We are committed to promoting privacy and protecting the confidentiality of the information we hold about you.

YOUR CLIENT RECORD

Your client record may include information relevant to your health including your date of birth, contact information, health history, family health history, details of your physical and mental health, records of your visits, the care or services and support you received during those visits, and information from other health care and service providers. In most cases, we collect information about you directly from you as part of our intake process. For court mandated youth justice services, we may receive some information about you from the court.

Your record is our property, but the information belongs to you.

With limited exceptions, you have the right to access the health and other personal information we hold about you, whether in the health record or elsewhere.  

You can request a copy of your record. If you wish to view the original record, one of our staff members must be present. If you need a copy of your client record, please contact us by phone at 519-371-4773  or by submitted a request online. In rare situations, you may be denied access to some or all of your record (with any such denial being in accordance with applicable law).

We try to keep your record accurate and up-to-date. Please let us know if you disagree with what is recorded, and in most cases we will be able to make the change or otherwise we will ask you to write a statement of disagreement and we will attach that statement to your record.   

Keystone retains health records for 10 years from the time the client would have reached the age of majority (age 18). In some cases, records are kept for longer than this minimum period.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Everyone here is bound by confidentiality. We have to protect your information from loss or theft and make sure no one looks at it or does something with your information if they are not involved with your care or services or allowed as part of their job. If there is a privacy breach, we will tell you (and we are required by law to tell you).

OUR PRACTICES

We collect, use and disclose (meaning share) your health information and/or other personal information to:

• Treat and care for you
• Provide services to you
• Provide appointment or preventative care reminders to you and/or send client surveys to you
• Update you of upcoming events, activities and programs
• Coordinate your care with your other health care providers including through shared electronic health information systems such as Ontario Health Teams, Connecting Ontario, and local, regional and provincial programs
• Deliver and evaluate our programs
• Plan, administer and manage our internal operations
• Be paid or process, monitor, verify or reimburse claims for payment
• Conduct risk management, error management and quality improvement activities
• Educate our staff and students
• Dispose of your information
• De-identify your information to report to funders and other stakeholders
• Seek your consent (or consent of a substitute decision-maker) where appropriate
• Respond to or initiate proceedings
• Conduct research (subject to certain rules)
• Compile statistics
• Report to the government as required by law
• Allow for the analysis, administration and management of the health system
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
• Fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law

Our collection, use and disclosure (sharing) of your personal health information and/or other personal information is done in accordance with Ontario law. When we hire technology vendors to help us, we ensure our contracts follow PHIPA.

YOUR CHOICES

You have a right to make choices and control how your health information and other personal information is collected, used, and disclosed, subject to some limits.  

We assume that when you come to receive services from us, you have given us your permission (your consent) to use your information, unless you tell us otherwise. We may also collect, use and share your information in order to talk with other health care providers about your care unless you tell us you do not want us to do so.

There are cases where we are not allowed to assume we have your permission to share information.  We may need permission to communicate with any family members or friends with whom you would like us to share information (unless someone is your substitute decision-maker). We will need your permission to give your health information to your school or to an insurance company. If you have questions, we can explain this to you.

Before we connect with you by virtual meeting or use an artificial intelligence (AI) scribe to assist with notetaking and documentation of our encounters with you, we will explain what that means and seek your consent.

When we require and ask for your permission, you may choose to say no. If you say yes, you may change your mind at any time. Once you say no, we will no longer share your information, use virtual visits, or use an AI scribe unless you say so. Your choice to say no in relation to sharing of information may be subject to some limits.

BUT there are cases where we may collect, use or share your information without your permission, as permitted or required by law. For example, we do not require your permission to use your information for billing, risk management or error management, or quality improvement purposes. We also do not need your permission to share your information to keep you or someone else safe (in order to eliminate or reduce a significant risk of serious bodily harm); or to meet reporting obligations under other laws such as for health protection of communicable diseases or child safety. 

CONSENT DIRECTIVE – LOCKBOX

You have the right to ask that we not share some or all of your client record with one or more of our team members or ask us not to share your client record with one or more of your external health care providers or service providers. This is known as asking for a “lockbox”.  If you would like to know more, please call 519- 371-4773 or ask us for a copy of our “Client Lockbox Information Brochure: How to Restrict Access to your Health Record”. If you request restrictions on the use of and disclosure of your health record, a member of our team will explain your choices and potential repercussions for those options.

WHO DECIDES

You may make your own decisions if you are “capable”. You may be capable of making some decisions and not others. If you are not capable – you will have a substitute decision-maker who will make your information decisions for you. Who can act as a substitute decision-maker and what they have to do is also set out in law.

For children, there is no magic age when you become able to make your own decisions about your health information.  If you are capable, you make your own decisions, However, if you are under the age of 16, there are some additional rules to know:

If you are under the age of 16, your parent(s) or guardian will also be allowed to make some decisions about your health record. But they won’t be able to make decisions about any records about treatment or counseling where we asked for your permission alone.

We encourage you to share information with your family and other caregivers to have supports you need. We also encourage you to ask us questions to find out more about privacy and your family and caregivers.

YOUTH JUSTICE CLIENTS

For youth who are accused or found guilty of a crime, there are special rules that limit the sharing or publication of identifying information about the youth or their involvement in the criminal justice system. That means we cannot release such information to the public even with consent. We can only share records and/or information if permitted by the Youth Criminal Justice Act or if we are court ordered to do so. There are certain reports that you may not be allowed to see if the court says so.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR COMPLAINTS

If you would like a copy of our Privacy Policy, please email privacyoffice@kcyfs.com  to request a copy.

We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about our privacy practices. You can reach our Privacy Officer at: privacyoffice@kcyfs.com

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 of Ontario.  The Commissioner can be reached at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400

Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8

1-800-387-0073

or visit the IPC website via www.ipc.on.ca