The Health Information Protection Act identifies specific rights that individuals have with respect to their personal health information. These rights are important because they ensure that you will be involved in decisions about your personal health information.

HIPA also places duties or responsibilities on organizations and individuals in the health system to protect the privacy of any personal health information they have about you. In doing so, they must also make sure that your rights are respected.

HIPA applies to individuals and organizations who are part of Saskatchewan’s health system and who have custody or control of personal health information. The Act calls them trustees to reflect the fact that they hold your personal health information “in trust” and must manage it with your best interests in mind.

Examples of a trustee include:

• government institutions in Saskatchewan;
• hospitals;
• health professionals (e.g. physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists);
• ambulance operators.

The Act also applies to personal health information in the custody or control of a trustee. Personal health information is information about your physical or mental health as well as information gathered in the course of providing you with a health service. It also includes information collected to register you for a service (name, address, gender, date of birth). Your health services number on your health card is also considered to be personal health information under HIPA. Personal health information can be in any form, including traditional paper records, electronic records on computers, microfilm, x-ray film to name a few.

Examples of personal health information include:

• the medical record held by a physician;
• a patient record held by a hospital;
• registration information held by Saskatchewan Health to register individuals for insured services;
• records of prescriptions filled by a pharmacist.