Privacy Policy
Commitment to Privacy
The appropriate collection, use and disclosure of clients’ personal health information is fundamental to our day-to-day operations and to client care.
Protecting the privacy and the confidentiality of client personal information is important to the counsellors and staff at MindKey Health. We strive to provide our clients with excellent care and service. Every member of our practice must abide by our commitment to privacy in the handling of personal information. This policy was last modified on October 11, 2023.
Every member of the MindKey Health clinic team must abide by our commitment to privacy and the handling of personal information. Each member of our team is required to sign a non-disclosure agreement contract at the commencement of their employment.
Confidentiality is a core value in our organization, and it is an essential aspect of our relationships with our clients, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Applicability of This Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy attests to our commitment to privacy and demonstrates the ways we ensure that client privacy is protected.
Our Privacy Policy applies to the personal health information of all our clients that is in our possession and control.
What is Personal Health Information?
Personal health information means identifying information about an individual relating to their physical or mental health (including medical history), the providing of health care to the individual, payments or eligibility for health care, and health number.
The 10 Principles of Privacy
Our Privacy Policy reflects our compliance with fair information practices, applicable laws and standards of practice.
Accountability
We take our commitment to securing client privacy very seriously. Each counsellor and employee associated with the Clinic is responsible for the personal information under his/her control. Our employees are informed about the importance of privacy and receive information periodically to update them about our Privacy Policy and related issues.
Identifying Purposes: Why We Collect Information
We ask you for information to establish a relationship and serve your therapeutic needs. We obtain most of our information about you directly from you, or from other health practitioners whom you have seen and authorized to disclose to us. You are entitled to know how we use your information.
We will limit the information we collect to what we need for those purposes, and we will use it only for those purposes. We will obtain your consent if we wish to use your information for any other purpose.
Consent
You have the right to determine how your personal health information is used and disclosed. For most health care purposes, your consent is implied as a result of your consent to treatment, however, in all circumstances the Clinic will require your express written consent.
Your written Consent will be documented in your client file.
Clients who have withdrawn consent to disclose PHI must sign and date the Consent to Withdrawal Form. It is understood that the consent directive applies only to the PHI which the client has already provided, and not to PHI which the client might provide in the future. PHIPA permits certain collections, uses, and disclosures of the PHI, despite the consent directive; healthcare providers may override the consent directive in certain circumstances, such as emergencies.
Limiting Collection
We collect information by fair and lawful means and collect only that information which may be necessary for purposes related to the provision of your therapeutic care.
Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
The information we request from you is used for the purposes defined. We will seek your consent before using the information for purposes beyond the scope of the posted Privacy Statement.
Under no circumstances do we sell client lists or other personal information to third parties.
There are some types of disclosure of your personal health information that may occur as part of this Clinic fulfilling its routine obligations and/or practice management. This includes consultants and suppliers to the Clinic, on the understanding that they abide by our Privacy Policy, and only to the extent necessary to allow them to provide business services or support to this Clinic.
We will retain your information only for the time it is required for the purposes we describe and once your personal information is no longer required, it will be destroyed. However, due to our on-going exposure to potential claims, some information is kept for a longer period.
Accuracy
We endeavour to ensure that all decisions involving your personal information are based upon accurate and timely information. While we will do our best to base our decisions on accurate information, we rely on you to disclose all material information and to inform us of any relevant changes.
Safeguards: Protecting Your Information
We protect your information with appropriate safeguards and security measures. The Practice maintains personal information in a combination of paper and electronic files. Recent paper records concerning individuals’ personal information are stored in files kept onsite at our office. Older records may be stored securely offsite.
Access to personal information will be authorized only for the counsellors and employees associated with the Clinic, and other agents who require access in the performance of their duties, and to those otherwise authorized by law. We provide information to health care providers acting on your behalf, on the understanding that they are also bound by law and ethics to safeguard your privacy.
Other organizations and agents must agree to abide by our Privacy Policy and may be asked to sign contracts to that effect. We will give them only the information necessary to perform the services for which they are engaged, and will require that they not store, use or disclose the information for purposes other than to carry out those services.
Our computer systems are password-secured and constructed in such a way that only authorized individuals can access secure systems and databases. The information stored on our computer systems is encrypted in a manner that is fully HIPAA, PIPEDA/PHIPA and GDPR compliant.
If you send us an e-mail message that includes personal information, such as your name included in the “address”, we will use that information to respond to your inquiry. Please remember that e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. If your communication is very sensitive, you should not send it electronically unless the e-mail is encrypted or your browser indicates that the access is secure.
At MindKey Health we regularly communicate via e-mail or phone. If you are concerned about the security of information being shared via email, please inform us.
Openness: Keeping You Informed
The Practice has prepared this plain-language Privacy Policy to keep you informed. If you have any additional questions or concerns about privacy, we invite you to contact us by phone and we will address your concerns to the best of our ability.
Access and Correction
With limited exceptions, we will give you access to the information we retain about you within a reasonable time, upon presentation of a written request and satisfactory identification. We may charge you a fee for this service and if so, we will give you notice in advance of processing your request.
If you find errors of fact in your personal health information, please notify us as soon as possible and we will make the appropriate corrections. We are not required to correct information relating to clinical observations or opinions made in good faith.
Challenging Compliance
We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about your privacy or our Privacy Policy. We will investigate and respond to your concerns in a timely manner about any aspect of our handling of your information.
You can reach us at:
MindKey Health
11-810 Humboldt Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 5B1
250-370-0358
250-370-0354 (fax)
If, after contacting us, you feel that your concerns have not been addressed to your satisfaction, you have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner/BC. The Commissioner can be reached at:
https://www.oipc.bc.ca/for-the-public/how-do-i-make-a-complaint/
4th Floor, 947 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3K3
(250) 387-5629
Confidentiality is a core value in our organization, and it is an essential aspect of our relationships with our clients, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Jillian Roberts, Ph.D.
Registered Psychologist (#1398)
Founder of MindKey Health