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MEDICAL PRIVACY RIGHTS
April 30th, 2010 11:00am
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FIPA is a strong advocate of medical privacy.

We believe that any personal health record that is maintained by a health care provider is created through a special relationship, with the expectation that the patient's information will remain confidential. The confidential nature of this relationship exists to safeguard and promote the patient's physical and mental health. Any violation of this confidential relationship may adversely affect the patient's health and is a violation of their right to privacy.

The right to privacy includes the patient's right to control access to and use of their personal health information. Any access or use without their consent is a violation of their right to privacy.

FIPA's DECLARATION OF MEDICAL PRIVACY RIGHTS, February 12, 2002:
Click Here

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TOPICS ON THIS PAGE:
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SCATHING REPORT DETAILS BOTCHED E-HEALTH PLANS
By Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun
Feb 18, 2010

“BIG OPT OUT” CAMPAIGN RALLIES BRITISH COLUMBIANS AGAINST PRIVACY THREATS OF NEW E-HEALTH SYSTEM

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS - WHAT THEY ARE AND WHAT'S AT STAKE

PLANS FOR E-HEALTH RAISE HUGE THREATS TO PRIVACY FOR CANADIANS

PRIVACY AND CANADA’S HEALTH INFORMATION HIGHWAY

BC DOCTORS PRESS GOVERNMENT TO MAINTAIN THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF ELECTRONIC PATIENT INFORMATION

PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AND THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN CANADA

...and more.

* * *

SCATHING REPORT DETAILS BOTCHED E-HEALTH PLANS
By Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun
February 18, 2010

The B.C. Liberal drive for electronic records-keeping in the health care system is behind schedule, over budget, poorly planned and still a long way from realizing any benefits to patients, according to auditor general John Doyle.

Doyle released a report Wednesday Click Here that chronicled a list of failings so comprehensive as to raise doubts about whether the Electronic Health Records project could be said to be "managed" in any proper sense whatsoever...

The report marks the second time in a week that the auditor general has been highly critical of electronic record keeping in the health care sector. Last Wednesday, he blasted the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority for inadequate security on the electronic records it maintains on some 600,000 patients receiving residential care and other services. (Report: Click Here Article, Vancouver Sun: Click Here) The problems were so extensive Doyle held off releasing that report for six months, until the authority could address more than 100 recommendations for improving security and protecting patient privacy.

VAUGHN PALMER: COLUMNS ON THIS TOPIC Click Here or Click Here


“BIG OPT OUT” CAMPAIGN RALLIES BRITISH COLUMBIANS AGAINST PRIVACY THREATS OF NEW E-HEALTH SYSTEM

The BC Government plans to roll out its new “e-Health” system of integrated electronic healthcare records as early as June 2009. The system is being launched without the basic privacy protections that were promised by government and poses a serious threat to every British Columbian’s constitutional right to privacy.

Because the government has failed to inform British Columbians about this massive and radical change to the way their personal health information is shared and managed, a group of concerned privacy advocates has launched BC’s Big Opt Out Campaign. The campaign will educate the public about the dangers of eHealth and inform them of steps they can take to protect their personal privacy, safety and well-being.

Groups involved in the campaign include FIPA, BC Civil Liberties Association and the BC Persons With AIDS Society.

The website for BC’s Big Opt Out offers denial-of-consent letters that citizens can download and personalize to help ensure the continued confidentiality of their personal health information. It also features a letter to MLAs which demands the BC Government ensure that eHealth offers the following:

<> The right of every British Columbian to determine for themselves whether or not to
participate in eHealth by giving or withholding informed consent.

<>The right of every British Columbian who decides to consent to participate in eHealth to
determine the degree of their participation.

<>The implementation of a substantial and widespread information campaign to inform all
British Columbians about eHealth, their rights and how to exercise those rights.

BIG OPT-OUT WEBSITE: http://www.bcoptout.ca
NEWS RELEASE: http://fipa.bc.ca/library/News_Releases/Big_Opt_Out_Release-Apr_7_09.pdf

For more information, contact:

Adam Reibin
Media and Communications
BC’s Big Opt Out
604.893.2209/604.612.022
admr@bcpwa.org

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ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS - WHAT THEY ARE AND WHAT'S AT STAKE
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The increasing use of information technology in the health care system has made the privacy and security of medical records more important than ever before.

Canada’s federal and provincial governments plan to create an “Electronic Health Record” (EHR) for every Canadian. BC’s provincial government is advocating that all patients’ electronic records be stored in a single “clinical data repository.” This would be similar to creating one large medical information warehouse to store all the files of every patient in BC.

EHRs have the potential to improve patient care by making it easier for physicians to access patients’ information. The problem is, under current plans, patients will not have control and/or a right of consent over who has access to their medical information when it is managed in electronic form on regional and national networks.

FIPA advocates that patients should have the ultimate control over their own medical information and a right of consent over who may have access to it.

PLANS FOR E-HEALTH RAISE HUGE THREATS TO PRIVACY FOR CANADIANS
June 11, 2009
Click Here

PRIVACY AND CANADA’S HEALTH INFORMATION HIGHWAY
A FIPA presentation to the Information and Privacy Conference, Victoria, BC, Feb. 14, 2002
LINK:Click Here

BC DOCTORS PRESS GOVERNMENT TO MAINTAIN THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF ELECTRONIC PATIENT INFORMATION
LINK:Click Here

How Canada's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPEDA) affects health records (Industry Canada document):
Click Here

PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AND THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN CANADA
FIPA's overview of statutory, common law, voluntary and constitutional privacy protection
May 2000
Click Here

ALBERTA'S HEALTH INFORMATION ACT AND THE CHARTER: A DISCUSSION PAPER
Click Here

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HEALTH PRIVACY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
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E-HEALTH AT MERCY OF PRIVACY DIAGNOSIS
The Courier-Mail (Australia)
Leanne Edmistone, medical reporter
June 1, 2004
Moves to establish electronic medical records Allowing authorised doctors to access patients' details nationally had to be tempered by patients' desire for absolute privacy and protection, the Australian Medical Association national conference has heard...
LINK: Click Here


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