Privacy
Privacy of personal information is an important principle of Innercore Health. We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the services we provide.We also try to be open and transparent as to how we handle personal information.
What is Personal Informtion?
Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes information that relates to their personal characteristics (eg., gender, age, address, phone number, family status), and their health (eg., health history, health conditions, treatment received).
Personal information differs from business information (eg., an individual's business address and telephone number), which is not protected by privacy legislation.
We collect Personal Information:
Primary Purposes
Like all health care providers, we collect, use and disclose personal information in order to serve our patients. For our patients, the primary purpose for collecting personal information is to provide chiropractic and/or massage therapy treatment. For example, we collect information about a patient's health history, including their family history, physical condition and function and social situation in order to help us assess what their health needs are, to advise them of their options and then to provide the health care they choose to have. A second primary purpose is to obtain a baseline of health and social informationso that in providing ongoing health services we can identify changes that are occurring over time.
Our Website
We only collect and use personal information (eg. e-mail addresses) that you give us to respond to your email message or to remind you of your appointment as per your wishes. Web site servers do log anonymous usage statistics (like visits per hour, web browser used) but this information cannot be associated with any individual person or computer.
Protecting Personal Information
We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason we follow these procedures:
- Paper information is stored in filing cabinets in supervised areas
- Electronic hardware is under supervision
- Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes
- Electronic information (eg., OHIP, WSIB) is transmitted through a direct line
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Staff are trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy
- External consultants and agencies with access to personal information must enter into privacy agreements with us.
Retention & Destruction of Personal Information
We need to retain personal information for some time to ensure that we can answer any questions you might have about your care and for our own accountability to external regulatory bodies. However, we do not want to keep personal information too long in order to protect your privacy.
We keep our files for approximately ten years after your last visit with us. We destroy paper files by shredding. We destroy electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, we ensure that the hard drive is physically destroyed. Records may be forwarded to anotherpractitioner with your written or verbal consent.
Access to Your Personal Information
You have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. Often all you have to do is ask. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (eg., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with this access.
If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected.
