environment written permission to share their/ the person under guardianship’s personal or health information according to applicable legislation. Note: This document refers only to consent for the disclosure of personal and/or health information. It does not recommend changes to the practice of obtaining informed consent to provide treatment or services. Providers with questions related to consent for treatment should reference their standards of practice or organization’s policies. When is consent needed? Consent is required only when you have no authority to disclose an individual's personal and/or health information without consent. You should be familiar with the legislation, regulations and policies that govern your programs or services to understand when consent to disclose is needed. Is it problematic to use Yes. This puts you at risk if the individual chooses not to consent when it is not provide consent or revokes it mid-stream in program service delivery. needed? This may leave you in a difficult situation where you are unable to deliver a required support to the individual. Public bodies are governed by the How does consent to Freedom of Information disclose apply to public and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Section 40) and often do bodies, such as the Alberta not require consent to disclose information to provide benefits government? and services through their programs. When consent to disclose is obtained, they are only permitted to disclose personal information to the extent necessary as outlined. Custodians governed under the Health Information Act (HIA) How does consent to have a duty to collect, use or disclose health information with disclose apply to custodians the highest degree of anonymity possible, in a limited manner, governed by the Health and must consider any expressed wishes of the individual Information Act (HIA)? (HIA s.57 and 58). Do we need a form to get Yes. Use a consent to disclose form that meets the legislative written consent? requirements for all the organizations partnering to provide collaborative, coordinated and/or integrated programs and services. Each partner’s logo should be included on this form. The template on the next page shows the elements that need to be included to be compliant with both the HIA and FOIP. Common Consent to Disclose Form Template –
environment written permission to share their/ the person under guardianship’s personal or health information according to applicable legislation. Note: This document refers only to consent for the disclosure of personal and/or health information. It does not recommend changes to the practice of obtaining informed consent to provide treatment or services. Providers with questions related to consent for treatment should reference their standards of practice or organization’s policies. When is consent needed? Consent is required only when you have no authority to disclose an individual's personal and/or health information without consent. You should be familiar with the legislation, regulations and policies that govern your programs or services to understand when consent to disclose is needed. Is it problematic to use consent when it is not needed? Yes. This puts you at risk if the individual chooses not to provide consent or revokes it mid-stream in program service delivery. This may leave you in a difficult situation where you are unable to deliver a required support to the individual. How does consent to disclose apply to public bodies, such as the Alberta government? Public bodies are governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Section 40) and often do not require consent to disclose information to provide benefits and services through their programs. When consent to disclose is obtained, they are only permitted to disclose personal information to the extent necessary as outlined. How does consent to disclose apply to custodians governed by the Health Information Act (HIA)? Custodians governed under the Health Information Act (HIA) have a duty to collect, use or disclose health information with the highest degree of anonymity possible, in a limited manner, and must consider any expressed wishes of the individual (HIA s.57 and 58). Do we need a form to get written consent? Yes. Use a consent to disclose form that meets the legislative requirements for all the organizations partnering to provide collaborative, coordinated and/or integrated programs and services. Each partner’s logo should be included on this form. The template on the next page shows the elements that need to be included to be compliant with both the HIA and FOIP. Common Consent to Disclose Form – Template
information-sharing-toolkit.docx