Privacy Policy

Website Disclaimer

This is a Canadian website. Information published on this website is for information and educational purposes only. Its content is intended for Canadian residents only.

MEDICAL ADVICE

Information provided on this website does not constitute medical advice and should not be used for diagnosis. Due to unique individual needs and medical history, please consult your primary care provider who will be able to determine the appropriateness of the information for your specific situation and will assist you in making any decisions regarding treatment and/or medication.

The North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NMNPLC) and/or its primary care providers shall not be liable for any damages, claims, liabilities, costs or obligations arising from the use or misuse of the material contained on this website, whether such obligations arise in contract, negligence, equity or statute law. We do not guarantee or warrant the quality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, appropriateness or suitability of the information provided.

PRODUCTS, PROCESSES OR SERVICES

Reference to, or mention of, specific products, processes or services is not a recommendation or an endorsement by the NMNPLC.

LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES

Links to external websites are provided as a reference to assist you in identifying and locating other Internet resources that may be of interest. Please remember that Internet resources are no substitute for the advice of a qualified health care provider. We do not assume responsibility for the accuracy or appropriateness of the information contained in other sites, nor do we endorse the viewpoints expressed in other sites.

Privacy and Clients Rights

OUR COMMITMENT TO PRIVACY

To provide the best possible care, we need to collect and use personal health information. The North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic is committed to keeping your information safe and confidential. We follow the rules set out in law about collecting, using and disclosing your personal information.

To ensure the protection of your personal information, we have:

Privacy Policies in place
Appointed a Privacy Officer to answer your concerns or inquiries
Set up safeguards in the handling of paper, electronic and verbal personal information.

HOW WE WORK

We will usually collect your personal health information from you for your health record. This information includes your date of birth, contact information, health history, family health history, details of your physical and mental health records, record of your visits, the care and support you received during those visits, results from tests and procedures. We will only collect this information from another source if you give your consent or the law permits us to do so. The Clinic’s service providers work in teams to provide you with comprehensive care and service. Information for your best care may be shared among those directly involved with your care.

We collect, use and disclose (meaning share) your health information to:

Treat and care for you
Communicate and coordinate your care with your other health care providers (including through electronic health information systems or electronic Health Records (EHR) – if you have questions about electronic health information systems, please speak with our Privacy Officer)
Provide appointment or preventative care reminders to you and/or send patient surveys to you
Update you of upcoming events, activities and 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
Seek your permission (or permission of a substitute decision maker) where appropriate
Respond to or initiate proceedings
Conduct research (subject to certain rules)
Compile statistics
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, is done in accordance with Ontario law. We are bound by confidentiality. We have to protect your information from loss or theft. If there is a privacy breach, we will inform you (we are required by law to inform you).

We may also collect, use and share your health 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.

You have the right to ask that we not share some or all of your health record with one or more of our team members or ask us not to share your health record with one or more of your external health care providers (such as a specialist). This is known as asking for a “lockbox”. If you would like to know more, please read our “Patient Lockbox Information Brochure: How to Restrict Access to your Health Record”. If you wish to set up a Client Lockbox, please fill out a Client Lockbox Request Form and return it to your service provider.

LIMIT TO CONFIDENTIALITY

The North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic may report information to third parties, without consent:

Where required by a court through subpoena, administrative agency or other governmental tribunal;
To eliminate or reduce a significant risk of serious bodily harm;
To meet reporting obligation under other laws such as for child protection;
Records must be made available upon request to investigators of a regulatory college, or the Coroner.
A provider who forms the opinion that a person is infected with a communicable disease must report to the Medical Officer of Health in accordance with the Health Promotion and Protection Act and Regulations.

ACCESSING YOUR INFORMATION

The Information in your record belongs to you; the physical record itself belongs to the Clinic. You are welcome to read or have a copy of your personal health record. You may also request correction of your record. If you wish to access your record, fill out a Request to Access Personal Health Information form and return it to your service provider. An appointment will be set up for you with your service provider to review the records. If you wish to correct or update your record, fill out a Request to correct personal health information form. If you wish to give access or transfer your health files to another provider, fill out an ‘Authorization for release of information’ form and return it to your service provider.

Website Cookies and the Collection and User of Information

The North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NMNPLC) is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our website and online properties. We receive, collect and store information you enter on our website or provide us in any other way. The following explains how and why we collect and use information from our website. By using the NMNPLC website, you are agreeing with the terms of this website disclaimer and our privacy policies. Your continued use of the website means that you accept any changes.

INFORMATION SHARED WITH US

If you choose to provide the NMNPLC with personal information through email or other means (e.g. by completing a website form), the information will be used only for the specific purposes for which it has been provided (e.g. to respond to a specific request, volunteer application, etc.), or as otherwise allowed by law.

SERVER LOGS AND DATA STORAGE

We are continuously improving the user experience on our website so that visitors can find the information they want. In order to do this, we need to determine what information visitors access most frequently, and we may do this by tracking statistics such as IP address, browser type, and domain name, and information about a visit such as page visits, length of visit, referring site, page response times, links clicked, documents downloaded and download errors. This information will be used to improve the website, ensure that it provides an optimal web experience for visitors, and ensure that the platform is secure and safe for use.

COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

Our website uses third-party services such as Google Analytics, which may place cookies through the North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic’s website. Cookies help improve the content within our site by helping us understand how visitors use our site. A cookie is a text file that is placed in your web browser’s memory by a web server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or to deliver malicious software to your computer.

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent or you can choose to turn off all cookies. This can be done through your browser’s settings. If you turn cookies off, you may no longer have access to many features provided by our website.

EMBEDDED CONTENT FROM OTHER WEBSITES

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, maps, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Policy Updates

We reserve the right to modify this privacy policy at any time, so please review it frequently. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately upon their posting on the website.

Questions or Concerns

If at any time you have questions or concerns about the treatment of your personal health information or the protection of your privacy within the North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, please do not hesitate to raise your concerns with your service provider, or the North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic’s Privacy Officer at info@northmuskokanplc.com

You may also contact the Information/Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at 1-800-387-0073 or e-mail infor@ipc.on.ca; web: www.ipc.on.ca.

Social Media Terms of Use

CHANNELS

Twitter: @NMuskokaNPLC

Facebook: @NMuskokaNPLC

PURPOSE

The North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NMNPLC) supports open dialogue and the open exchange of ideas and recognizes that social media is a tool for communication that can help build stronger ties with the community. The NMNPLC also works under an Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression framework, and does not tolerate racism, prejudice or any form of discrimination.

COMMUNITY STANDARDS

The NMNPLC maintains a social media presence to increase support, access and awareness about our programs and services, and engage our community in advocacy initiatives.

The NMNPLC is committed to creating informative, welcoming, and safe spaces for our clients, staff, and communities. To this end, the following comments and/or behaviour are considered unacceptable and can be deleted without notice if/when they occur:

Offensive, profane, hateful, abusive, aggressive, pornographic, defamatory or discriminating language of any kind
Content that promotes, fosters, perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, age, gender, creed, marital status, socio-economic status, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation
Content that encourages illegal activity
Impersonation or misrepresentation
Serious or unproven accusations
Spam

If someone engaging with our social media violates our terms of use, the NMPLC may block or mute the user without notice. Violations may also be reported.

PRIVACY

In order to respect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not post any content that includes personal information. Examples of personal information may include names, phone numbers, addresses, emails, or details about your personal health.

FOLLOWS AND LIKES

The NMNPLC may follow and like social media accounts from its partners, stakeholders or other relevant sources. Please note that being followed or liked by the NMNPLC does not imply endorsement of any kind.