Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004

S.O. 2004, CHAPTER 3
Schedule A

Consolidation Period: From June 28, 2024 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2023, c. 4, Sched. 1, s. 75.

CONTENTS

part i
INTERPRETation and application

Purposes, Definitions and Interpretation

Purposes

1 The purposes of this Act are,

(a) to establish rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information about individuals that protect the confidentiality of that information and the privacy of individuals with respect to that information, while facilitating the effective provision of health care;

(b) to provide individuals with a right of access to personal health information about themselves, subject to limited and specific exceptions set out in this Act;

(c) to provide individuals with a right to require the correction or amendment of personal health information about themselves, subject to limited and specific exceptions set out in this Act;

(d) to provide for independent review and resolution of complaints with respect to personal health information; and

(e) to provide effective remedies for contraventions of this Act. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A, s. 1.

Definitions

2 In this Act,

“Agency” means the corporation continued by section 3 of the Connecting Care Act, 2019; (“Agence”)

“agent”, in relation to a health information custodian, means a person that, with the authorization of the custodian, acts for or on behalf of the custodian in respect of personal health information for the purposes of the custodian, and not the agent’s own purposes, whether or not the agent has the authority to bind the custodian, whether or not the agent is employed by the custodian and whether or not the agent is being remunerated; (“mandataire”)

“Assistant Commissioner” means the Assistant Commissioner for Personal Health Information appointed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; (“commissaire adjoint”)

“attorney for personal care” means an attorney under a power of attorney for personal care made in accordance with the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992; (“procureur au soin de la personne”)

“attorney for property” means an attorney under a continuing power of attorney for property made in accordance with the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992; (“procureur aux biens”)

“Board” means the Consent and Capacity Board constituted under theHealth Care Consent Act, 1996; (“Commission”)

“capable” means mentally capable, and “capacity” has a corresponding meaning; (“capable”, “capacité”)

“collect”, in relation to personal health information, means to gather, acquire, receive or obtain the information by any means from any source, and “collection” has a corresponding meaning; (“recueillir”, “collecte”)

“Commissioner” means the Information and Privacy Commissioner appointed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; (“commissaire”)

“Crown” means the Crown in right of Ontario; (“Couronne”)

“de-identify”, in relation to the personal health information of an individual, means to remove any information that identifies the individual or for which it is reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances that it could be utilized, either alone or with other information, to identify the individual, and “de-identification” has a corresponding meaning; (“anonymiser”)

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, the definition of “de-identify” in section 2 of the Act is amended by striking out “to remove any information” and substituting “to remove, in accordance with such requirements as may be prescribed, any information”. (See: 2020, c. 5, Sched. 6, s. 1 (2))

“disclose”, in relation to personal health information in the custody or under the control of a health information custodian or a person, means to make the information available or to release it to another health information custodian or to another person, but does not include to use the information, and “disclosure” has a corresponding meaning; (“divulguer”, “divulgation”)

“guardian of property” means a guardian of property or a statutory guardian of property under the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992; (“tuteur aux biens”)

“guardian of the person” means a guardian of the person appointed under the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992; (“tuteur à la personne”)

“health care” means any observation, examination, assessment, care, service or procedure that is done for a health‑related purpose and that,

(a) is carried out or provided to diagnose, treat or maintain an individual’s physical or mental condition,

(b) is carried out or provided to prevent disease or injury or to promote health, or

(c) is carried out or provided as part of palliative care,

and includes,

(d) the compounding, dispensing or selling of a drug, a device, equipment or any other item to an individual, or for the use of an individual, pursuant to a prescription, and

(e) Repealed: 2020, c. 13, Sched. 3, s. 8 (1).

(f) a home and community care service that is funded under section 21 of the Connecting Care Act, 2019,

“health care practitioner” means,

(a) a person who is a member within the meaning of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and who provides health care,

(b) Repealed: 2007, c. 10, Sched. P, s. 19.

(c) a person who is a member of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and who provides health care, or

(d) any other person whose primary function is to provide health care for payment; (“praticien de la santé”)

“health information custodian” has the meaning set out in section 3; (“dépositaire de renseignements sur la santé”)

“health number” means the number, the version code or both of them assigned to an insured person within the meaning of the Health Insurance Act by the General Manager within the meaning of that Act; (“numéro de la carte Santé”)

“incapable” means mentally incapable, and “incapacity” has a corresponding meaning; (“incapable”, “incapacité”)

“individual”, in relation to personal health information, means the individual, whether living or deceased, with respect to whom the information was or is being collected or created; (“particulier”)

“information practices”, in relation to a health information custodian, means the policy of the custodian for actions in relation to personal health information, including,

(a) when, how and the purposes for which the custodian routinely collects, uses, modifies, discloses, retains or disposes of personal health information, and

(b) the administrative, technical and physical safeguards and practices that the custodian maintains with respect to the information; (“pratiques relatives aux renseignements”)

“Minister” means the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care; (“ministre”)

“Ministry” means the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; (“ministère”)

“partner” means either of two persons who have lived together for at least one year and have a close personal relationship that is of primary importance in both persons’ lives; (“partenaire”)

“person” includes a partnership, association or other entity; (“personne”)

“personal health information” has the meaning set out in section 4; (“renseignements personnels sur la santé”)

“prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations made under this Act; (“prescrit”)

“prescribed organization” means the organization prescribed for the purposes of Part V.1 and, if more than one organization is prescribed, means every applicable prescribed organization; (“organisation prescrite”)

“proceeding” includes a proceeding held in, before or under the rules of a court, a tribunal, a commission, a justice of the peace, a coroner, a committee of a College within the meaning of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, a committee of the Board of Regents continued under the Drugless Practitioners Act, a committee of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers under the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998, an arbitrator or a mediator; (“instance”)

Note: On December 1, 2024, the day named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, the definition of “proceeding” in section 2 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: (See: 2021, c. 27, Sched. 2, s. 68 (1))

“proceeding” includes a proceeding held in, before or under the rules of a court, a tribunal, a commission, a justice of the peace, a coroner, a committee of a College within the meaning of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, a committee of the Board of Regents continued under the Drugless Practitioners Act, a committee of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers under the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998, a committee of the Authority within the meaning of the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority Act, 2021, an arbitrator or a mediator; (“instance”)

“quality of care information” has the same meaning as in the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2004; (“renseignements sur la qualité des soins”)

“record” means a record of information in any form or in any medium, whether in written, printed, photographic or electronic form or otherwise, but does not include a computer program or other mechanism that can produce a record; (“dossier”)

“relative” means either of two persons who are related to each other, including through marriage or adoption; (“membre de la famille”)

“research” means a systematic investigation designed to develop or establish principles, facts or generalizable knowledge, or any combination of them, and includes the development, testing and evaluation of research; (“recherche”)

“researcher” means a person who conducts research; (“chercheur”)

“research ethics board” means a board of persons that is established for the purpose of approving research plans under section 44 and that meets the prescribed requirements; (“commission d’éthique de la recherche”)

“spouse” means either of two persons who,

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