We take your privacy very seriously. Neither your doctor nor the office staff will release any information about you to anyone without your prior consent. Even the fact that you visited the office or made an appointment is considered confidential.
If you want information released to others, (like insurance companies, employers, relatives) please give us instruction in writing and try to specify exactly what information you consent to release. However, we will not ask for written consent to disclose your information in the process of providing appropriate care. In other words, as is usual practice in patient care, we assume that you give us consent to allow access to or send copies of all or part of your health record to others with whom we mutually agree to involve in your direct care such as medical laboratories, medical imagaing centers, hospitals, and other physicians and allied health professionals. This would include our Primary Care Network Case Worker, Mental Health Consultant, Pharmacist, and/or Social Worker if you verbally agree to these people being consulted in your care.
Your medical record is kept on a computer in a very secure "data vault" in Vancouver. Our computers connect to the data vault, not through the internet, but through a special Private Physician Network run by Telus and funded by the Provincial Government. The whole system is protected by a very high level of encryption, passwords and redundant data backup similar to existing banking systems. Access is strictly controlled, audited, and limited to you, your doctor, designated health professionals, and our office staff. Neither Telus, nor the Provincial government, have any access to your medical record. The overall privacy and security of your computerized medical record is better than it would be on paper.
You are entitled to see all the information in your medical record. Just ask the staff and this can be arranged. If you want to discuss what you see on your record, then you must make an appointment to see your doctor. There is a fee for printed copies. If you believe there is an error or omission in your records, you can request a correction. Your request and any corrections your doctor decides to make will then be documented on your record.
