The Mohawk DI-r and your Privacy

What information does the Mohawk DI-r contain about me?

Participating health care providers in the HNHB and WW LHINs will continue collecting the necessary amount of personal health information to support your care and treatment. Of this information, your diagnostic imaging information will be copied into the DI-r, where it will be made available to other individuals involved with your care and retained for long term storage. The DI-r may contain the following medical information about you:

• Your name, address, date of birth, gender, and health number or medical record number;
• Diagnostic images (e.g. images from x-rays, mammogram, CT scans, and MRI scans);
• Clinical information about the images (e.g. diagnostic imaging orders, referrals, and reports); and
• The name of your health care provider.

How do hospitals and health care providers participating in the DI-r initiative use my information?

Participating health care organizations and health care providers use personal health information in the Mohawk DI-r to provide or assist in providing you with health care. For example, health care providers may submit, access, and share with other health care providers your diagnostic imaging information to provide a diagnosis, obtain advice about a course of treatment, provide a referral to a specialist, order an exam, or ensure the accuracy of your information and the quality of your diagnosis.

Who has access to my personal health information in the DI-r?

Physicians, nurses, radiologists, and other health care providers who are directly involved in your care may have access to your personal health information in the DI-r. However, access is limited to those health care organizations and providers participating in the DI-r initiative, including participating health care organizations in LHINs 1 and 2. Technical staff may have limited access to your diagnostic imaging information in order to ensure that the DI-r is always functioning properly.

Can I decide not to share my information in the DI-r?

Under PHIPA, your health care provider can assume she or he has your permission to collect, use, and disclose your personal health information to provide your care - unless you specifically withhold or withdraw your consent. If you decide not to share your diagnostic imaging information via the DI-r, you must contact the Privacy Officer at the organization where your diagnostic image was created (i.e. where your x-ray or MRI was captured, for example). The Privacy Officer will inform you of the appropriate process and if there are any limitations on the organization's ability to implement your request. For example, in order to meet medical record keeping legal requirements, your diagnostic imaging information may continue to be available to the physician who ordered the test.

How does the DI-r protect my information?

The Mohawk DI-r has many safeguards in place to ensure your diagnostic imaging information is kept confidential and secure at all times. These measures include:

• Administrative Safeguards: All organization participating in the DI-r must have comprehensive privacy and security policies in place. All health care organizations participating in the DI-r must sign contracts that include comprehensive privacy and security provisions. Each health care organization must also complete a comprehensive questionnaire documenting their compliance with applicable privacy and security legal requirements and best practices.
• Technical Safeguards: The DI-r tracks all users' access to personal health information, encrypts health information transmissions, and only permits authorized users to access diagnostic imaging information in the DI-r through role based access controls and password protection.
• Physical Safeguards: The DI-r is physically located at London Health Science Centre's state of the art, secure data centre. Access to the area where the servers are located is tightly controlled and monitored 24 hours a day.

How can I get access to, and correct, my personal health information in the Mohawk DI-r?

Under Ontario's privacy law, the Personal Health Information Protection Act, you have a legal right to be able to access your personal health information as well as request corrections to information about you that you believe to be inaccurate. You can get access to your personal health information, including any diagnostic imaging information about you in the DI-r, by making a request to the appropriate individual at your local hospital or health care provider's office. If your personal health information is not correct, speak to your health care provider and she or he will direct you to the appropriate individual to assist you with your correction request.

Who should I contact if I have any questions or complaints about the privacy practices of organizations participating in the Mohawk DI-r?

If you have any questions, or would like to submit a privacy complaint, please contact the Privacy Officer at any participating health care organization involved in your care, or direct your question to the Mohawk DI-r Privacy Lead. The Mohawk DI-r Privacy Lead will either respond to your questions or complaint or put you in touch with a hospital Privacy Officer who can be of further assistance. The Mohawk DI-r Privacy Lead can be reached at:

1-289-426-5308 or dir@mohawkssi.com

In the event that the Mohawk DI-r Privacy Lead or hospital Privacy Officer is not able to resolve a privacy complaint to your satisfaction, you can contact the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner at: