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Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 9, 2024

The appropriate collection, use and disclosure of patients’ personal health information and personal data is fundamental to our day-to-day operations and to patient care. Protecting the privacy and the confidentiality of patient personal information is important to the physicians and staff at the Cancer Fatigue Services (“CFS”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). We strive to provide our patients with excellent medical care and service (“Services”). Every member of the Cancer Fatigue Services Team must abide by our commitment to privacy in the handling of personal information.

Cancer Fatigue Services Inc also operates the https://cancerfatigueservices.com website. (included in “Services”)

Our Privacy Policy attests to our commitment to privacy and demonstrates the ways we ensure that patient privacy is protected. Our Privacy Policy applies to the personal health information of all our patients that is in our possession and control. Our Privacy Policy also describes our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of your information when you use the Service and tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you. 

  1. Collection of Information

We may collect the following kinds of information when you use Services:

Personal Data

Information you provide directly to us. For certain Services or activities, such as when you register with Services, subscribe to our alerts, contact us directly or attend the course of your assessment and treatment with Cancer Fatigue Services, we may collect some or all of the following types of information:

  • Contact information, such as your full name, email address, mobile phone number, and address;
  • Payment information, such as your credit card number, expiration date, and credit card security code;
  • Personal health information, including
    • information about your birthdate, diagnosis, previous treatments, general health, and health insurance;
    • details specific to an individual’s health such as physical or mental health problems and information about health services received, as well as details specific to an individual’s activities (work, recreation, relationships) and their views and opinions; 
    • Records of your visits to Cancer Fatigue Services and the care services that you received during those visits
  • Any other information you provide to us.

We may combine such information with information we already have about you.

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Services. We may collect certain information automatically when you use our Services, such as your computer’s Internet protocol (IP) address, device and advertising identifiers, browser type, operating system, Internet service provider, pages that you visit before and after using the Services, the date and time of your visit, the time spent on those pages , information about the links you click and pages you view within the Services, and other standard server log information. 

When you access the Services by or through a mobile device, we may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device you use, your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser you use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

Information from Third-Party Services 

If you access the Services from an advertisement on a third-party website, application, or other services (a “Third-Party Service”) we may receive information from the owner of the Third-Party Service related to you or that advertisement.

Information we obtain from your health care providers and other sources. In connection with Services that involve medical treatment, we may collect medical records from your past, current, and future health care providers. This may include information about your diagnosis, previous treatments, general health, laboratory and pathology test results and reports, social histories, any family history of illness, and records about phone calls and emails related to your illness.

We may also receive information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations. We may combine our first-party data, such as your email address or name, with third-party data from other sources and use this to contact you (e.g. through direct mail). For example, if you access third-party services, such as Facebook, Google, or Instagram through the Services to login to the Services or to share information about your experience on the Services with others, we may collect information from these third-party services.

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

Unless you opt-out, our website uses “Cookies” and other automatic data collection technologies with your consent to collect personal information whenever you visit or interact with the Website, including unique identifiers and preference information such as IP address, technical usage, browser type, time zone settings, language preferences, operating system, unique device identifiers, search history, page response times and length of visit, pages viewed, marketing preferences or navigation and clickstream behavior for online interactions.

These Cookies help us understand how you use the Website and the content of the Website in order to make improvements. We also may use these Cookies to promote our services through marketing and advertising. These Cookies may be accessed or disclosed to third-parties, such as Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel, for the purpose of analyzing site usage and better serving you relevant advertisements.

You can opt-out of Cookies or prevent third-party websites from accessing our Cookies through the privacy settings on your browser. However, opting-out of our Cookies may disable some of the Website’s features, and may prevent us from providing you with the information and services you have requested.

  1. Use of Information

We may use the information to:

  • Provide and improve our Services;
  • Manage your account;
  • Fulfill your requests for products, services and information;
  • Contact you and/or your family physician;
  • Provide you with information about additional clinical services or general wellness from us;
  • Analyze the use of the Service and user data to understand and improve the Services;
  • Book appointments at hospitals and other health services as appropriate as per the order of the health care provider;
  • Conduct research using de-identified, aggregated data;
  • For any other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect your information or pursuant to your consent. 
  1. Disclosure of Information

There are some limited circumstances where regulated healthcare professionals at Cancer Fatigue Services are required by law or by professional ethics to disclose your personal health information and where such disclosure can occur without your consent. These circumstances are primarily ones where either your, or another person’s, health and safety is believed to be at imminent risk. Depending on the nature of the circumstances this could include legal obligation to disclose information, for example to the Children’s Aid Society, Retirement Home Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, or the healthcare professional’s regulatory College. It also includes a legal obligation to release information by court order, such as a subpoena, for the clinical health record or for testimony.

Personal Health information may be seen in the process of a formal audit by the government or by the healthcare professional’s regulatory College. These audits are strictly confidential, and a record of the audit will be inserted into any file reviewed by the auditors.

Cancer Fatigue Services uses a number of consultants and agencies that may, in the course of their duties, have limited access to some of the personal information we hold. These include computer consultants, office security and maintenance, bookkeepers and accountants, credit card companies, website managers, cleaners and lawyers. We restrict their access to any personal information we hold as much as is reasonably possible. We also have their assurance that they follow appropriate privacy principles.

  1. Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Safeguards

All personal health information we collect is stored within an electronic medical records (EMR) system. Our agreements with our EMR vendors, and all other third-party service providers used in the operations of our clinic, ensure that all personal health information remains in Canada and that our vendors comply with all relevant privacy laws and adhere to certain data protection standards.

For more information on our clinic’s third-party service providers and how your personal health information is protected, contact us at info@cancerfatigueservices.com.

We use reasonable and appropriate physical, administrative and technical measures designed to help you secure your personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, access or disclosure. Only staff and service providers who have a legitimate purpose for accessing the personal information collected by us are authorized to do so. Security and data protection training is also provided to all CFS staff. Unauthorized use of personal information by anyone affiliated with CFS is prohibited and constitutes grounds for disciplinary action.

All of our contracts with our third-party service providers, including our EMR providers, contain clauses specifically to address confidentiality and data management, and covenants ensuring compliance with privacy law and the protection of personal health information.

Even though we take all necessary steps to protect your personal information, security breaches cannot be eliminated and we cannot guarantee no breach will ever occur.

  1. Retention and Destruction of Information

We retain personal information for as long as required to provide the services for which it was collected, in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

All personal health information we collect will be retained in accordance with the requirements set out by the various professional colleges to which our staff are members.

  1. Access and Correction 

With limited exceptions, we will give you access to the information we retain about you within a reasonable time, upon presentation of a written request and satisfactory identification. We may charge you a fee for this service and if so, we will give you notice in advance of processing your request. 

If you find errors of fact in your personal health information, please notify us as soon as possible and we will make the appropriate corrections. We are not required to correct information relating to clinical observations or opinions made in good faith. You have a right to append a short statement of disagreement to your record if we refuse to make a requested change. If we deny your request for access to your personal information, we will advise you in writing of the reason for the refusal and you may then challenge our decision.

  1. Security

We use measures to protect Protected Health Information from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction in accordance with Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). We use measures designed to protect other information from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. You should understand that no data storage system or transmission of data over the Internet or any other public network can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure.

  1. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we update the Privacy Policy, we will revise the “Effective Date” date above and post the new Privacy Policy. We recommend that you review the Privacy Policy each time you visit the Services to stay informed of our privacy practices.

  1. Consent

You have the right to determine how your personal health information is used and disclosed. For most health care purposes, your consent is implied as a result of your consent to treatment, however, in all circumstances express consent must be written.

Your written Consent will be documented in your medical record and notify the appropriate healthcare providers and clinic staff.

You also have the right to withdraw your consent to the use of your personal health information.  Patients who have withdrawn consent to disclose their information must sign and date the Consent to Withdrawal Form. It is understood that the consent directive applies only to the personal health information which the patient has already provided, and not to information which the patient might provide in the future. PHIPA permits certain collections, uses, and disclosures of your personal health information, despite the consent directive and healthcare providers may override the consent directive in certain circumstances, such as emergencies.  The consent directive may result in delays in receiving health care, reduced quality of care due to healthcare provider’s lacking complete information about the patient, and healthcare provider’s refusal to offer non-emergency care. Your written Consent to Withdrawal Form will be documented in your medical record and appropriate healthcare providers and clinic staff will be notified.

  1. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our practices, please email us at info@cancerfatigueservices.com.