Mount Sinai Hospital  respects the privacy of your information. The following is a list of questions the Corporate Privacy Officer frequently gets asked:

Is there a brochure available explaining my rights in respect to my personal health information?

The Mount Sinai Hospital brochure Privacy: A Guide for Patients (381 KB pdf) discusses how:

• Mount Sinai Hospital collects, uses and discloses your personal health information;
• You can exercise your rights to access and correct your health information;
• You can opt out of some of our programs and services; and
• You can enforce your rights to privacy.

As well, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) brochure Your Health Information: Your Rights is available throughout the Hospital or you may access the IPCO Web site for more information.

How does Mount Sinai Hospital protect my information?

We are committed to protecting the privacy of patient health information and place the highest value on maintaining the confidentiality of all personal health information.

We protect your personal health information by:

• teaching all staff about confidentiality. All staff, physicians, and volunteers must sign a confidentiality agreement as a condition of their relationship with the hospital;
• requiring all staff wear photo identification at all times while on hospital property to protect against unauthorized individuals accessing information;
• applying additional security measures to all electronic health records — for example, user names and passwords, firewall and anti-virus software;
• locking doors and filing cabinets;
• employing security personnel.

Does Mount Sinai Hospital sell patient information?

No. Mount Sinai Hospital does not sell any patient information to anyone.

When may I be required to provide consent? What happens if I am unable to provide consent?

Examples include consent for researchers to store and use your personal health information for clinical studies, or consent to disclose your personal health information to your private insurance company to facilitate payment of your bill.

If you are unable to provide consent directly to the Hospital, your substitute decision-maker (such as your spouse, a parent or guardian) will have the authority to make decisions for you. This person is bound by law to act on your behalf and to make decisions based on their belief of what you would wish to be done if you were able to decide for yourself.

How do I appoint a friend as my Power of Attorney for Personal Care to access and make decisions about my health care information?

The Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee provides information booklets on how to appoint a Power of Attorney for Personal Care and other helpful information related to incapacity. Get a copy of the booklets by telephoning the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee at 1-800-366-0335 or by accessing an online version at the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee Web site.

How can my family & friends find out where I am in the Hospital?

Patient inquiries can be directed to the switchboard, 416-596-4200, where an operator will provide information on your location to the visitor. If you do not want this information released, please tell the staff member registering you, a member of the healthcare team or the Corporate Privacy Officer.

Will my family and friends be able to call to get information about me over the phone?

When someone calls the Hospital, staff has no way to verify who is calling and what their relationship is to you. Normally, in order to protect patient privacy, only a minimum amount of information is given out over the phone.

We ask patients to appoint one family representative with whom to share information about you over the telephone. All other persons telephoning will be directed to you and/or the family representative.

Personalized and password-protected Internet Web pages, known as Care Pages, offer a safe and efficient way to share information about a patient with family and friends. There is no fee for this service.

May my family see my health information?

Although you have the right to access your health record, this right does not automatically extend to family members and/or friends. If you consent to let a friend or family member see your record, then the friend/family member may access the part(s) that you have consented to let them see.

How do I get a copy of my record?

After you have been discharged as a patient, if you want to read or get a copy of your record, please contact the Health Records Services department at 416-586-4800 ext. 2649.

What if I have concerns about who has accessed my health information or other privacy concerns?

Please contact the Corporate Privacy Officer at 416-586-4800 ext. 2101 or Patient Relations if you have concerns about unauthorized access to your health information or about any other privacy concerns. MSH can perform an audit on your electronic health record and a limited audit on your hardcopy health record. We will ensure that your concerns are investigated thoroughly and a response is provided to you in a timely manner.

Will you contact me after becoming a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital?

You may be contacted for the purposes of fundraising or patient satisfaction surveying. If you do not wish to be contacted for these purposes, you can contact the Corporate Privacy Officer at 416-586-4800 ext. 2101 to ask that your name be removed from these lists.

How do I report a privacy concern?

Privacy concerns can be reported directly to the Corporate Privacy Officer at 416-586-4800 ext. 2101. The concern will be investigated and if a breach is found, we will follow up with staff.

If you are unsatisfied with the response you receive from Mount Sinai Hospital, you have the further right to raise you concerns with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. You can reach the Commissioner's Office at 1-800-387-0073.