Privacy — Sparrow Psychology

Sparrow Psychology is committed to adhering to the professional conduct standards set out by the College of Psychologists of Ontario, and all relevant legislation. Psychologists in Ontario are regulated health professionals and are required to comply with the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). Personal health information can include details about your physical and mental health, family health history, psychological treatment, and relevant payments and health care coverage. Other identifying information, such as your age, address, and phone number are also protected by PHIPA when they are contained within your medical record.

At Sparrow Psychology, your personal health information is collected for the purpose of assessment and treatment of your mental health concerns. Records of this information are used for the purposes of treatment planning and monitoring treatment progress/outcomes. Your personal health information would only be disclosed for the purposes of communication with other providers within your circle of care to support your overall mental health and wellness. Your personal health information may also be disclosed to your insurance company/WSIB, depending on the nature of the services that you are receiving. Information will never be shared with your insurance company/WSIB without your prior knowledge and consent.

Sparrow Psychology is committed to protecting your privacy by taking reasonable steps to prevent loss, theft, and unauthorized use of items that store your information (e.g., keeping laptops secured in locked areas or under supervision; password protecting files containing personal information; shredding paper files immediately upon transfer to electronic storage). Your personal health information is recorded as accurately as possible. Only information that is required for the stated purposes of providing you with high quality psychological services will be recorded. Your records will be saved for a minimum of 10 years since the date of your last contact with Sparrow Psychology. Some of your personal information may be shared with third-party providers for the purposes of payment processing.

If you ever have questions about anything related to your privacy, you may contact Dr. Hanna McCabe-Bennett in any of the following ways:

E-mail: info@sparrowpsychology.ca

Phone: 905-218-3576

Mail: 690 Dorval Drive, Suite 200, Oakville, ON L6K 3W7

Click here for more information about psychologists’ responsibilities regarding your privacy.

Sparrow Psychology uses Jane to manage its electronic medical record and host virtual sessions. Jane is compliant with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which is legislation applicable to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information (for example, name, age, medical records) when it is used in commercial activities such as psychology clinics.

Click here to learn more about how Jane protects your privacy.

You have a right to access your own medical records. This includes records kept by psychologists. In rare situations, a psychologist may restrict access to your records (for example, if the main reason the record was created was for use in a legal proceeding, or if the psychologist has reason to expect that providing access could lead to serious harm to yourself or somebody else).

You also have a right to correct your personal health information if you find it to be incomplete or inaccurate. Note that psychologists are not able to correct records that were created by somebody else (for example, a report that was written by a different psychologist). Professional opinions or observations made in good faith are also not subject to correction, even if you disagree with what was written. A separate note can be included in your file to indicate that you disagree.

Sparrow Psychology reserves the right to charge a fee to process records requests. If you would like to request access to or correction of your own medical record held by Sparrow Psychology, you may submit a request in the following ways:

E-mail: info@sparrowpsychology.ca

Phone: 905-218-3576

Mail: 690 Dorval Drive, Suite 200, Oakville, ON L6K 3W7

In the unlikely event of a privacy breach, Sparrow Psychology will notify you at the first reasonable opportunity, and will provide you with the information that you need in order to make a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, should you wish to do so.

If you are unsatisfied with the way in which your privacy has been handled by Sparrow Psychology, you may make a complaint in the following ways:

To Sparrow Psychology

E-mail: info@sparrowpsychology.ca

Phone: 905-218-3576

Mail: 690 Dorval Drive, Suite 200, Oakville, ON L6K 3W7

To The College of Psychologists of Ontario

E-mail: invhear@cpo.on.ca

Phone: 416-961-8817/1-800-489-8388

Click here for detailed information about the CPO complaints process

To The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Complete an online form which can be found here, or print and mail the form to:

Registrar