Diane McLeod-McKay, the territory’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC), has developed a new resource to help small custodians navigate the territory’s Health Information Privacy and Management Act (HIPMA).

The term “custodian”, as it is used in HIPMA, refers to an authorized person who may collect, use and disclose personal health information only in accordance with the legislation.

“Since HIPMA came into force in 2016, we have heard from many smaller custodians who have described their challenges in understanding the legislation and fulfilling its requirements,” McLeod-McKay said Thursday.

“We know that HIPMA may appear overwhelming, but its obligations are relatively straightforward and intuitive, and can easily be worked into an organization’s operations, no matter how small.”

In her 2019 annual report, McLeod-McKay noted her goal to increase awareness of HIPMA and to develop materials to assist custodians, especially the smaller operations.

“To this end, my office has developed this tool kit to address many of the common questions and concerns we receive from smaller custodians with the goal of helping them to understand the provisions of HIPMA, and more importantly, how to implement them meaningfully,” added McLeod-McKay.

“We hope the document will be useful and that organizations may discover they are already meeting many of their duties under HIPMA.

“We are also interested in hearing from custodians if they have input for improvements to the tool kit.”

The HIPMA Toolkit for Small Custodians can be found on the IPC website here, along with a number of other helpful resources for custodians under HIPMA.

If custodians have questions or would like to provide the IPC with feedback on the tool kit, they may contact the IPC office at 667-8468 or tollfree at 1-800-661-0408 (ext 8468). They may also email info@yukonombudsman.ca.

Custodians include most health care providers, operators of hospitals and health facilities, the territorial Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Community Services’ Yukon Emergency Medical Services program, the Kwanlin Dün First Nation Health Centre and the Child Development Centre.

The Ombudsman, Information and Privacy Commissioner, and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner is an independent officer of the Yukon Legislative Assembly.