Bill 119 explained in plain English
Health Information Protection Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 119, the Health Information Protection Act, 2016, updates laws related to personal health information and quality of care information, particularly concerning the electronic health record.
Bill 119, also known as the Health Information Protection Act, 2016, amends the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, and the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2004. The bill focuses on the development and use of the electronic health record and how personal health information is collected, used, and disclosed through it. It also updates rules for quality of care information to improve healthcare delivery.
- Amends the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, to establish rules for the development and maintenance of an electronic health record.
- Sets out how personal health information can be collected, used, and disclosed through the electronic health record.
- Introduces provisions for individuals to control the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal health information via the electronic health record through consent directives.
- Allows the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to collect and use personal health information for planning, funding, and auditing health services, and for detecting fraud.
- Repeals and replaces the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2004, with new provisions aimed at facilitating confidential discussions to improve healthcare quality.
- Amends other related acts, including the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act, the Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act, 2010, and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
- Increases fines for offences under the Personal Health Information Protection Act and removes the limitation period for prosecutions.
- Individuals whose personal health information is managed through the electronic health record.
- Health information custodians (e.g., healthcare providers, hospitals).
- The prescribed organization responsible for the electronic health record.
- The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
- Colleges of regulated health professions.
- Members of regulated health professions.
- Patients.
- The general public, regarding access to information and privacy.
- Individuals involved in quality of care discussions within health facilities.
- Health information custodians must take reasonable steps to prevent the unauthorized collection of personal health information.
- Health information custodians must notify individuals and the Commissioner of theft, loss, or unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information.
- Health information custodians remain responsible for information handled by their agents.
- Agents of health information custodians must comply with the custodian's conditions and report any breaches.
- Health information custodians must notify Colleges if a member commits or is suspected of committing an unauthorized collection, use, disclosure, retention, or disposal of personal health information, and disciplinary action is taken.
- Individuals can make consent directives to withhold or withdraw consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal health information via the electronic health record.
- The prescribed organization must manage and integrate personal health information, ensure its functioning, quality, and security, and maintain electronic records of access and disclosures.
- The prescribed organization must comply with directives from the Minister.
- The Minister must consult with the Information and Privacy Commissioner and an advisory committee before issuing directives to the prescribed organization.
- The Minister may collect personal health information for specific purposes related to health services funding, planning, and fraud detection, but must de-identify the information and have privacy practices approved by the Commissioner.
- Health information custodians are protected from liability when acting in good faith to provide personal health information to the prescribed organization.
- Quality of care committees and health facilities must comply with regulations regarding the review of critical incidents.
- Persons are prohibited from disclosing quality of care information except as permitted by the Act.
- No legal proceedings can be initiated against a person who in good faith discloses information to a quality of care committee, or against a committee member in good faith.
- Fines for offences under the Personal Health Information Protection Act are increased.
- Prosecutions for offences under the Personal Health Information Protection Act have no limitation period.
- The Act received Royal Assent on May 18, 2016.
- Some provisions of the Act came into force on the day of Royal Assent, while others are to come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2016, comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Increased fines for offences under the Personal Health Information Protection Act: up to $100,000 for individuals and up to $500,000 for non-individuals.
- For offences under the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2016, fines are up to $50,000 for individuals and up to $250,000 for corporations.
- Increased fines for offences under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004: up to $100,000 for individuals and up to $500,000 for non-individuals.
- No limitation period for prosecutions under the Personal Health Information Protection Act.
- Court may take precautions to avoid disclosure of personal health information during investigations or prosecutions.
- Consent of the Attorney General is required to commence a prosecution.
- Fines for contravening sections 9 or 11 of the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2016: up to $50,000 for individuals and up to $250,000 for corporations.
- The specific details of regulations, prescribed organizations, prescribed data elements, and exceptions are not provided in the Act text and will be set out in future regulations.
- The exact date for the commencement of certain provisions is not specified and will be proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The extent to which the Minister can direct the disclosure of personal health information for purposes other than direct healthcare is subject to certain conditions and committee recommendations.
- The application of Part V of the Personal Health Information Protection Act to certain records in the custody or control of a health information custodian is subject to prescribed exceptions and additional requirements.
Introduces new provisions for the development, maintenance, collection, use, and disclosure of personal health information related to the electronic health record. It also adds rules for consent directives, allows the Minister to collect information for specific purposes, and increases penalties for offences.
Source: Schedule 1
Repeals the existing Act and replaces it with the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2016, which aims to enable confidential discussions for improving healthcare quality.
Source: Schedule 2
Removes the requirement for certain instructions on prescriptions to be handwritten.
Source: Section 2
Allows the Minister or executive officer to disclose personal information about monitored drugs to specific individuals, such as prescribers, dispensers, and healthcare practitioners, in certain circumstances.
Source: Section 3
Allows the Minister to make regulations requiring Colleges of regulated health professions to collect and provide information from their members to a prescribed organization for the purpose of developing or maintaining the electronic health record.
Source: Section 4
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced