Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Sojourn Wellness collect, use, maintain, and disclose personal information responsibly, and to the extent necessary, for the services we provide to our clients. We consider the privacy of personal information important.Your privacy is a priority. It is important to understand the confidentiality nature of our services. Sojourn Wellness is committed to safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of our clients. Personal health information is collected about you during the course of your assessment and treatment. This information is in compliance with regulated federally under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, 2004) and provincially under the Personal Health Information Act (PHIPA, 2004).

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Confidentiality is respected at all times. No information will be communicated, directly or indirectly, to a third party without your informed and written consent. Exceptions to confidentiality include the legal and/or ethical obligations to:

Inform a potential victim of violence of a client’s intention to harm them
Inform an appropriate family member, health care professional, or police, if necessary, of a client’s intention to end his or her life
Release a client’s file, if there is a court order to do so
Inform the Children’s Aid Society, if there is suspicion of a child being at risk or in need of protection due to neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
Report a regulated health professional, to their regulatory body, who has sexually abused a client
Share information with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario for auditing purposes

The cost of some services provided is paid for by third parties (e.g., private insurance, motor vehicle insurance, employee assistance program companies, First Nations and Inuit Health Benefits Program). These third party payers often have your consent or legislative authority to direct us to collect and disclose to them certain information in order to demonstrate your entitlement to this funding.

Clients have a legal and moral right to know that information is contained about them in their file. You or your legal legal designates shall have access to information which can be identified as pertaining to you (and only you) that is stored in your clinical file, with the exception of information that is believed to be harmful or confidential about or from third parties. Please note that records cannot be released where they contain the name of another person (redaction of content is necessary to protect that person’s confidentiality), and the reports from other professionals cannot be released without the consent of that professional. We will need to confirm your identity and legal right to have access to the information. This may include providing identification and/or proof that you have legal authority to make decisions on behalf of a client. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for requests (i.e., time spent preparing, copying and mailing the file – where applicable). We will ask you to put your request in writing. If we not able give you access to your file, we will tell you within 30 days, if at all possible and provide you the reason, as best we can regarding why we cannot give you access.

If a you believe there is a mistake in your information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to information that is factual and not to any professional opinions that we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are incorrect. If a change has been made, a statement of changed information is included in the clinical record. If the request for a change is declined, the client may file a notice of disagreement in the clinical record.

Safeguarding the Privacy of Personal Information

Sojourn Wellness understand the importance of protecting personal information. Therefore, the following steps are taken:

Paper information is stored secured in a locked or restricted area.
Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or boxes by reputable companies (e.g., Canada Post).
Electronic hardware is secured in a locked cabinet or restricted area and computer passwords.
Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or encrypted.
Files being transported are stored in a locked area (e.g., car trunk, carrying case with a locking mechanism).
Any external consultants and agencies with access to personal information must enter into privacy agreements with us.

Retention and Destruction of Personal Information

In accordance with our regulatory body, files are retained for 10 years, after the last date of contact with a client, or 10 years after a child’s 18th birthday, if the child was under the age of 18 during treatment/services.

To safeguard your privacy, we shred paper files containing personal information, and we destroy electronic information by deleting it. When the hardware is discarded, we ensure that the hard drive is physically destroyed.

What is Personal Information?

In order for Sojourn Wellness to provide you with services, we will need to collect personal information about you. Personal information refers to identifying information about an individual (i.e., name, home address, telephone number, date of birth), their health (i.e., health history, presenting issue, social situation, health services received by the individual) or their views and activities (i.e., opinions expressed, opinion or evaluation of an individual) to better understand your challenges, help assess your needs, and guide your treatment plan and services. An individual’s personal information is not the same as business information (i.e., business address, telephone number) which is not protected by privacy legislation. In the course of our business, office staff may need to access some of your personal information, and this access is limited. We restrict their access to any personal information we hold as much as reasonably possible.

Online Policy

Sojourn Wellness uses technology that ensure secure communication with clients and when engaging in distance services through online platforms. Distance/Online services is conducted through a secure and data encryption platform that includes a client portal or a HIPAA compliant platform. Although measures have been taken to protect the information that will be shared between you and Sojourn Wellness, the privacy and confidentiality of computer-mediated communication cannot be guaranteed. It is important to ensure that during your online appointment you are in a private location, other people are not around, and a distraction free environment so that confidentiality can be maintained.

Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to make changes or update this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be posted on our website; but, you will not be notified each time there is a change to our policy. All policies will be in compliance with the applicable privacy law.

Contact Information

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding how your clinical file is securely stored and/or destroyed, requesting a correction to your file if there is a mistake in the information, if you wish to obtain a copy of your file, or if you wish to make a complaint, you can speak with Charmaine McIntosh at 416.258.8441 or send it in writing to hello@peelcounselling.com.

Last Updated: October 27, 2024