Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

At Home Physios Atlantic, we are committed to protecting the privacy of personal information. We will not disclose personal information without consent or reasonable and lawful notice except when required or permitted by law.

Our Privacy Commitment

At Home Physios Atlantic, we protect the privacy of patients by:

Collecting only the personal information that it is reasonable for us to collect to provide physiotherapy services to you;

Advising you how your information might be disclosed and obtaining your consent;
Having safeguards in place to protect your personal information;
Sharing your personal information only for the purposes and with those agreed to in a signed consent form or as otherwise permitted by law;
Ensuring that any contractors we hire who may have access to any of your personal information also take steps to protect the privacy of your information;
Train staff and adapt the office space to ensure maximum privacy protection.
Ensuring the personal information we have is complete, accurate and up to date; Providing you with access to your personal information and a mechanism for requesting corrections;
Making our Privacy Officer available to answer your questions and periodically review our Privacy Policy to ensure our policy is sufficient to provide adequate protection for your personal information.

What information do we collect?

We collect personal information that is necessary to provide physiotherapy services to you and facilitate payment for those services. The personal information we collect includes contact information, health information and financial information.

Contact information includes your name, phone number, address and the name of an emergency contact person.

We collect a variety of health information, including your health history, the nature of the treatment that you are receiving, the names of your other healthcare providers, family medical history, your subjective complaints, objective findings, diagnoses, reason for discharge and discharge plan.

Financial information may include information about your insurance benefits coverage, credit card information, your employer's name and other information to facilitate payment for services provided.

What are the purposes for collecting your information?

The purpose of collecting contact information is to open and update your patient file, invoice for services, remind you of appointments or the need for further treatment and provide informational materials about our clinic.

The purpose of collecting health information is for the purpose of assessment, diagnosis and the provision and evaluation of physiotherapy treatment.

The purpose of collecting financial information is to make arrangements for payment of physiotherapy services.

Do we share your information with others?

Contact information may be disclosed to third-party health benefit providers and insurance companies where you have submitted a claim for reimbursement or payment of all or part of the cost of treatment or where we have been asked to submit a claim on your behalf.

Health information may be disclosed to:

Third-party health benefit providers and insurance companies where you have submitted a claim for reimbursement or payment of all or part of the cost of treatment or have asked us to submit a claim on your behalf;

Work Safe NB or to your employer if you have made a compensation claim;

Other health care professionals who are also providing you with treatment;

Your lawyer, if you were injured in an accident and

Research teams in an anonymous form to facilitate outcome research.

Financial information may be disclosed to your insurer, credit card company or as necessary to facilitate payment.

In addition, personal information may be disclosed without your consent when we are required to do so by law.

What steps do we take to protect your personal information?

Our records containing your personal information are stored in a secure place.
Our electronic records are stored on secure hardware.
Passwords are used on all computers.
We take care to protect screen monitors from public viewing.
Paper records are transferred outside our office in sealed envelopes by secure methods.
Telephone discussions with patients are carried out with sensitivity to ensure that your personal information is not inadvertently disclosed to other patients.
Electronic information is transferred in secure files and made anonymous wherever possible.
We do not share your personal information outside our office for any marketing, promotional, publicity, educational or research purposes without your consent.
Our staff is trained to handle your information only through the protected measures outlined in our privacy procedures.
If we hire consultants or contractors who might have access to any of your personal information, we will take steps to ensure that the consultant or contractor also protects your privacy.

How can I access and correct my personal information?

You can make a request to look at your personal information by asking a staff member at the clinic. They may refer you to our Privacy Officer. We will attempt to help you understand the reasons we have information in your records.

You may request that we consider making changes to your personal information if it is inaccurate, incomplete or not up-to-date. If you believe that there is a factual mistake in your personal information, you may request that we change it, and we will consider your request.

If you request a copy of your record, we will provide it to you in a reasonable period of time. If we charge you for the cost of copying the record, we will advise you of the cost in advance.

How long do we keep your information?

We are required by legislation to keep records containing personal information for a specified period of time. We keep your records for a minimum of 7 years from the last date of service.

We destroy personal information in paper records by shredding it on the expiry of the 7-year period, or later as the PT may decide is appropriate in certain cases. We destroy electronic personal information by deleting it. When discarding hardware, we make sure the hard drive is destroyed.

Who should I contact for more information?

If you have a concern about your personal information, please feel free to ask the physical therapist treating you or another staff member. If you have a concern that is not being resolved and wish to make a complaint, please address your concern in writing to our Privacy Officer, Lori MacPhee.

Safe, Competent, Ethical Health Care

The College of Physiotherapists of New Brunswick is one of the health professions in New Brunswick that is regulated to make sure you receive safe, competent, ethical health care. As an organization responsible for regulating our profession, we set the standards our members must meet.

We establish the requirements for entry-level education programs and admission to the profession. We also administer the codes of ethics guiding our members’ practice and professional behaviour. These standards require our members to keep up with changes in health care, society and technology.

You have the right to receive safe, competent, ethical health care. We exist to make sure that you do. Most of our work is aimed at promoting good practices and preventing undesirable practice, but we also take action when unacceptable

practice occurs.

Examples of unacceptable conduct include physical or sexual abuse of patients/clients and unsafe practice due to a serious lack of knowledge, skill or judgment. Health professionals, including Physiotherapists, are generally thought of as caring and competent people. But it could happen that you might come across a healthcare professional whose conduct seems unprofessional or harmful.

What Should You Do?

If you have concerns about a health professional’s practice or conduct, there are a number of things you can do:

discuss the matter directly with the health professional,
address the issues with the health professional’s supervisor or employer,
make a formal complaint with the health professional’s regulatory body.

If you need information on what is and is not acceptable practice or conduct or how to best deal with your concerns, you can contact the appropriate regulatory body for further advice.

Serious incidents of unsafe, incompetent or unethical practice are rare. By putting most of our efforts into promoting good practices and preventing undesirable practices, we minimize the need for intervention after a problem has occurred.

However, problems can occur, and we are prepared to respond appropriately to ensure you receive the care you deserve.

For concerns related to your Physiotherapist:

College of Physiotherapists of N.B.

Collège des physiothérapeutes du N.-B.

2C - 82, rue Germain St., Saint John, NB E2L 2E7

(506) 642-9760 (T) / (506) 642-9770 (F)

www.cptnb.ca / physionb@nb.aibn.com