Your Privacy Rights
Your privacy experience at CAMH is influenced by two provincial laws:
- Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), which governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information. This law applies to your personal health information that is collected, used or disclosed (shared) for the provision of health care.
- Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), which provides the public with a right of access to information held by public institutions and contains requirements to protect the privacy of individuals' personal information held by those same institutions. This law applies to business and operational information held by CAMH.
CAMH Privacy Notice
Privacy. Your Right. Our Responsibility.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) recognizes that the personal health information of our patients deserves to be treated with respect and that their privacy must be protected. When it comes to collecting, using or disclosing your personal health information, we take measures to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the information is protected in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).
You have the right to know how CAMH may collect, use and share your health information and how you can access or correct it.
CAMH may collect, use and share your health information for the following reasons:
- to provide you with health care
- to communicate with or consult with other health care providers who are caring for you
- for payment-related purposes (including OHIP, WSIB, private insurance companies and others)
- to plan, deliver, fund, evaluate, or monitor CAMH programs and services, including to detect, monitor, or prevent fraud
- for risk and error management
- to improve or maintain quality of care
- for research (with Research Ethics Board approval and agreements, when required)
- for teaching
- for statistical and other kinds of reporting obligations
- for other purposes as permitted or required by law.
Your health information is stored in accordance with CAMH’s retention policies and as required by law. Otherwise it is destroyed, erased or made anonymous.
Using and Sharing De-identified personal health information: CAMH may de-identify or aggregate your health information to conceal your identity. This process is carried out using best practices and guidance from Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner. De-identified or aggregate information may be shared with third parties, including: government entities, research entities, health care organizations and commercial entities. These entities and organizations may use the information for purposes such as: measuring CAMH’s performance, improving the delivery of healthcare in Ontario, making improvements to CAMH operations, for research or statistical purposes, or developing products or services. CAMH may receive payment or services in exchange for sharing this information and/or permitting it to be used.
Shared Electronic Health Information Systems: CAMH contributes health information to Provincial Shared Electronic Health Information Systems. Click here to learn more about shared electronic health information systems and your personal health information.
You have the right to:
- see and ask for a copy of your health information
- ask us to make corrections to inaccurate or incomplete health information
- ask us how we use or share your health information
- be told if your health information is lost, stolen, used by or shared with someone without authorization
- change your mind if you have previously given us consent to use or share your health information.
To exercise your rights and choices, which are subject to some exceptions, please speak with your CAMH care provider or contact the CAMH Information and Privacy Office, 416 535-8501 ext. 33314, or privacy@camh.ca
For more information, please see CAMH’s Privacy Policy, available hereand CAMH’s Privacy Info Sheet is available here
Safeguarding of Personal Health Information: CAMH has administrative, technical and physical safeguards in place to ensure that your health information is kept secure. Your health information is stored in accordance with CAMH’s retention policies and as required by law. When appropriate, it is securely destroyed, erased or modified to conceal your identity (de-identified or made anonymous).
Health Information Network Provider: CAMH is a Health Information Network Provider (HINP) when we provide services to two or more Health Information Custodians (HICs) to enable them to use electronic means to share personal health information with one another. When doing so, CAMH must comply with the HINP requirements set out in PHIPA and applicable regulations. For more information about the CAMH HINP role see our HINP Notice of Information Practices.
Access to Information (Excluding Personal Health Information)
All Ontario hospitals are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. (FIPPA), which gives members of the public the right to request access to CAMH records, in the spirit of public accountability and transparency. FIPPA does not apply to health records. If you would like to make an Freedom of Information request, please visit our FIPPA page.