Privacy & Your Rights

Ontario Poison Centre is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your information. Your privacy and right to access information is governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). Ontario Poison Centre’s commitment to privacy and access to information is set out in policies that address confidentiality, privacy, security and the release of records. Policies ensure we only collect, use, store and disclose personal information (PI) and personal health information (PHI) for purposes authorized and/or required by law and that we will do so in a confidential and secure manner. All staff, including physicians, volunteers, etc., are subject to these policies.

We will ask for your consent or inform you before we collect, use or share your information for any reason other than our stated activities or those authorized by law. We may inform you by posting or making readily available a notice that is likely to come your attention, describing the purposes for the collection, use and disclosure of your information.

We may collect, use, or disclose your PHI without your consent, to:

prevent serious harm to you or others;
report suspected types of abuse; and/or
report certain exposure events of public health concern to public health authorities.

Below you will find information about our collection, use and disclosure practices.

Privacy Policy

Collection of Your Information
Collection of your information includes the gathering, acquiring, receiving, or obtaining of your PHI. We collect PHI about you in accordance with PHIPA to help us accurately identify you, to provide or assist in providing you with the best care possible, and to ensure the accuracy of your records. Ontario Poison Centre may also collect PI and PHI in the form of audio recordings to support and improve patient care.

We may collect this information either from you directly or, in some circumstances, from the primary care team managing your exposure event or a person designated to make care decisions on your behalf, such as a substitute decision maker. The PHI that we collect may include your contact information, health card number and medical history. We may also collect PHI about you from other sources if we have obtained your consent to do so or if the law permits.

Use of Your Information
The information you give us about you and/or your family is important to our work at the Ontario Poison Centre. We use your PHI to treat and care for you. Ontario laws permit us to use your information for other purposes, including, but not limited to:

To teach and educate – your information may be used to train staff and students to support our academic partnership with the University of Toronto and other schools.
To support research and innovation – researchers may use your information while working on a study approved by the SickKids Research Ethics Board or the approved board of record.
To improve and enhance our services – your information may be used to perform quality improvement and risk management activities.
To maintain operations – your information may be used to plan, run, and manage programs, services, and internal operations.
To fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law.

Use by Staff and Service Providers

We assume you agree (in other words, consent) to share your information with members of your Ontario Poison Centre care team, staff, and trainees, and volunteers who are involved in your care and performing operational and supportive functions like the ones listed above. Only staff members who need your information for legitimate care and business purposes are allowed to access it.

We may ask certain external parties, such as service providers and vendors, to use your information to provide services to or on behalf of Ontario Poison Centre. We will take steps to protect your information, including requiring external parties to follow our confidentiality and privacy policies and applicable privacy laws.

Use for De-identification and Anonymization

Ontario Poison Centre may use your PI or PHI to de-identify or anonymize it. This entails modifying your information to remove details that can be used to identify you. De-identified information may be used for non-care purposes, such as determining study feasibility at Ontario Poison Centre. We take steps to mitigate risks associated with the re-identification of PI and PHI.

Sharing (Disclosure) of Your Information

We may share your information with:

People Responsible for Making Decisions About Your Care and Information

These individuals, often referred to as substitute decision makers, need your information to make informed decisions about your ongoing care and treatment and about how we collect, use, or share your information.

People Involved in Your Health Care

We share your information with health-care providers, like your family doctor or specialists, who are also involved in your circle of care. In certain circumstances, we may share your information with health care providers outside of Canada for treatment purposes.

External Sharing/Selling of Data

We may also share de-identified or anonymized data with third parties, such as government entities, research entities, industry partners, etc., for non-care purposes like research, measuring our performance, making improvements to our operations or relevant products or services, etc. Ontario Poison Centre may receive payment for the disclosure of this de-identified data. We may also permit third parties to use de-identified or anonymized data.

Other People if Required by Law

Ontario laws require or permit us to share some of your PI or PHI with, including but not limited to:

the Ministry of Health;
researchers, if approved by our Research Ethics Board (REB);
the Medical Officer of Health to report exposure events;
Law Enforcement Officers who present a warrant or subpoena, or to aid in an investigation;
the Children’s Aid Society where child harm is suspected; the children’s lawyer;
the public guardian and trustee; and
the Coroner.

Withdraw Your Consent or Place Conditions on Our Use/Sharing of Your Information
Access, use, and disclosure of your information may be restricted in different ways depending on the request. If you want to withdraw your consent or place conditions on our use or sharing of your information, please contact the Ontario Poison Centre Privacy Office. The Privacy Office reviews every request on a case-by-case basis.

Contact the Ontario Poison Centre Privacy Office
You can contact the Privacy Office regarding any of our privacy practices, privacy questions or concerns. We can be reached at:

Ontario Poison Centre - Privacy Office
The Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue
Toronto, ON M5G 1X8
416-813-7474
privacy.office@sickkids.ca

Contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
You can contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario if you think we have violated your privacy rights. The Commissioner can be reached at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East
Suite 1400
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
416-326-3333 or 1-800-387-0073
info@ipc.on.ca