Privacy is in important principle in all operations with Stephanie Foster. Every effort is taken to safeguard the privacy of individuals in the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information. This document describes the privacy policy of my practice.
Stephanie Foster, Registered Psychologist, is a private practice of psychology. I provide psychological services to individuals, couples, and families within the scope of my practice.
In the operation of the business, Stephanie Foster may enlist the services of external consultants and organizations, such as financial institutions, bookkeepers, administrators and website managers. As much as reasonably possible, Stephanie Foster restricts their access to any personal information held in confidence by her practice. She also has their assurance that they will follow appropriate privacy principles.
What is personal information?
Personal information refers to information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes information that relates to an individual’s personal characteristics (e.g., name, date of birth, home address and telephone number), health (e.g., presenting problem, health history, health services received by the individual, social situation) or activities, views and opinions (e.g., opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual). Personal information is to be contrasted with business information (e.g., an individual’s business address and telephone number), which is not protected by privacy legislation.
My primary purpose in obtaining personal information is to provide psychological counselling and consulting services to individuals, couples, and families in a responsible and professional manner. For example, information may be collected about a client’s health history, family history, physical and psychological condition, and social situation to help assess what their needs are, advise them of their treatment options and help them to receive the treatment they choose.
It would be rare for Stephanie Foster to collect such information without the client’s express consent, but this might occur in an emergency (e.g., you have a heart attack in our office) or where it is believed the client would consent if asked and it is impractical to obtain consent (e.g., your receptionist calls in for you to say you’ll be 15 minutes late for an appointment).
A secondary purpose of obtaining personal information is to establish a baseline of health and social information. This allows identification of changes occurring over time as part of the provision of psychological services.
A third purpose is to advise the general public or previous and ongoing clients of special events, resources or services (e.g., seminars or the development of a new service) that are available at my office and to make such services or resources accessible to the public. Only that personal information necessary for this purpose is collected. (For example, a first name and email address would be the only required information for a newsletter subscription. No other personal information would be necessary to receive free newsletters.)
A fourth purpose for collecting personal information is for invoicing purposes.
If you choose at any time to provide personal information such as your name, contact information (i.e. email address or telephone number) or any other personal information via email, online form, paper-and-pencil format, or otherwise, be assured that this information will never be given out, sold to advertisers, or used for any purpose other than what you intend.
Personal information is collected from clients or members of the general public by various means including verbal exchange (i.e. over the telephone or in face-to-face meetings), paper-and-pencil forms, voicemail, and email.
Stephanie Foster does not collect any private, personally identifiable information about you without your knowledge. To contact Stephanie Foster, you must make the informed decision to send an email or place a phone call. No personal information whatsoever is required or requested in order for you to access the information and services on this website. No one accessing this website will ever be required to subscribe to any newsletters or services.
Stephanie Foster or staff of Stephanie Foster (such as an administrator/receptionist) will contact you only: a) in response to a question or suggestion initiated by you, b) in accordance with your prior consent to be contacted, or c) as necessary to conduct the normal business affairs associated with the provision of services that you have initiated (i.e. scheduling matters, collecting on overdue accounts, reminders about upcoming appointments, etc.).
If, at any time in the future, any of the current privacy policies should change, you will be clearly and openly informed of any information being requested and the intrusiveness of any such information will be kept to a minimum.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Stephanie Foster will not reveal your personal information to any other person or agency without your written permission, with some exceptions to this policy which are outlined below. Before exchanging any information with a third party, you will be consulted first about what information is to be exchanged.
There are certain situations which may require a Registered Psychologist to disclose your personal information in accordance with ethical and legal requirements and standard business practices.
First, when the cost of goods or services provided by Stephanie Foster to clients is paid for by third parties (e.g., EAP Companies), these third party payers often have your consent or legislative authority to direct me to collect and disclose to them certain information in order to demonstrate client entitlement to this funding. However, in my practice, I ask clients to pay me directly and seek reimbursement on their own, to protect privacy.
Second, in cases where a person is subject to a foreseeable and imminent risk of bodily harm or death, a duty exists to protect the safety of such person(s). This means Stephanie Foster or any Registered Psychologist may need to disclose confidential information to appropriate authorities or individuals who can intervene on behalf of the person(s) at risk. The person(s) at risk may be a client of Stephanie Foster or may be someone associated with the client who is at imminent risk of bodily harm or death because of a client’s actions.
Third, as it is required by law to notify the appropriate authorities about child or elder abuse/neglect.
Fourth, confidential client records can be subpoenaed by a court of law.
Fifth, there are exceptions that apply to personal information disclosed by minors. Parents or legal guardians of a minor have right of access to information about their dependent during provision of services. There are exceptions to this rule (i.e. such as in the case of mature minors or when all parties agree ahead of time to the confidentiality of information disclosed) that are to be discussed on a case-by-case basis, as applicable.
Finally, Stephanie Foster’s professional activities are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists who may inspect records and interview staff as part of their regulatory activities in the public interest. External regulators have their own strict privacy obligations. Sometimes these reports may include personal information about 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 files and interview staff as a part of their mandates. In these circumstances, Stephanie Foster may consult with professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants) who will investigate the matter and collaborate with Stephanie Foster.
Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked filing cabinet.
Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. My email has 2 factor authentication.
Paper information is transmitted in sealed, addressed envelopes or boxes by reputable companies (e.g., Canada Post). Please note that when you consent to receiving paper materials from me (i.e. a receipt for services), that copy of the document becomes your property and you are responsible to maintain its security.
Where possible, electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or is anonymized or encrypted. Email is not utilized to transmit personal information unless it can be encrypted, unless it is requested by a client who has given consent to its use, or unless it is sent in response to a direct question or concern emailed to Stephanie Foster. In the latter case, great care is still taken to transmit only personal information that is necessary to the request and to consider more secure means of communicating highly sensitive information. I advise all current and prospective clients that they should not discuss clinical matters via email.
Staff are trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with this privacy policy.
Stephanie Foster is required to keep client files for ten years following the client’s last contact or if the client was less than eighteen years of age at the time of the last contact, for ten years following the day the client would have become eighteen.
Paper files containing personal information are destroyed by shredding. Electronic files containing personal information are destroyed by deleting them. When the hardware is discarded, the hard drive is physically destroyed.
Clients have a legal and moral right to know what information is contained about them in their record. Clients shall have access to information which can be identified as pertaining to them (and only them) and which is stored in the client record, with the exception of information that is believed to be harmful or that is confidential about or from third parties. Stephanie Foster will need to confirm your identity and legal right to have access to the information. In some cases, this may include requiring identification and or proof that a legal designate has legal authority to make decisions on behalf of the client. Stephanie Foster reserves the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests.
Clients may be asked to put their request for access to information in writing. If it is not possible to give clients access to their record, they will be notified within 30 days if at all possible, and provided with the reason, as much as possible, as to why they cannot be given access.
If you believe there is a mistake in the information about you that I have on file, you have the right to ask for this information to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions that your therapist may have formed. You may be asked to provide documentation that my files are wrong. If changed, a statement of changed information is included in the record and anyone to whom we sent this information will be notified of the change. If the request for a change is declined, you may file a notice of disagreement in the record.
IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION
For more information about our privacy policies and procedures, please contact Stephanie Foster:
Suite 105, 7370 Sierra Morena Blvd SW, Calgary Alberta, T3H4H9
If you wish to make a formal complaint about my privacy practices, you may make it in writing to Stephanie Foster. She will acknowledge receipt of your complaint, ensure that it is investigated promptly and that you are provided with a formal decision and reasons in writing.
If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of our services we would ask that you discuss your concerns with us. However, if we cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to discuss your concerns the regulatory body, the College of Alberta Psychologists.
This policy is made under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). PIPEDA 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 in this privacy policy.
Stephanie Foster reserves the right to change the terms of this privacy policy and to make new policy provisions effective for all personal information maintained by my practice.
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
Telephone: 1-800-282-1376
Fax: 613-947-6850
www.privcom.gc.ca