Law / Canada / Northwest Territories
Health Information Act, consent and the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information by custodians
S.N.W.T. 2014, c. 2, ss. 15, 27-29, 38-40
archived copy
Read from a public archive copy, not the publisher directly. The publisher does not serve this page to automated readers, so a direct fetch was not an option here; how we access sources. Archived . Publisher's page: https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/files/legislation/health-information/health-information.a.pdfIn force since .
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- If you are a health information custodian (the Department of Health and Social Services, a medical practitioner who is not acting as another custodian's agent, a pharmacist who is not acting as another custodian's agent, or an organization or person prescribed as a custodian), comply with the Act and its regulations in every collection, use and disclosure of personal health information (s. 27).
- Obtain a consent that is the individual's own, relates to the information, is knowledgeable and is not obtained through deception or coercion wherever the Act requires consent (s. 15(1)).
- Do not collect, use or disclose personal health information where non-identifying health information would be adequate, and do not collect, use or disclose more than is reasonably necessary for the purpose, unless the law requires it (s. 28(1)-(3)).
- Collect personal health information about an individual only on a ground s. 29 lists, the first being the individual's consent where the collection is necessary for a lawful purpose (s. 29).
- Disclose personal health information only with the individual's express consent where the disclosure is necessary for a lawful purpose, or where this or another Act, or an Act or regulation of Canada, permits or requires it (s. 38).
- Before disclosing, take reasonable steps to verify that the recipient is authorized to collect the information and is the intended recipient (s. 39).
- If you are a recipient of personal health information that a custodian disclosed to you, other than another custodian or the individual the information is about, use or disclose it only for the purpose for which the custodian was authorized to disclose it or to carry out a legal duty (s. 40(2)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
The Act applies to records containing personal health information that are in the custody or under the control of a health information custodian. The class of custodians includes the Department of Health and Social Services, a medical practitioner and a pharmacist.
Where the Act requires an individual's consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal health information, the consent must be the individual's, must relate to the information, must be knowledgeable and must not be obtained through deception or coercion. A custodian shall not collect, use or disclose personal health information if non-identifying health information would be adequate for the intended purposes.
A custodian shall not collect, use or disclose more personal health information than is reasonably necessary to meet the purpose. A custodian shall not collect personal health information about an individual unless one of the listed grounds applies, the first being that the individual has consented and the collection is necessary for a lawful purpose.
A custodian shall not disclose personal health information about an individual unless the custodian has the express consent of the individual and the disclosure is necessary for a lawful purpose, or the disclosure is permitted or required by this or another Act or by an Act or regulation of Canada. Before disclosing personal health information, a custodian shall take reasonable steps to verify that the recipient is authorized to collect it and is the intended recipient.
A recipient of personal health information disclosed by a custodian shall not use or disclose it for any purpose other than the one for which the custodian was authorized to disclose it, or to carry out a legal duty. The Act does not apply to a record containing personal health information about an employee or agent of the custodian that is not made or maintained primarily for the purpose of providing or assisting in the provision of a health service to that person.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app handles health records.