannot and will not give out any of your personal health information without your consent.  If you provide consent to let a family member or your legal representative see your personal health information, then the family member or legal representative may be allowed access to the part(s) of the personal health record that you have consented for them to see.  You also have the right to withdraw or change the conditions of your consent subject to certain conditions as set out in PHIPA.  If you have any questions about access, please contact the ADSAB at (705)842-5808.

Do you need additional information or do you have any questions?

If you would like to know more about how your personal health information is collected, used, maintained and disclosed, or if you have a concern or a complaint about access to your personal health information, please contact the Privacy Co-ordinator as noted above.  You also have the right to speak with the Information and Privacy Commissioner if you wish further clarification after speaking with our representative.