In February I submitted an FOI request to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) for documentation associated with 3 major eHealth projects: the Ontario Lab Information System (OLIS), the Ontario Drug Benefit Drug Program Viewer (ODBDPV), and the Integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS). The request included copies of the Steering Committee minutes and Privacy Impact Assessments for each of the 3 projects, and a copy of the Province's Strategic eHealth Plan.
The Ministry released redacted copies of the Steering Committee minutes but denied access to the PIA's and Strategic eHealth Plan.
Reasons for denying access to the PIA's included:
For OLIS - Section 12(1)(a) of FIPPA - Cabinet Records
For ODBDPV - Section 14(1)(i) of FIPPA - Law Enforcement, and 17(1)(a)(b)(c) of FIPPA - Third Party
For iPHIS - 12(1)(c)&(e) of FIPPA - Cabinet Records, and 14(1)(i) of FIPPA - Law Enforcement.
The Ministry found a 2004 eHealth Strategy document and denied access under Section 12 (Cabinet Records) of FIPPA.
I have appealed the denial of access to the PIA's to the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario. I decided not to pursue the matter of the Strategic Plan as it appears that the Ministry does not have a current eHealth Strategic Plan.
The IPC has acknowledged receipt of my appeal.
I'll post updates on the Blog concerning the progress of this request.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
This looks like it will be an interesting exercise. It will be beneficial to understand what PHIPA role(s) the Ministry plays with developing and operating the eHealth projects you mention. Seems reasonable that Ontario citizens should understand the privacy implications of these projects.
Post a Comment