Your personal health information is confidential and the Saskatchewan Health Regions and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health take great care to protect this information. Your information is kept in strict confidence and is used or disclosed as authorized or required by law. The Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Regions use the Saskatchewan Immunization Management System (SIMS) to manage your health records. Privacy safeguards are outlined in The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA).

SIMS is a secure computer system designed to record and store your immunization information. Your immunization information can be made available to authorized health care providers across the province over Saskatchewan's secure high-speed computer network, CommunityNet. With the help of SIMS, the Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Regions strive to control and eliminate vaccine-preventable diseases by providing the information needed by public health officials to achieve the best possible immunization coverage.

Immunization events are recorded in SIMS each time you receive an immunization through Saskatchewan's public health offices. Information in SIMS may also be recorded by obtaining your immunization history from previous providers, such as immunizations received in other provinces or through private coverage. This information is collected to ensure the completeness and accuracy of your immunization record.

Your immunization information recorded in SIMS may be used to:

• Manage your immunization records.
• Notify you if you or your child needs an immunization.
• Monitor how well vaccines work in preventing vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Share with other health care professionals in order to provide optimum public health services; assist with diagnosis and treatment; and to control the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.

• Your current demographic information such as your name, address, date of birth and health services number.
• Information about your vaccination such as the vaccine name, immunization date and dosage.

The following safeguards are in place to ensure only health professionals involved in an individual's care can access personal health information in SIMS:

• All health care providers are made aware of their responsibilities and agree to maintain the confidentiality of information and use it on a need-to-know basis. All users of SIMS must sign a confidentiality agreement before being allowed to use SIMS.
• There are policies, practices and computer systems in place that are designed to protect information from unauthorized use, error and loss.
• User access is restricted to authorized health care professionals only.
• All users are required to sign into SIMS using a unique user name and password.
• In addition, high-quality network security is in place.

You have the right to read or request a copy of yours or your child's immunization record. If you would like a copy of yours or your child's immunization record, you may do so by requesting it from your public health practitioner or immunization provider.

You can choose not to have your immunization events recorded electronically in SIMS. However, a paper immunization record will be filed and stored in a secure place within your public health office.

If you would like to "opt out" of the SIMS record, you may speak to your public health practitioner or immunization provider. They will explain the process and its implications.

A SIMS waiver must be signed to revoke consent to electronic recording and storage of immunization information.

If you have additional questions or concerns about SIMS and its privacy practices, you may call your Saskatchewan health region or your local public health nurse.

If you have concerns regarding your personal health information, or its use, talk to your public health practitioner or immunization provider. If you still have concerns, you may talk to the appropriate supervisor or manager responsible for public health services within your Saskatchewan Health Region. If you wish to register a formal complaint regarding a privacy issue, you are encouraged to contact your Saskatchewan Health Region Privacy Officer.

If the Saskatchewan Health Region is unable to resolve your complaint or concern to your satisfaction, you may contact the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. This provincial office oversees The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner can be contacted at:

Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner
503-1801 Hamilton Street
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 4B4
Phone: (306) 787-8350
Toll free within Saskatchewan at 1-877-748-2298
Fax: (306) 798-1603
Email: webmaster@oipc.sk.ca