Privacy Policy

Dr. John R. Davis - Psychologist

Privacy of personal information is an important principle to Dr. Davis. He is committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for services he provides. Dr. Davis also tries to be open and transparent as to how he handles personal information. This document describes his privacy policies.

WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes information that relates to: an individual's personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income, home address or phone number, ethnic background, family status); health (e.g., health history, health conditions, health services received by them); or, activities and views (e.g., religion, politics, opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual). Personal information of clients includes information that Dr. Davis believes is clinically necessary to provide service. Such information includes information you provide to Dr. Davis or authorize him to receive including results of assessments, formal reports by Dr. Davis or others involved in your care, consent forms, Dr. Davis's clinical notes, billing information, and correspondence that Dr. Davis produces or receives. Personal information is different from business information (e.g., an individual's business address and telephone number). This is not protected by privacy legislation.

WHO DR. DAVIS IS

Dr. Davis at the time of writing is a sole practitioner who offers psychological services. He uses consultants and agencies that may, in the course of their duties, have limited access to personal information he holds. These include computer consultants, accountants, website managers, and lawyers. Dr. Davis restricts their access to any personal information he holds as much as is reasonably possible. He also has their assurance that they follow appropriate privacy principles.

THE PRIMARY PURPOSES FOR WHICH DR. DAVIS COLLECTS PERSONAL INFORMATION:

About Clients

Like all psychologists, Dr. Davis collects, uses and discloses personal information in order to serve his clients. For his clients, the primary purpose for collecting personal information is to provide psychological services. For example, Dr. Davis collects information about a client's health history, including their family history, physical condition and function, and social situation in order to help him assess what the client's health needs are, to advise them of their options and then to provide the health care they choose to have. With the client's permission, Dr. Davis may collect information from significant others who can provide helpful input to the client's care, and from other professionals who have provided service to the client. A second primary purpose is to obtain a baseline of health and social information so that in providing ongoing health services Dr. Davis can identify changes that occur over time. It would be rare for Dr. Davis to collect such information without the client's express consent, but this might occur in an emergency (e.g., the client is unconscious), where the law requires or allows collection of information without your consent (e.g., in an urgent situation where information is necessary to prevent potential harm), or where Dr. Davis believes the client would consent if asked and it is impractical to obtain consent (e.g., a family member passing a message on from our client and we have no reason to believe that the message is not genuine).

About Members of the General Public

For members of the general public, Dr. Davis's primary purposes for collecting personal information are to provide information about psychological services in general or Dr. Davis's services in particular. For example, while he tries to use work contact information where possible, Dr. Davis might collect home addresses, fax numbers and e-mail addresses. Dr. Davis tries to obtain consent before using any such personal information, but where this is not, for any reason, possible, he will upon request immediately remove any personal information from any distribution list, should he ever construct a distribution list.

On his website Dr. Davis only collects, with the exception of cookies, the personal information you provide and only uses that information for the purpose you gave it to us (e.g., to respond to your email message. Cookies are only used to help you navigate our website and are not used to monitor you.

THE SECONDARY AND RELATED PURPOSES FOR WHICH DR. DAVIS COLLECTS PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Like most health practitioners, Dr. Davis also collects, uses and discloses information for purposes related to or secondary to his primary purposes. The most common examples of his related and secondary purposes are as follows:

  • To invoice clients for goods or services that were not paid for at the time of delivery, or to collect unpaid accounts.
  • To advise clients and others of special events or opportunities (e.g., a seminar, development of a new service, arrival of a new product) that we have available.
  • Dr. Davis reviews client and other files for the purpose of ensuring that he provides high quality services. In addition, external consultants (e.g., auditors, lawyers, practice consultants) may on behalf of Dr. Davis do audits and continuing quality improvement reviews of his work, including reviewing client files.
  • Dr. Davis is regulated by the College of Psychologists of Ontario who may inspect his records and interview him as a part of their regulatory activities in the public interest. In addition, as a health professional, Dr. Davis will report serious misconduct, incompetence or incapacity of other practitioners, whether they belong to other organizations or his own. Also, Dr. Davis believes that he should report information suggesting serious illegal behavior to the authorities (e.g., intent to harm others). External regulators have their own strict privacy obligations. Sometimes these reports include personal information about Dr. Davis's clients, or other individuals, to support the concern (e.g., improper services). Also, like all organizations, various government agencies (e.g., Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Information and Privacy Commissioner, Human Rights Commission, etc.) have the authority to review Dr. Davis's files and interview Dr. Davis as a part of their mandates. In these circumstances, Dr. Davis may consult with professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants) who will investigate the matter and report back to Dr. Davis.
  • The cost of some goods/services provided by Dr. Davis to clients is paid for by third parties (e.g., private insurance, WSIB). These third-party payers often have your consent or legislative authority to direct Dr. Davis to collect and disclose to them certain information in order to demonstrate client entitlement to this funding.
  • Clients or other individuals Dr. Davis deals with may have questions about his services after they have been received. Dr. Davis also provides ongoing services for many of his clients over a period of months or years for which your previous records are helpful. Dr. Davis retains client information for a minimum of ten years after the last contact to enable him to respond to those questions and provide these services (Dr. Davis's regulatory College also requires him to retain his client records).
  • If Dr. Davis's practice or its assets were to be sold, the purchaser would want to conduct a "due diligence" review of Dr. Davis's records to ensure that it is a viable business that has been honestly portrayed to the purchaser. This due diligence may involve some review of Dr. Davis's accounting and service files. The purchaser would not be able to remove or record personal information. Before being provided access to the files, the purchaser must provide a written promise to keep all personal information confidential. Only reputable purchasers who have already agreed to buy the organization's business or its assets would be provided access to personal information, and only for the purpose of completing their due diligence search prior to closing the purchase.
  • If Dr. Davis collects information about you for any other purpose (e.g., research), it will be done only with your knowledge and consent. If you decide that you do not want to provide information that is not needed for the services Dr. Davis provides to you, you are free to refuse, and your refusal will not have an effect on the services Dr. Davis provides to you.

You can choose not to be part of some of these related or secondary purposes (e.g., by declining to receive notice of special events or opportunities, by paying for your services at the time of delivery). Dr. Davis, does not, however, have much choice about some of these related or secondary purposes (e.g., external regulation).

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

With only a few exceptions, your personal information will not be disclosed to persons outside Dr. Davis's practice without your knowledge and expressed consent. The exceptions are when allowed by law (e.g., when there is a clear and imminent risk of serious bodily harm to someone, including the possibility of self-harm; when disclosure is needed to receive professional or legal consultation), and when required by law (e.g., Court subpoena or order to release information; mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse; mandatory reporting of a regulated health professional who is suspected of sexually abusing a client). The law requires any disclosure of your personal health information to be limited to information that is reasonably necessary for the purpose of disclosure, and not to include private information related to a third party. Ethical standards require that any information that might cause serious harm to someone not be disclosed, unless required by law.

PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, Dr. Davis has taken the following steps:

  • Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area.
  • Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. Dr. Davis's cell phones is digital as these signals are more difficult to intercept.
  • Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or boxes by reputable companies.
  • Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or has identifiers removed or is encrypted.
  • External consultants and agencies with access to personal information must enter into privacy agreements with us.

RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Dr. Davis needs to retain personal information for some time to ensure that he can answer any questions you might have about the services provided and for his own accountability to external regulatory bodies. However, he does not want to keep personal information too long, that is, in order to protect your privacy.

Dr. Davis keeps his client files for ten years. His client and contact directories are much more difficult to systematically destroy, so he removes such information when he can if it does not appear that he will be contacting you again. However, if you ask, he will remove such contact information right away. He keeps any personal information relating to his general correspondence (e.g., with people who are not clients) for about six months.

Dr. Davis destroys paper files containing personal information by shredding. He destroys electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, he ensures that the hard drive is physically destroyed. Alternatively, he may send some or all of the client file to his client.

YOU CAN LOOK AT YOUR INFORMATION

With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information Dr. Davis has about you. Often all you have to do is ask. Dr. Davis can help you identify what records he might have about you. He will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). Dr. Davis will need to confirm your identity before providing you with this access. He reserves the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests. If you request, or someone you authorize requests a copy of information in Dr. Davis's records about you, Dr. Davis requires your written consent, and also reserves the right to charge a fee for copying.

If there is a problem, Dr. Davis may ask you to put your request in writing. If he cannot give you access, he will tell you within 30 days if at all possible and tell you the reason, as best he can, as to why he cannot give you access.

If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions Dr. Davis may have formed. Dr. Davis may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where Dr. Davis agrees that he made a mistake, he will make the correction and notify anyone to whom he sent this information. If Dr. Davis does not agree that he has made a mistake, he will still agree to include in his file a brief statement from you on the point and he will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?

Dr. Davis can be reached at:
78 Bond Street North, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 3W5
Phone: 905-512-8731

Dr. Davis will attempt to answer any questions or concerns you might have.
If you wish to make a formal complaint about Dr. Davis's privacy practices, you may make it in writing to Dr. Davis. He will acknowledge receipt of your complaint, investigate it promptly, and ensure that you are provided with a formal written response.

If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of Dr. Davis's services, he asks you to discuss those concerns with directly with him. However, if Dr. Davis cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to discuss your concerns with Dr. Davis's regulatory body:

The College of Psychologists of Ontario
110 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, M4R 1A3
Phone: 416-961-8817 (800-489-8388)
Web site: www.cpo.on.ca

This policy is made under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. That is a complex Act and provides some additional exceptions to the privacy principles that are too detailed to set out here. There are some rare exceptions to the commitments set out above.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario can be reached at:
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 1A8
Phone: 416-326-3333 (800-387-0073)
Web site: www.ipc.on.ca

For more general inquiries, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees the administration of the privacy legislation in the private sector. The Commissioner also acts as a kind of ombudsman for privacy disputes. The Information and Privacy Commissioner can be reached at:

112 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3
Phone: 613-995-8210 (800-282-1376)
Web site: www.privcom.gc.ca