Privacy Statement

-- SUBJECT TO CHANGE --

J. Kumar and R. Ginsberg Social Work Professional Corporation
Finding Change Stress and Trauma Psychotherapy

PRIVACY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

See consent form for information relating to:

• Safety, confidentiality, and recordkeeping
• Communication policy
• Requests for letters, reports, or assessments

We will collect the following information from you, as applicable, in order to provide you with care and collect payment for our services. All of this information will be securely stored in the professional software we use, called Jane App. Your records will be stored for at least 10 years, per Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) guidelines. Once a year, we will review our records and securely destroy any records that are over 10 years old unless, in our judgment, there is a reasonable possibility that future access to the record may be needed (such as, but not limited to, in cases involving minors, sexual abuse and/or current or future litigation).

• Full name and contact information
• Name and phone number of an emergency contact (optional)
• Insurance policy information (optional)
• Credit card information
• Information about your mental health, family history, life experiences, life circumstances, goals, and other information relevant to your care
• Our professional observations and assessments as well as treatment plans

Rachel Ginsberg, MSW, RSW is the privacy contact person for our corporation. She can be contacted via email at rginsberg@findingchangetherapy.ca. 

ACCESS REQUESTS

You can request access to your client record at any time via email or verbally during a scheduled session. You may be asked to fill out a form to complete your request, which we will send to you securely through Jane App. We may charge a reasonable fee to provide access to your record, in which case we will give you an estimate of the fee beforehand. 

Please specify which records are being requested (for example, “initial assessment note”) or what time period they are from (for example, all notes from January 2022 to March 2022). You can choose to have your records sent to you directly through Jane App or through a secure fax to a recipient of your choice (for example, your psychiatrist or family doctor). 

If we receive a request from a third party (such as your insurance company or a legal representative) to access your client record, we must be provided with proof of your prior written consent, unless your consent is not required by law (for example, in case of a court order or subpoena). 

We will respond to the access request within 30 days, unless an extension is required. Your request can be refused in some situations, such as: 

• your health records are subject to a legal privilege such as solicitor-client confidentiality
• access to your health records may result in a risk of serious harm to you or another person
• your health records are part of an inspection, investigation, or similar procedure that has not yet been concluded
• another law prohibits disclosure of your health records

We also reserve the right to deny any requests that are frivolous, vexatious, or in bad faith.

If we refuse your access request, we will provide you with a written reason for doing so. 

CORRECTION REQUESTS

Requests to correct a client record will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If you request a correction to your record and it is made, you will be notified. If requested, we will also provide the correction to anyone the record has already been disclosed to. 

As per the guidelines set by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, any incorrect information in your record will not be removed or destroyed. We will record the correction and strike-out any incorrect information or label it as incorrect. In some cases, we may independently correct a record if we discover an error or omission, in which case the correction will be made in the same way as described above; in most cases, you will not be notified if this happens. 

We will respond to the correction request within 30 days, unless an extension is required. 

Your correction request may be refused in some situations; for example, if the correction requested is regarding a professional opinion or an observation that was made in good faith. If we refuse your request, we will inform you in writing and provide the reasons for the refusal. You may also provide us with a statement of disagreement to be attached to the record.

We also reserve the right to deny any requests that are frivolous, vexatious, or in bad faith.

Additional information about access and correction requests can be found here: https://www.ipc.on.ca/health-individuals/accessing-or-correcting-your-personal-health-information/

COMPLAINTS

If you have any concerns about our handling of your personal health information, including access or correction requests, you can make a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (see contact information below). 

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

https://www.ipc.on.ca/

https://www.ipc.on.ca/privacy-individuals/filing-a-privacy-complaint/

info@ipc.on.ca 

Toronto Area: 416-326-3333

Long distance: 1-800-387-0073

TDD/TTY: 416-325-7539

2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400 Toronto, ON M4W 1A8