Privacy Policy

Privacy of personal information is an important principle at Verdure Wellness Clinic. We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal informaiton responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the goods and services we provde. We also try to be open and transparent as to how we handle personal information.

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes information that relates to their personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, home address or phone number, ethnic background, family status, faculty/program), and their health (e.g., health history, health conditions, health services received). 

PHIPA – Personal Health Information Protection Act

Ontario has a law that protects personal health information, called PHIPA, and we are in compliance with that legislation. Verdure Wellness Clinic staff and practitioners are bound as a condition of their contract or employment to the Ontario privacy legistlation, to safeguard privacy and confidentiality of all personal information. 

We will:

• Only collect the information that may be necessary for care,
• Keep accurate and up to date records;
• Safeguard the records in our possession;
• Share information with other wellness clinic providers involved in the patients circle of care;
• Share electronic health record and information only on a “need to know” basis
• Disclose information to third parties only with the patients signed consent or where legally permitted; and 
• Confidentially retain and destroy records in accordance with the law. 

Responsibilities with personal information:

• We are responsible to collect individual consent when collecting , using or disclosing personal health information, except in limited circumstances as specified under PHIPA;
• Collect personal health information appropriately and no more than necessary;
• Take reasonable precautions to protect personal health information against theft, loss, unauthorized use, unauthorized disclosure, copying, modification, or destruction and will at the first reasonable opportunity notify you if information is stolen, lost or accessed by an unauthorized person;
• Ensure health records are as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes which we use or disclose personal health information;
• Ensure health records are stored, transferred, and disposed of in a secure manner;
• Inform patients and clients if personal information is used or disclosed without your consent that occurred outside our information practises. 

Practitioner Responsibility

All practitioners are responsible for the security of their own patient files. That said, it is the responsibility of Verdure Wellness Clinic staff members to further ensure the protection of all patient files and to uphold and abide to the same level of confidentiality and privacy standards as described above. This policy also applies to any overheard discussions, or conversations between you and a practitioner, staff member, patient or customer.