Health Information

Health Information


BC Privacy Commissioner finds Vancouver Health Authority’s e-health system has ‘major deficiencies’ in privacy protection

Acting Information and Privacy Commissioner Paul Fraser has released the findings of an extensive investigation into the adequacy of privacy protection in Vancouver Coastal Health Authority’s community-based electronic health record system known as the Primary Access Regional Information System (PARIS). The Commissioner’s investigation found that privacy was a missing ingredient in the early development stages […]

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Scathing report details botched e-health plans

By Vaughn Palmoer, Vancouver Sun (Excerpt) 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 that chronicled a list of […]

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FIPA denounces waste of $180 million on program to collect and swap ‘unprecedented amount of personal information’ on citizens

In a letter sent to Premier Gordon Campbell today, FIPA Executive Director Darrell Evans criticized the announcement in the Speech From the Throne that $180 million will be spent to create an “Integrated Case Management system”(ICM). “The ICM system will have a severe negative effect on both the privacy rights of British Columbians and the […]

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Plans for e-Health raise huge threats to privacy for Canadians

Depression, infertility, cancer, addiction, abortion, erectile dysfunction, HIV/AIDS – whatever our health issues, Canadians value the right to choose who they share intimate health information with. This right is now under threat. E-Health will create a giant system of electronic health records that will eventually be accessible across the entire country. These government repositories of […]

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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 […]

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BC Government auctions computer tapes with health records

The British Columbia government has auctioned off computer tapes containing thousands of highly sensitive records, including information about people’s medical conditions, their social insurance numbers and their dates of birth. Included was information about such things as HIV status, mental health and drug usage. Sold for $300 along with various other pieces of equipment, the […]

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U.S. corporation selected to manage BC Medical records actively promotes sharing of personal information with FBI

The US-based Maximus corporation, a subsidiary of which is poised to take over the administration of BC Medical Services Plan and PharmaCare, has publicly stated on its website that it’s an “…outreach company for homeland security [Act] information sharing.” This revelation has amplified the privacy concerns of groups opposed to the imminent contract. [IMPORTANT UPDATE: […]

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Right to Privacy Campaign’ launched to protect individuals’ privacy by stopping Maximus deal

A diverse and growing group of rights, health, union and other organizations has launched a province-wide campaign to demand that the BC government drop its proposed deal with the Maximus corporation because of the privacy implications of the USA PATRIOT Act. The Right to Privacy Campaign believes that contracting out the administrative functions of BC’s […]

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Public Health and Safety Threatened by Creation of Unaccountable Quasi-governmental Bodies

The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is calling on the federal government to extend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act to a long list of quasi-governmental bodies it has created over the past decade. These bodies create public policy, spend billions of dollars of public money, and in some […]

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Privacy and Canada’s Health Information Highway – A presentation by BC FIPA to the Information and Privacy Conference in Victoria — 14 Feb 2002

BC FIPA believes the issue of HEALTH INFORMATION PRIVACY as the most significant privacy issue of our time. This presentation outlines the importance of the right to privacy and the threats that “Health Info-structure” represents. Provincial governments appear to believe that the diminution of privacy rights is essential to the creation of the “Canadian Health […]

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BC FIPA publishes Declaration of Medical Privacy Rights

BC FIPA has published a Declaration of Medial Privacy Rights in light of the push towards electronic health records and electronic information management systems. Declaration of Medical Privacy Rights The Right to Privacy is a human right and is fundamental to my dignity as a human being. My right to privacy extends to all my […]

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BC FIPA publishes “Personal Health Information and the Right to Privacy in Canada: An overview of statutory, common law, voluntary and constitutional privacy protection”

BC FIPA has released “Personal Health Information and the Right to Privacy in Canada: An overview of statutory, common law, voluntary and constitutional privacy protection”, a law reform report prepared by Susan Prosser of the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC). The report outlines the gaps in protection in existing provincial privacy laws, the disparity […]

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