Module 10 – Protection of Privacy Legislation

Case Analysis Assignment

Human Resources Management, Centennial College

HRPD 706: Labour and Employment Law
Professor: Bar-Dayan, Tova
Saturday, March 16th, 2024

By: Sara Chawraba

Protection of Privacy Legislation

Review online resources:

Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A.
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/04p03
Your health privacy rights in Ontario. https://www.ipc.on.ca/health-individuals/file-a-
health-privacy-complaint/your-health-privacy-rights-in-ontario/

Explain the requirements of Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act.

The Requirements of Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act

(PHIPA):
The personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) has made the protection
of safety and security of personal health information (PHI) in Ontario an easy task. This
act of Personal Health Information Protection spells out very crucial rules that are
necessary to protect PHI. Along with this, it covers in his head many healthcare
organizations. One of the most important aspects of PHIPA is to take permission. Before
someone’s protected health information is collected, used shared, or analyzed, it is
obligatory to obtain consent in the form of permission from them. Although, if there is
any exception in the case and the act allows for it then it’s not an obligation to take
permission. This technique allows for control over the health choices in the hands of the
participants. It makes them able to make smart decisions about how their information is
used (Ontario, 2023). This protected information of the patients can only be used for
some specific purposes it can only be used to run the healthcare system, to conduct
research, for some legal purposes, or for the goals of healthcare.
Moreover, another requirement of PHIPA is the security measures. It provides
protection against unethical use, unauthorized entries, and use by using physical,
technological, and administrative measures. To keep PHI safe and private, these measures
help lower the chance of data leaks. PHIPA also lets people see their own PHI that is
being kept by other people and ask that any mistakes or missing information be fixed.
Users can keep their health information up to date, which promotes openness and
accountability in the way protected health information (PHI) is managed (IPC, 2024). To
sum up, in Ontario PHIPA safeguards PHI by protecting privacy rights. It does it by
giving access to the information of healthcare that allows healthcare organizations to
serve quality services while not taking any toll on anyone’s confidentiality and security.
According to professional studies and sources securing the confidentiality of
health information in the healthcare industry is essential. Fresh graduates working in
health facilities may lack experience in terms of dealing with confidential information,
thus the PHIPA and HISA have a vital role in setting the guidelines. (R. Adawiyah, 2019)

Here is a summary table of the key requirements:

Requirement Description
Consent Get the individual's consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of
personal health information
Collection, Use, Limit the collection, use, and disclosure of personal health
and Disclosure information
Security Protect personal health information against unauthorized access and
misuse
Access and Allow individuals to access and correct their personal health
Correction information
Accountability Designate a contact individual in charge of compliance with PHIPA
Notice Inform individuals if their personal health information is
compromised
References:

IPC. (2024). Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Retrieved from IPC:
https://www.ipc.on.ca/health-
Ontario. (2023, 9 25). Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3,
Sched. A. Retrieved from Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/04p03
R. Adawiyah, A. N. Hidayanto, I. Chandra Hapsari and R. M. Samik Ibrahim,
"Identification of How Health Information Security Awareness (HISA) Influence in
PHIPA," 2019 5th International Conference on Computing Engineering and Design
(ICCED), Singapore, 2019, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICCED46541.2019.9161123.
URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9161123