Regulations

Below are the sections about reporting certain breaches to the IPC in Ontario Regulation 329/04 under the Personal Health Information Protection Act.

Section 6.3

(1) The following are the circumstances in which a health information custodian is required to notify the Commissioner for the purposes of subsection 12 (3) of the Act:

1. The health information custodian has reasonable grounds to believe that personal health information in the custodian’s custody or control was used or disclosed without authority by a person who knew or ought to have known that they were using or disclosing the information without authority.
2. The health information custodian has reasonable grounds to believe that personal health information in the custodian’s custody or control was stolen.
3. The health information custodian has reasonable grounds to believe that, after an initial loss or unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information in the custodian’s custody or control, the personal health information was or will be further used or disclosed without authority.
4. The loss or unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information is part of a pattern of similar losses or unauthorized uses or disclosures of personal health information in the custody or control of the health information custodian.
5. The health information custodian is required to give notice to a College of an event described in section 17.1 of the Act that relates to a loss or unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information.
6. The health information custodian would be required to give notice to a College, if an agent of the health information custodian were a member of the College, of an event described in section 17.1 of the Act that relates to a loss or unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information.
7. The health information custodian determines that the loss or unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information is significant after considering all relevant circumstances, including the following:
   1. Whether the personal health information that was lost or used or disclosed without authority is sensitive.
   2. Whether the loss or unauthorized use or disclosure involved a large volume of personal health information.
   3. Whether the loss or unauthorized use or disclosure involved many individuals’ personal health information.
   4. Whether more than one health information custodian or agent was responsible for the loss or unauthorized use or disclosure of the personal health information.

(2) In this section,

“College” means a College as defined in subsection 17.1 (1) of the Act.

(3) A health information custodian shall notify the Commissioner of the existence of a circumstance set out in subsection (1) at the first reasonable opportunity.

Section 18.3

(1) A health information custodian is required to notify the Commissioner for the purposes of clause 55.5 (7) (b) of the Act under any circumstance where the custodian would be required to notify the Commissioner if the collection by means of the electronic health record had been for a use or disclosure to which section 6.3 of this Regulation applied.

(2) The health information custodian shall inform the Commissioner of an unauthorized collection to which subsection (1) applies at the first reasonable opportunity.

Subsection 18.10 (4)

If personal health information about an individual is collected without authority by a coroner by means of the electronic health record, the coroner shall,

…

(b)  notify the Commissioner of the unauthorized collection at the first reasonable opportunity, if any circumstance exists where the coroner would be required to notify the Commissioner if the coroner were a custodian to which subsection 18.3 (1) of this Regulation applied.

• PDF of Guidelines
• Privacy Breach Reporting Form

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