Our Commitment to Privacy & Confidentiality:

In order to provide the best possible service to our clients it is necessary to collect, and sometimes share, personal and health information about our clients.

It is our intention to only collect, store and use personal and health information about our clients (which includes anyone who contacts us) to identify them, to communicate with them, to understand what services they want and need, and to help them access other needed programs and services.

Access to client personal and health information is restricted to those who need to know in order to provide service and we protect all personal information in our possession from unauthorized access or alteration through stringent security safeguard policies and procedures.

Our Privacy and Confidentiality policies reflect the Personal Health Information Act (PHIPA) and the Personal Health Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PHPEDA) both of which control the way personal information is collected, used and disclosed.

Our clients have the right to:

• know the purpose of collecting and disclosing personal health information.
• give or refuse consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal health.
• withdraw consent by providing notice to Durham Mental Health Services.
• request access to and correction of their personal health information.
• complain to DMHS or the Information & Privacy Commission about any breach.

Contact our Privacy Officer:

• for more information about our policies or the Personal Health Information Protection Act;
• to make a request for access to personal health information;
• to request a correction to the personal health information record;
• to make a complaint regarding privacy and confidentiality.

Unless we are informed otherwise, we will assume that we have the client’s consent to gather and use a client’s personal information in providing service (implied consent).  We will only share personal data outside Durham Mental Health with the client’s expressed consent (or as required by law).

Privacy Officer:                

Linda Skene
Durham Mental Health Services
519 Brock Street South
Whitby, Ontario
Phone: 905-666-0831, Ext. 3226
Email: lskene@dmhs.ca