Huron County's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provides emergency pre-hospital medical services to the sick and injured in our community. In order to provide these services and ensure you receive proper care, Huron County EMS needs to ask you for certain personal health information.

As an individual who uses our services, you have the right to know how we collect, use, maintain and disclose personal health information. Protecting your personal health information is important to Huron County's Emergency Medical Services; to the best of our ability, the personal health information held by us remains accurate, confidential and secure.

The Government of Ontario has enacted privacy legislation which applies to most health care providers in the Province. The Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) requires that strict rules be followed to protect the personal health information collected, used and/or disclosed by "health information custodians" including the Huron County's EMS.

Collection and Use

Huron County's EMS collects, uses, discloses and maintains facts about you and your health. These facts are collected to help provide you with care and service by paramedics and the health care system or to process payments for health related services. The information collected can include:

• Name, address, Ontario Health Card number
• Facts about your health, health care history and the health care that you have been provided

Non-identifying information relating to your care and service is used for administration, management, strategic planning, decision making, research and quality of care reviews with staff and for regulatory compliance requirements.

Access to Personal Health Information

Your personal health information is collected and used with your implied consent. Under PHIPA you have the right to:

• See and correct your personal health records
• Tell EMS that you want to withdraw your consent for some of the ways in which your information is used

Your personal health information is private. Unless Emergency Medical Services is required to disclose your personal health information for law enforcement purposes, or is specifically authorized to share your health information with others, we cannot and will not give out any of your personal health information without your consent.

If consent is provided to let a family member or your legal representative see your personal health information, then they may be allowed access only to the part(s) of the personal health record that you have consented to let them see.

If you have questions about how your personal health information is collected, used, maintained and disclosed; or questions about access to your personal health record, please contact the Manager of Emergency Medical Services.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario oversees the administration of provincial privacy legislation for health information custodians. The IPC reviews complaints and enforces the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004. You have the right to complain to the IPC if you are concerned with how Huron County's EMS has handled your Personal Health Information. The Commissioner can be reached at:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
Telephone: 416.326.3333 OR 1.800.387.0073
Fax: 416.325.9195
TTY: 416.325.7539
Website: www.ipc.on.ca