The following is a list of definitions commonly used throughout our personal information, general information, and our complaint and review mechanism guides. Many of these definitions are loosely based on the definitions in relevant privacy and access to information legislation, which should be referenced if you would like more definitions or legal definitions. These definitions are meant to help with understanding the content throughout the website and should not be taken as legal definitions.
In an information and privacy context, access is the ability for an individual to view, copy, or manage the information in a record.
The purpose of the Access to Information Act (“ATIA”) is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal government bodies. The ATIA allows Canadians to access general information held by the federal government through an access to information and privacy request.
The purpose of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“BC FIPPA”) is to keep BC public bodies accountable and to protect the personal privacy of British Columbians. BC FIPPA applies to all records held under the control by a BC public body. Consequently, BC FIPPA allows British Columbians the rights to access general and personal information held by a BC public body.
The purpose of the BC Personal Information Protection Act (“BC PIPA”) is to govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by BC organizations. BC PIPA applies to every BC organization, and excludes all BC public bodies. Consequently, BC PIPA allows British Columbians the rights to access general information held by a BC organization.
The duty and responsibility of the information holder to protect the information. The scope of the confidentiality duties and responsibilities can stem from the jurisdiction’s relevant privacy and access to information legislation.
Generally refers to an individual agreeing or giving permission for an action to occur. In the context of health, there are two types of consent:
The information that would allow someone to contact an individual. Contact information can vary in context such as personal contact information or personal business contact information. This includes but is not limited to:
To share or allow information to be accessed by an individual or organization.
A specific term that refers to records of health information that are held in large databases and computer systems which are connected to other computer systems. Consequently, the Electronic Health Record is made up of information from more than one computer system.
A specific term that refers to the computerized version of your health record. In some situations, your electronic medical record could have once been a paper record kept by your health care provider.
An individual who is employed for wages or salaries, but under some legislation can include volunteers as well as service providers. In general, an employee will be under some sort of contract or in an agency relationship with the employer.
Personal information that is collected, used, or disclosed for the purposes reasonably required to establish, manage, or terminate an employment relationship with an organization and that individual. Additionally, employment information does not include personal information that is not related to employment information.
The ability to publish and consume information and is legally governed by specific legislation dependent on one’s jurisdiction.
General information is any requestable information that is non-personal. Examples of requestable general information includes but is not limited to:
The head or the delegates of a government institution are usually responsible for exercising the powers, duties, and functions of their relevant legislation.
Refers to all providers of health care regardless of whether they work in the private or public health care system.
A computer database containing personal health information which has been specifically designated by the BC Minister of Health, under BC’s E-Health Act, as an HIB. A database can be designated as a health information bank only if certain requirements of are met under section 3 of the E-Health Act.
A general term that covers all types of records of health information, both written on paper or stored electronically.
In the context of this website, independent health care provider refers to a health care provider that is in private practice or business and is not working for a hospital, health authority, care centre, or other public body.
Refers to all providers of health care regardless of whether they work in the private or public health care system.
A federal level resource which government institutions describe their functions, programs, activities, and information holdings, including collections of personal information. The publications should be communicated in an effective way to guide individuals to exercise their rights under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. In addition, “Information about Programs and Information Holdings” provides summaries of court cases and statistics on access to information and privacy requests, as well as contact information for government institutions and agencies.
An information request is when an individual or an entity requests information held by an organization or government body. Information can either be personal information or general information. In BC, an information request is generally referred to as a “freedom of information” request, or an FOI request. Federally, an information request is generally referred to as an “access to information and privacy” (“ATIP”) request.
An elected body by the public which can include but is not limited to:
A local public body can include but is not limited to:
BC’s health insurance plan.
An organization includes but is not limited to:
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (“OIPC BC”) provides independent oversight and enforcement of BC’s access to information and privacy legislation such as the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”) and Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”). The OIPC BC will be the contact if an applicant wants to file a complaint or review request regarding a BC public body or BC organization.
The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (“OIC”) provides independent oversight and enforcement of Canada’s federal access to information legislation such as the Access to Information Act. The OIC will be the contact if an applicant wants to file a complaint regarding an information request under the Access to Information Act.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) provides independent oversight and enforcement of Canada’s federal privacy legislation such as the Privacy Act and Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. The OPC will be the contact if an applicant wants to file a complaint regarding a privacy issue under the Privacy Act or Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
Information about an identifiable individual’s health. Personal health information can include but is not limited to:
Personal information is any information related to an identifiable individual. However, personal information is different than contact information in its scope. In general, examples of requestable personal information includes but is not limited to:
The purpose of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) is to oversee the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by organizations. When a province does not have its own legislation governing personal information collected by organizations in their province, then PIPEDA applies
The purpose of the Privacy Act is to protect the privacy of individual’s personal information as well as allowing individual’s access to their personal information held by federal government bodies.
The job position in an organization that is responsible for ensuring that the organization is compliant with the relevant privacy laws.
A centralized computerized record-keeping system for storing and accessing all lab tests results done in BC, as part of British Columbia’s Electronic Health Record. Health care providers, system administrators and others with lawful authority across BC have access to the records on PLIS. PLIS will also enable the collection, use and disclosure of laboratory information for the purpose of analyzing and managing chronic diseases in BC.
A public body is usually a governmental organization which includes but is not limited to:
Specific to the Access to Information Act which requires the existence of the reading room, its purpose is to be a place that government institution’s manuals can be expected either by the public or an individual is given specific access to examine a record regarding their information request. In addition, there can be multiple reading room locations provided by a government institution.
Generally characterized as a fair and sensible judgement but is highly dependent on the circumstances of the situation. Reasonableness can also be described as just, moderate, or proper.
A medium that holds evidence which can include but is not limited to:
Any individual or corporation who requests information. Usually, these requests will stem from rights granted through relevant privacy and access to information legislation.
This term is defined under section 9 of the Ministry of Health Act to mean any of the following purposes:
Acting without having the necessary authority or permission .
These pages were last updated and reviewed in August of 2022.
The information on these pages only contains general information and guidance; none of the information constitutes legal advice. If you have a specific issue that you believe is a legal problem, the best practice is to consult a lawyer.
The information is non-partisan, dynamic and ever changing. It is the result of FIPA’s research and public education programs.
If you note something that needs to be added, corrected, or removed, please contact us by email: fipa AT fipa.bc.ca.