Significant amendments to The Health Information Protection Regulations in Saskatchewan are imminent and will have a major impact on organizations that provide health services in Saskatchewan – including some that are not currently subject to The Health Information Protection Act (Saskatchewan) (HIPA).
This post outlines some of the key changes in The Health Information Protection Regulations, 2023 (the "New Regulations"), which are expected to come into force on August 1, 2023.
Key changes
The following are some of the key changes in the New Regulations:
- Owners and operators of privately owned facilities in which health professionals provide health services will now be considered "trustees" and may be directly subject to HIPA (section 4(b))
- All trustees that have custody or control of personal health information will be required to have a privacy compliance program which includes the items outlined in the New Regulations including, for example, specific training and acknowledgements for employees (section 5)
- All trustees that have custody or control of personal health information will be required to meet new record retention and destruction requirements outlined in the New Regulations with respect to that personal health information (section 6)
- All agreements with information management service providers will be required to address the terms outlined in the New Regulations (section 7)
- Trustees may now be able to use personal health information for employee education or internal management purposes to improve quality of care (sections 9 and 13 (e) and (f))
What organizations can do to get ready
All organizations in Saskatchewan that handle personal health information within the meaning of HIPA would be well advised to review the New Regulations and to review and update their current policies and practices to comply with the New Regulations.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.