Privacy and Your Personal Health Information

The Orchard is committed to your privacy and the protection of your personal health information.  

We only collect, use and disclose your personal health information as permitted by law.

For more information about personal health information in BC please visit the Personal Health Information Access and Protection of Privacy Act.

Your personal health information is collected directly from you or a person acting on your behalf whenever possible. We may also collect personal health information about you from other sources involved in your care, only when permitted by law, such as from family members and other health care providers. Your personal health information may be collected in different formats, including paper charts and provincial electronic health information systems.

Our teams work together to provide your care. Your personal health information is only shared between individuals on your care team who need to know your information to be able to provide care and assistance to you.

The Orchard uses and discloses (or shares with others) your personal health information only for the purpose of:

• Planning and providing care
• Billing the provincial medical services plan for services provided to you
• Helping healthcare providers outside the Orchard who are involved in your care to provide services to you (for example: community pharmacists, private physiotherapists, private registered massage therapists, your family physician, etc.)
• As required by law (for example: when court ordered, mandatory reporting for public health & safety

A duty to report arises when a statute, regulation, by-law, or policy dictates that a physician disclose confidential information.

• Communicable Diseases
  Physicians must report individuals with reportable communicable diseases to the medical health officer, according to the Communicable Disease Regulation.
• Child Abuse or Neglect
  Any person, including a physician, who has reason to believe a child is in need of protection must report the concern to a director or designated person under the Child, Family and Community Service Act.
• Fitness to Drive
  If a person has a medical condition that makes it dangerous for them to drive and they then continue to drive, the physician has a legal duty to report this to RoadSafetyBC under the Motor Vehicle Act Section 230.
• Duty to Report
  If a person is an active registrant of a regulated health profession in British Columbia, or holds certain safety-sensitive position, our medical providers are required to report that the registrant of a regulated health profession in BC or a holder of a license under Transport Canada has been admitted for treatment for a substance-related disorder to the registrar of the person’s college or the relevant authority. For more information please see the BC Health Professions and Occupations Act.If you are an active registrant of a regulated health profession in British Columbia, you may also have duty to self-report to your college and/or relevant authority. We strongly encourage clients to fulfill this responsibility. Self-reporting a health concern is often viewed positively by regulatory colleges / licensing authorities because it demonstrates professional responsibility, accountability, integrity, and your commitment to recovery. If you have questions about the duty to report, please seek further information from the Orchard or check directly with your licensing body.