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Patients & Visitors

Patient Privacy

We take steps to protect your personal information from theft, loss and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure and disposal. We conduct audits and complete investigations to monitor and manage our privacy compliance.

We take steps to ensure that everyone who performs services for the Hospital protects your privacy and only uses your personal information for the purposes with which you have consented.

The Collection of Personal Health Information

Protecting patient privacy is not only the law but an essential part of St. Michael's Hospital's commitment to treating our patients with dignity, compassion and social responsibility. Protecting your personal health information is about quality of care and treating others the way we want to be treated.

At St. Michael's Hospital, we collect personal health information about you directly from you or from the person acting on your behalf. The personal health information that we collect may include, for example, your name, date of birth, address, health history, records of your visits to St. Michael's Hospital and the care that you received during those visits. Occasionally, we may collect personal health information from other sources if we have obtained consent or if the law permits.

Uses and Disclosures of Personal Health Information

St. Michael's Hospital may use and disclose your personal health information to:

  • treat and care for you
  • conduct risk management activities
  • teach
  • conduct research
  • compile statistics
  • comply with legal and regulatory requirements
  • plan, administer and manage our internal operations
  • get payment for your treatment and care from OHIP, WSIB, your private insurer or others
  • conduct quality improvement activities such as sending patients satisfaction surveys
  • culfill other purposes permitted or required by law

As well, we disclose your contact information to our Hospital Foundation, so that they may conduct fundraising to improve our health-care facilities, services and programs.

Your Information, Your Choice

You may access and correct your personal health records or withdraw your consent for some of the above uses and disclosures by contacting us (subject to legal exceptions, such as where disclosures are required by law).

For more information or to raise a concern you have with our practices, contact the manager of information privacy and security at:

Privacy Office
St. Michael's Hospital
30 Bond Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1W8, Canada
Phone: 416-864-6088
E-mail: privacy@smh.toronto.on.ca

You have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario if you think we have violated your rights.

The Commissioner can be reached at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M4W 1A8, Canada
Phone: 416-326-3333 or 1-800-387-0073
E-mail: info@ipc.on.ca
Website: www.ipc.on.ca