Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2016

The people of Ontario and their Government: Believe in patient-centred health care; Remain committed to improving the quality of health care provided by health facilities and maintaining the safety of patients; Believe that quality health care and patient safety is best achieved in a manner that supports openness and transparency to patients and their authorized representatives regarding patient health care; Recognize that health care providers and other staff in health facilities sometimes need to hold confidential discussions to identify and analyze errors affecting patients, systemic problems and opportunities for quality improvement in patient health care; Believe that protections are needed to encourage and enable health care providers and other staff of health facilities to share all available information, provide honest assessment and opinions and participate in discussions to imp…

1 The purpose of this Act is to enable confidential discussions in which information relating to errors, systemic problems and opportunities for quality improvement in health care delivery can be shared within authorized health facilities, in order to improve the quality of health care delivered to patients.

2 (1) In this Act, “critical incident” means any unintended event that occurs when a patient receives health care from a health facility that, (a) results in death, or serious disability, injury or harm to the patient, and (b) does not result primarily from the patient’s underlying medical condition or from a known risk inherent in providing the health care; (“incident critique”) “disclose” means, with respect to quality of care information, to provide or make the information available to a person who is not a member of the quality of care committee with which the information is associated, and “disclosure” has a corresponding meaning; (“divulguer”, “divulgation”) “health care” means any observation, examination, assessment, care, service or procedure that is done for a health-related purpose and that, (a) is carried out or provided to diagnose, treat or maintain an individual’s physical…

3 The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act does not apply to quality of care information.

4 (1) Nothing in this Act interferes with a requirement under applicable law for a health facility or health care provider to, (a) offer to interview a patient or the authorized representative of the patient or the patient’s estate in any review of an incident or circumstances involving the provision of health care to the patient; (b) include a person responsible for patient relations or providing patient perspectives to the facility on a committee or other similar body conducting any review of a critical incident; or (c) disclose information specified under the applicable law that is related to a critical incident to a patient or the authorized representative of the patient or the patient’s estate. Authorized representative (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the authorized representative of a patient includes a person who was lawfully authorized to make treatment decisions on behal…

5 In the event of a conflict between a provision of this Act or its regulations and a provision of any other Act or its regulations, this Act and its regulations prevail unless this Act or its regulations specifically provide otherwise.

6 Where a regulation has been made restricting or prohibiting the use of a quality of care committee for the purpose of reviewing critical incidents, every quality of care committee and health facility shall comply with that regulation.

7 Quality of care information collected by or for a quality of care committee while it is constituted and operating in accordance with this Act shall continue to be treated as quality of care information after, (a) the quality of care committee by or for which the information was collected is no longer in operation; or (b) a health facility or entity that established, appointed or approved the quality of care committee is no longer eligible to establish, appoint or approve a quality of care committee.

8 (1) Despite this Act and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, a person may disclose any information to a quality of care committee for the purposes of carrying out quality of care functions. Disclosure among committees (2) Any quality of care committee may disclose any information, including quality of care information, to any other quality of care committee for the purpose of carrying out quality of care functions, and any person may disclose information that has been disclosed to any quality of care committee to any other quality of care committee. Restriction, personal health information (3) A disclosure permitted under this section shall not contain more personal health information, as defined in the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, than is reasonably necessary for the purpose of the disclosure.

9 (1) Despite the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, no person shall disclose quality of care information except as permitted by this Act. Definition (2) In this section, “management”, with respect to a health facility, includes members of the senior management staff, the board of directors, governors or trustees and members of the commission or other governing body or authority of the facility. Exception, quality of care committee (3) Despite subsection (1) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, a quality of care committee may disclose quality of care information to, (a) the management of a health facility that established, appointed or approved the committee if the committee considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose of improving or maintaining the quality of health care provided in or by the facility; or (b) the management of a health facility …

10 (1) No person shall ask a witness and no court or other body holding a proceeding shall permit or require a witness in the proceeding to disclose quality of care information. Non-admissibility of evidence (2) Quality of care information is not admissible in evidence in a proceeding.

11 No one shall dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage a person by reason that the person has disclosed information to a quality of care committee under section 8.

12 (1) Every person who contravenes section 9 or 11 is guilty of an offence. Penalty (2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable, on conviction, (a) to a fine of not more than $50,000, if the person is an individual; or (b) to a fine of not more than $250,000, if the person is a corporation. Officers, etc. (3) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, every officer, member, employee or other agent of the corporation who authorized the offence, or who had the authority to prevent the offence from being committed but knowingly refrained from doing so, is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable, on conviction, to the penalty for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

13 (1) No action or other proceeding may be instituted against a person who in good faith discloses information to a quality of care committee at the request of the committee or for the purposes of assisting the committee in carrying out quality of care functions. Same, committee member (2) No action or other proceeding, including a prosecution for an offence under section 12, may be instituted in respect of, (a) a member of a quality of care committee who, in good faith, discloses quality of care information for a purpose described in subsection 9 (3); or (b) a person who, in good faith, discloses information for a purpose described in subsection 9 (4), if the disclosure is reasonable in the circumstances. Same, failure to disclose (3) No action or other proceeding may be instituted against a member of a committee in respect of the failure of the committee to make a disclosure described…

14 Within five years of the coming into force of this section, and at five-year intervals thereafter, the Minister shall conduct a review of this Act.

15 (1) Subject to section 16, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations, (a) defining any term used in this Act that is not defined in this Act; (b) subject to subsection (2), governing anything that this Act refers to as being prescribed, provided for or specified in the regulations; (c) for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Minister’s regulations (2) The Minister may make regulations, (a) prescribing anything that the definition of “health care”, “health facility” or “quality of care committee” in subsection 2 (1) mentions as being prescribed; (b) restricting or prohibiting the use of quality of care committees for the purpose of reviewing critical incidents.

16 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall not make any regulation under subsection 15 (1) unless, (a) the Minister has published a notice of the proposed regulation on a website of the Government of Ontario and in any other format the Minister considers advisable; (b) the notice complies with the requirements of this section; (c) the time periods specified in the notice, during which members of the public may exercise a right described in clause (2) (b) or (c), have expired; and (d) the Minister has considered whatever comments and submissions that members of the public have made on the proposed regulation in accordance with clause (2) (b) or (c) and has reported to the Lieutenant Governor in Council on what, if any, changes to the proposed regulation the Minister considers appropriate. Contents of notice (2) The notice mentioned in clause (1) (a) shall contain, (a) a description o…

17 Omitted (amends, repeals or revokes other legislation).

18 Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Act).

19 Omitted (enacts short title of this Act). ______________