Privacy Policy

Your physician and the Happy Valley Family Health Team staff are bound by law and ethics to safeguard your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information.

This includes:

• Collecting only the information that may be necessary for your care
• Keeping accurate and up-to-date records
• Safeguarding the medical records in our possession
• Sharing information with other health-care providers and organizations within your circle of care
• Disclosing information to third parties only with your express consent or when necessary for legal reasons; and retaining/destroying records in accordance with the law

Your request for care implies consent for our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information for purposes related to your care. As noted above, other purposes may require your express consent.
You have the right to access your records. You may also want to obtain copies of your records. Please speak to your physician if you have concerns about the accuracy of your records.
For the purpose of privacy, children 16 years and older are treated as adults and have the right of complete privacy. If they wish to include their parents or guardian, they will need to inform their physician. (Consent will then be noted in the patient record). Parents and guardians of children under the age of 16 years do not need to provide consent unless there are special circumstances such as:

• A court order pertaining to custody
• The children do not have the same surname as the parent or guardian and it would be difficult for us to determine the relationship

We will not communicate with parents or guardians of children 16 years and older if there is no consent on file.
If you would like to discuss our privacy policy in more detail or have specific questions or complaints about how your information is being handled, please speak to your physician.