Facebook Privacy Settings

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Canada AM (CTV) has posted a video on their website on how to use privacy settings on Facebook. Follow the link to the video – share the link with your family and friends! Click Here. (make sure to view both clips)

What are the risks when you ‘like' another site? How can third parties make use of your pictures? Maybe you have set your privacy settings once – but, the next time that Facebook has made program changes and includes new settings you (the user) need to go back and trigger the new privacy settings.

facebook, privacy

Charges laid under the Health Information Act

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

A self-reported breach by an individual to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner resulted in an offence investigation being opened into suspicious access to health information. The completed investigation, after being referred to Crown prosecutors at Alberta Justice, led to thirty-one charges under the Health Information Act being laid for improperly accessing other individuals’ health information. Another charge was laid for inappropriate use of health information, another for inappropriate disclosure of health information, and one more charge for knowingly falsifying a record. In addition to these thirty-four charges under the Health Information Act, six charges were also laid under the Criminal Code.

The Calgary Herald reports that Brian Hamilton, OIPC Director for the Health Information Act, would only confirm the accused is not a doctor or other medical professional. The matter will be heard in Airdrie Provincial Court on Thursday, October 18, 2012.

The Edmonton Journal also reported that, in addition to the charges under the Health Information Act, the accused may face up to six Criminal Code charges.

Each organization has a responsibility to ensure that their employees (affiliates) receive education and training in their roles and responsibilities under the HIA. Information Managers can help you by providing training on-site and now by webinar. Click here for more information.

For more information, see:
the OIPC Website (http://www.oipc.ab.ca/Content_Files/Files/News/NR_Oct_2012.pdf)

http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Charges+laid+improper+access+health+files/7400003/story.html

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Alberta+Justice+lays+charges+improperly+accessing+health+information/7399425/story.html

access, Alberta, complaint, disclosure log, Health Information Act, HIA, improperly accessing health information, OIPC, privacy, privacy breach, training

Calgary pharmacy found in violation of patient privacy rules

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Remember the Privacy Principles – least amount of information, on a need to know basis? This recent investigation report from the OIPC reminds us to review our practices to collect information from patients to ensure that we are meeting our best practice standards.

An investigation into a southwest Calgary Co-op pharmacy has found its practice of collecting information on the immune status of an individual when they seek administration of an injection contravenes the Health Information Act.

A patient of the pharmacy contacted the privacy commissioner in April 2012 after he was presented with a form that asked if he had a condition that affects the immune system when he went to the Co-op Shawnessy Centre Pharmacy to receive a vitamin B12 injection.

The patient feared being stigmatized due to an immune disorder that he suffered from, and felt that the amount of information being demanded was excessive. He filed a complaint after being refused treatment without providing the information.

The Health Information Act specifies that custodians must only collect the most limited amount of health information to carry out an intended purpose.

For more information, see:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Calgary+Pharmacy+found+violation+patient+privacy+rules/7346243/story.html

complaint, Health Information Act, HIA, OIPC, privacy, privacy principles

Privacy commissioners call on small- and medium-sized businesses to look before they leap into the cloud

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Privacy commissioners call on small- and medium-sized businesses to look before they leap into the cloud

EDMONTON, June 14, 2012 – Increasingly today, the word cloud is almost as likely to be spoken in a conversation about computing as it would in a discussion about the weather. New guidance issued by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Alberta and British Columbia seeks to provide insight for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help their forecasting of potential benefits and risks posed by cloud-based services.

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services over the Internet. SMEs may be attracted to cloud services as they can significantly reduce the cost and complexity of owning and operating computers and networks. Businesses using a cloud service provider don’t need to spend money on information technology infrastructure, or buy hardware or software licenses. Cloud services can also enable a business to store data offsite with the ability to access it over the Internet from the office, home or virtually anywhere.

In essence, this is a form of outsourcing. Businesses need to remember however that for any information they put in the cloud, the responsibility to safeguard it to the level required by Canada’s private sector privacy laws remains firmly with them.

The guidance includes key precautions and advice, such as:

Pay close attention to cloud service contracts. For example, might the fine print allow for third-party disclosures of the information stored?
Are your customers aware that their information might be outsourced to the cloud and do you have their consent?
Where in the world is the data stored and what law may apply? No matter what, the business outsourcing the data is responsible for ensuring it’s protected to a level expected under Canadian privacy law.

For more information see: OIPC website

cloud computing, cloud service provider, OIPC, privacy

Family Care Clinics in Alberta

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

On April 2, family care clinics will open in Edmonton at the East Edmonton Health Centre and in Calgary at the East Calgary Health Centre. On April 16, the third clinic will open at the Associate Medical Clinic building in Slave Lake.

What is a family care clinic?

A family care clinic provides individual and family-focused primary health care programs and services that emphasize wellness as well as chronic disease prevention and management – all under one roof. Clinics will be staffed by teams of health care providers such as:

nurse practitioners (NPs);
registered nurses (RNs);
licensed practical nurses (LPNs);
counselors;
dietitians;
physical therapists (PTs);
pharmacists; and
family physicians.

See the Government of Alberta News Release.

On Monday, April 2, PC Leader Alison Redford announced in Strathmore that a re-elected Progressive Conservative government would create 140 family care clinics across Alberta over three years. (See Edmonton Journal article April 2, 2012)

In the Edmonton Journal article, the Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Linda Slocombe commented on her concerns about how these family care clinics will be funded, and how they will integrate with already established primary care networks — which operate on a similar but not identical model.

Alberta, Family Care Clinic, healthcare

Change your PIN Day March 1 2012

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel proclaimed March 1 as Change Your PIN Day.

Police are encouraging Edmontonians to change their banking PIN numbers Thursday to help prevent fraud.

In Edmonton last month police issued an arrest warrant for ten men accused of skimming more than half a million dollars from at least 900 bank accounts in Edmonton.

Here are some additional tips from Royal Bank of Canada: http://www.rbc.com/privacysecurity/ca/alert-fraud-prevention-month.html

Keep personal information confidential.
Do not give out personal information over the phone, through email or over the Internet unless you initiated the contact and know who you're dealing with.
Do not include personal information in regular, unencrypted email or enter it on an unencrypted website as your information will not be secure.
Keep your personal information safe. An identity thief will pick through your garbage or recycling bins, so be sure to shred receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, etc.
Protect your PIN and passwords. Do not reveal your PIN or passwords to anyone, including employees of RBC, family members and friends. When conducting a transaction at an ATM or retail (point-of-sale) location, keep your Client Card/Credit Card within sight and shield the keypad when entering your PIN.
Be aware and be safe! REMEMBER—if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

March is Fraud Prevention Month: Recognize it, Report it, Stop it!

Over the next four weeks, the RCMP will be participating in a series of local and national fraud-awareness initiatives. To reduce your chances of being victimized by fraud, check the RCMP's website daily during the month of March for tips aimed at keeping you safe from scammers. Topics covered will include identity theft, phishing, on-line shopping, social networking and credit and debit card fraud.

For more information, see Metro Edmonton March 1, 2012 http://metronews.ca/news/edmonton/9057/a-day-to-change-your-pin/
and CTV Edmonton. http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/mayor-mandel-proclaims-march-1st-change-your-pin-day-1.775231

change your PIN, Fraud Prevention Month, privacy

Data Privacy Day Edmonton

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Save the Date! January 28, 2013

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta will be hosting a half day Data Privacy Day event on the morning of Monday, January 28, 2013 at the Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel, 10222 – 102 Street, Edmonton. Details regarding the agenda and registration at OIPC.ab.ca.

Data Privacy Day

2013, Data Privacy Day, Data Privacy Day Edmonton, privacy

Privacy Nuggets Newsletter

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

I am delighted to announce that our newsletter, PRIVACY NUGGETS, is now available!

Click on the link here to add your name to any of the subscription lists. You can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe here.

PRIVACY NUGGETS is provided to help you add a nugget to your privacy education program. PRIVACY NUGGETS will be provided once monthly with short, informative privacy tips (usually including references to external resources) designed for you to share with your staff, patients, and family.

The information in the privacy nugget is not protected – you can copy and paste into your existing communication tools.

In order to provide PRIVACY NUGGETS and Workshop and Webinar announcements and publications and resources in an efficient manner, I have authorized the use of an email subscription service, Mail Chimp, to create email notices. You can choose to subscribe to

PRIVACY NUGGETS newsletter and/or
Workshop Calendar updates and/or
Publications and resources announcements

Click on the link here to add your name to any of the subscription lists. You can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe here.

You may also use our RSS service to easily access on your schedule all updates from our website. PRIVACY NUGGETS archives is also available on our website.

Background

MailChimp has been awarded TRUSTe's Privacy Seal signifying that its privacy policy and practices have been reviewed by TRUSTe for compliance with TRUSTe's program requirements including transparency, accountability and choice regarding the collection and use of your personal information. TRUSTe's mission, as an independent third party, is to accelerate online trust among consumers and organizations globally through its leading privacy trustmark and innovative trust solutions.

MailChimp manages its servers and email lists from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Information Managers has access to the email lists to maintain your preferences. The information that you provide (first and last name and email address) are stored on a secure MailChimp server. We do not, under any circumstances, share your lists with any other party, except as required by law or, regarding contacting, except in response to a complaint or other communication directly from an individual on one of your lists. Only carefully selected, authorized personnel have access to view Distribution Lists. Information Managers will sometimes track who opened the emails and who went so far as to click on any of the hyperlinks. We do this to measure the performance of our Email Campaigns, and to improve our offerings to specific customer segments.

Notice of Breach of Security. Nobody is safe from hackers these days. MailChimp will notify Information Managers, as soon as possible, if a breach in security results in an unauthorized intrusion into our system which materially affects you. Information Managers will subsequently report to you the corrective action taken in response to the intrusion.

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