Privacy Policy

BODY IN BALANCE PHYSIOTHERAPY PRIVACY POLICY

Privacy of personal information is an important principle to Body in Balance Physiotherapy. We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the goods and services we provide. We also try to be open and transparent as to how we handle personal information. This document describes our privacy policies.

WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes information that relates to their personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income, home address or phone number, ethnic background, family status), their health (e.g., health history, health conditions, health services received by them) or their activities and views (e.g., religion, politics, opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual). Personal information is to be contrasted with business information (e.g., an individual’s business address and telephone number), which is not protected by privacy
legislation.

WHO WE ARE

Our organization, Body in Balance Physiotherapy, provide rehabilitation goods and services. Our staff, insurance companies and WSIB may, in the course of their duties, have limited access to personal information we hold. These include name, address, phone
number etc… We restrict their access to any personal information we hold as much as is reasonably possible. We also have their assurance that they follow appropriate privacy principles.
WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: PRIMARY PURPOSES

Like all regulated health care professionals, we collect, use and disclose personal information in order to serve our clients. For our clients, the primary purposes for collecting personal information are as follows:

Payment of goods/services
Case Management of your file with WSIB or Insurance companies if applicable.
Case Management of your file amongst our staff.

WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: SECONDARY PURPOSES

Like most organizations, we also collect, use disclose information for other purposes. The most common examples of our secondary purposes are as follows:

Newsletters and other mailings from Body in Balance Physiotherapy.
Notice of promotions and special offers from Body in Balance Physiotherapy
Notice when it is time to review whether I need new goods or services.
You can choose not to be part of some of these purposes (e.g., by declining special offers or promotions, by paying for your services in advance).

PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, we have taken the following steps:

Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area.
Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restrictedarea at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. All of our cellphones are digital, which signals are more difficult to intercept.
Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or boxes by reputable companies.
Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or is anonymized or encrypted.
Staff is trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy.
External consultants and agencies with access to personal information must enter into privacy agreements with us.

RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We need to retain personal information for some time to ensure that we can answer any questions you might have about the services provided and for our own accountability to external regulatory bodies. However, we do not want to keep personal information too long in order to protect your privacy. We keep our client files for about 7 years. Our client and contact directories are much more difficult to systematically destroy, so we remove such
information when we can if it does not appear that we will be contacting you again. However, if you ask, we will remove such contact information right away. We destroy paper files containing personal information by shredding. We destroy electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, we ensure that the hard drive is physically destroyed.

YOU CAN LOOK AT YOUR INFORMATION

With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. Often all you have to do is ask. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with this access. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests. If there is a problem, we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all possible and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access. If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make the correction and notify anyone to whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we have made a mistake, we will still agree to include in our file a brief statement from you on the point and we will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.

DO YOU HAVE A CONCERN?

Our Information Officer, Alessandro Rosatelli, can be reached at (905) 778-9959 to address any questions or concerns you might have. If you wish to make a formal complaint about our privacy practices, you may make it in writing to our Information Officer. He will acknowledge receipt of your complaint; ensure that it is investigated promptly and that you are provided with a formal decision and reasons in writing. For more general inquiries, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees the administration of the privacy legislation in the private sector. The Commissioner also acts as a kind of ombudsman for privacy disputes. The Privacy Commissioner can be reached at:

Call Us:	(905)778-9959
Address:	52 Holland St. E Directions
Contact Us:	Contact Us