Supplemental HIPAA Notice

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

TELUS Health is committed to protecting the privacy of Protected Health Information (“PHI”), which is regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). TELUS Health is a “hybrid entity” which means TELUS Health’s business activities include both healthcare and non-healthcare components. This notice is provided to inform you about TELUS Health’s legal duties and privacy practices with respect to how TELUS Health processes PHI when providing health care services. TELUS Health will abide by the terms of this notice.

TELUS Health collects PHI which may include your name, contact information, demographic information, and information about your physical or mental health, treatment, and outcomes.

Permitted uses and disclosures of PHI

  • Treatment: We may use and share your PHI with other professionals for treatment. For example, our healthcare practitioners may share your PHI with other health professionals for further treatment.

  • Payment: We may use and share your PHI for billing and payment. For example, we may share PHI with your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

  • Healthcare operations: We may use and share your PHI to support our business operations. For example, we may use and share your PHI to manage and coordinate care, improve our offerings, maintain security, conduct audits, detect and investigate fraud, facilitate a sale, transfer, merger, or consolidation for all or part of TELUS Health with another entity (including due diligence related to such activity), and for general business planning, development, management, and other administrative activities.

  • Other circumstances permitting use and disclosure:

    • For research, provided measures are taken to protect your privacy;

    • In situations where you are unavailable or incapacitated or in emergency situations if, in the exercise of our professional judgment, the use or disclosure is determined to be in your best interests;

    • To address matters of public interest as required or permitted by law (e.g. threat to public health, safety or national security);

    • As required by law to comply with legal obligations and requirements;

    • In response to a court order or other lawful process;

    • To federal, state, and local law enforcement officials under specific conditions (e.g. as required by a court order, to inform law enforcement about the commission of a crime);

    • To prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual or the public.

Uses and disclosures of PHI that require your authorization

Except as indicated in this notice, TELUS Health’s use or disclosure of your PHI will be made only with your written authorization. For example, we will get your written authorization for uses and disclosures of PHI made for marketing purposes, before disclosing any psychotherapy notes, or related to the sale of your PHI. If you do provide written authorization for use or disclosure of PHI, you have the right to revoke such authorization at any time to stop any future uses and disclosures. Any revocation will not apply to disclosures made prior to the revocation.

Your rights

The following rights are in addition to the rights described in the Commitment:

  • Right to request confidential communications of information in a different manner or at a different place (for example, by sending information to a P.O. Box instead of your home address);

  • Right to request an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI made by us during the six years prior to your request;

  • Right to request a paper copy of this notice;

  • Right to be notified following a breach of your unsecured PHI, unless we can demonstrate, based on a risk assessment that there is a low probability that the PHI has been compromised.

If you need further information about matters covered by this Notice or if you have concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us at [email protected] or TELUS Health, c/o Chief Data & Trust Officer, 25 York Street, Floor 30, Toronto ON, M5J 2V5.

You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.