When you are receiving care at BC Cancer, our staff and physicians will collect personal information from you. Where permitted, BC Cancer will also collect information about you from other health care providers or health care organizations.
Collecting, using and sharing your personal information
Your information may be entered into our electronic health information systems to assist authorized persons in quickly accessing pertinent information wherever you may be receiving care or services.
We collect, use and share your personal information under the primary authority of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”). FIPPA and other legislations authorize us to use and share your personal information for these reasons:
- to identify you and keep in contact with you about your health care
- to provide ongoing care and support of care activities
- to help us plan, monitor, maintain and improve our care and services,
- for education and training (e.g. medical students) and to conduct research with consent or as permitted by law
- to know your eligibility for benefits and services and to arrange medical services billing
- to enable parties (e.g. Ministry of Health Services, Canadian Institute of Health Information) to confirm your identity, conduct planning and improvement activities, measure performance and fund healthcare
- to analyze, manage and control disease outbreaks and monitor the overall health of people
- as required by law (e.g. court order, reportable conditions) and as authorized by FIPPA
Your health information will be provided to your referring physician, other authorized health care professionals and their support staff, or health care agencies and facilities involved in your care to support continuous and consistent care and service. In some cases, these health professionals may look up your health information in our electronic health information systems in order to provide you with direct or supporting services.
You may request access to your health record by contacting the Release of Information Office in the cancer centre where you are receiving your treatment.
eHealth and your information
eHealth is a provincial initiative that allows certain aspects of your health information to be accessed by authorized health care professionals throughout the province and not just within a particular region. Each health authority sends specific health information to a province-wide electronic information system, where it is stored with strict protections and used for limited and authorized purposes. For more information about eHealth, please visit the government
eHealth website.
